四川都江堰英文导游辞

 　　The Dujiangyan Dam, 45km north of Chengdu, is an ancient technological¹ wonder of the country. More than 2000 yers ago, Li Bing(250-200BC), as a local governor of the Shu State, designed this water control and irrigation dam and organized thousands of local people to complete the project to check the Mingjiang River.For many years the river,flooded the Chengdu agricultural area and local farmers suffered a lot from the water disaster. Due to the success of the project, the dam automatically diverts the Mingjiang River and channels it into irrigation canals. For many years the dam has continued to make the most of the water conservancy works. Expansion has been undertaken since 1949 and at present the system does a good job of irrigating² farming land across 33counties of the western part of Sichuan Province. Local people feel proud of the system becaude it has supported a large amount of people in their daily life.

　　What makes this system so good?

　　The system is a large hydraulic³ water project which consists of three main parts: the Fish Mouth Water-Dividing Dam, the Flying Sand Fence, and the Bottle-Neck Channel.

　　The Fish mouth functions to divide the flow of water into an inner river and an outer river. Long ago, when Li Bing worked as the local governor of the Shu State, he found the old river canal was too narrow to hold much water, which often overflowed⁴ the banks and caused disastrous⁵ flood. Based on natural geographic⁶ conditions, he organized the people to build a man-made dam. The whole dam looks like a fish, and the front dam has a circular cone⁷ shaped like a fish mouth. It is the dam that channels water into an outer canal and an inner canal. The outer water canal functions as the main stream and holds sixty percent of water in the river. The extra water goes through the inner canal for irrigation in Chengdu areas.

　　The Flying Sand Fence joins the inner and outer canals. The fence functions to controll the flow of water and discharge excess into the inner canal from the main stream. During the dry season the fence doesn't work much, but when floods occur, the river rushes forward along the outer canal. As it approaches the fence, the fence,the river begins to turn round fast and soon many whirlpools are formed. The volatile⁸ whirlpools sweep away sand and pebbles⁹ and, throw them into the outer canal. For many years huge bamboo baskets were used as the fence. They were filled with stones and pebbles. However,at present, reinforced concrete weir¹⁰ has replaced the ancient fence.

　　So now, let's discuss the Bottle-Neck Channel. A trunk canal was cut through the mountain into two parts which link up the inner canal for irrigation. The small part is later called Li Dui, which means an isolated¹¹ hill. Chengdu looks like a large bottle and the trunk canal between the mountain and the hill takes shape of the bottleneck¹². The trunk canal technically¹³ has two functions: First, it leads the water to irrigate¹⁴ the farming land in western Sichujan; Secondly¹⁵, the trunk casnal works together with the Flying Sand Weir to keep the flow below a certain point in the inner canal during flood season. Some stone tablets, which stand on the isolated hill, are engrxdyed in Buddhist¹⁶ Sanskrit. The local people hope that the Buddhist tablets can exert the Buddhist superpower to harness flood disaster. For over two thousand years, in fact, the Fish Mouth Water-Dividing Dam, the Flying Sand Weir, and the Bottle-neck Channel automatically work together to control foods and sweep away sand and stones in the main stram. The local people benefit a lot from this project.

　　Not far from the Dujiang Dam, a Daoist temple complex was wrwcted was erected¹⁷ to commemorate¹⁸ the benevolent¹⁹ rule of Li Bing and his son who succeeded him. Li Bing and his son were granted the posthumous²⁰ title of Wang. The folk story says that July 24of the Chinese Lunar Calendar is Li Bing' birthday. On the day many local people visit the temple where they prostrate²¹ themselges before the image of Li Bing and his son and burn incense²² to honor them. The larger-than-life painted statues of father and son overlook the rushing river below. Nearby a stone tablet os engrxdyed with a famous six-character quotation²³ from Li Bing,"when the river flows in zigzags²⁴, cut a straight channel. When the riverbeb is wide and shallow, dig it deeper." The temple which is built near the mountaintop, is a popular stopping place for sightseers. There one can enjoy a unique view of the most modern parts of the water conservation project.

　　People appreciate the ancient wonder, which still works to benefit people today.

1 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

2 irrigating   

灌溉( irrigate的现在分词 )； 冲洗（伤口）

参考例句：

• Derrick and I have been laying out the system of irrigating ditches. 德里克跟我在一起修建那个灌溉网。
• He had been in command at the irrigating ditch the day before. 上一天，在灌溉渠边，是他担任指挥的。

3 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

4 overflowed   

溢出的

参考例句：

• Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
• A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

6 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

10 weir   

n.堰堤，拦河坝

参考例句：

• The discharge from the weir opening should be free.从堰开口处的泻水应畅通。
• Big Weir River,restraining tears,has departed!大堰河，含泪地去了！

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

13 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

14 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

15 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

16 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

17 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

18 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

19 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

20 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

21 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

22 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

23 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

24 zigzags   

n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
• History moves in zigzags and by roundabout ways. 历史的发展是曲折的，迂回的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》