VOA标准英语2008年-China Draining 'Quake Lake' to Ease Threat of F

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
07 June 2008

Chinese workers have started draining a massive, unstable¹ lake formed by the Sichuan earthquake. Chinese officials say the water level is still rising but the threat of the lake bursting has been eased. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
　

Water from Tangjiashan 'quake lake' flows down landside site in quake-devastated2 Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, 07 Jun 2008

Chinese workers on Saturday began releasing water out of Sichuan province's Tangjiashan barrier lake.

Chinese media say hundreds of soldiers and police worked for six days to dig a 475-meter channel to safely drain the rising water.

Sichuan's deadly May 12 earthquake triggered landslides³ that cut off rivers and streams, forming more than 30 "quake lakes." The Tangjiashan lake is considered the most dangerous.

Continuing landslides and heavy rains have quickly increased the lake's water level. Chinese authorities have warned the banks could burst and flood nearby towns already devastated from the earthquake.

Zhang Ting is a director of Sichuan's hydrological bureau.
　

Earthquake survivors4 carry their belongings5 to move to higher grounds as drainage begins at the swollen6 Tangjiashan quake lake in southwest China 7 June 2008

He says because the amount of water going into the lake is greater than the amount of water coming out, the barrier lake's water level is still slowly increasing. But, he says the amount of water being discharged will also gradually increase.

More than 250,000 people have been evacuated⁸ from the area threatened by the lake. Chinese officials say they have prepared to evacuate⁷ over one million more if the lake bursts.

The lake is also a threat to downstream bridges and China's longest oil pipeline⁹.

China's official Xinhua news agency says engineers have been sent to monitor structures that may be affected¹⁰ by the draining waters.

The Sichuan earthquake killed over 69,000 people and left millions homeless.

1 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

7 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

8 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。