2012年考研英語特訓：看閱讀背單詞(2)

　　Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascination. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.

　　The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn´t help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt´s leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey´s bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.

　　But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left - all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.

　　And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.

　　Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go ahead to the even more wrong headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed

　　Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don’t need a dam to be saved。

　　譯文

　　在重大技術所創造的東西中，很少有能像大型水壩這樣能體現人的想象力的。或許是因為人類長期遭受洪澇和干旱的襲擊，使得人類制服洪水的愿望更加令人興奮不已。但是令人著迷，有時也會使人盲目。有些巨型大壩的項目就有著弊大于利的危險。　　建造大壩的教訓是：大的并不一定總是美的。但是這無法阻止想要修建高大雄偉的大壩來顯示那些力爭得到自我肯定的國家和人民當作偉大成就的象征。埃及在阿拉伯世界的領導地位由建造阿斯旺大壩而鞏固。土耳其為了力爭成為世界一流的國家，也包括修建了巨大的阿塔特克大壩。　　但是大壩并沒有如預期的那樣發揮作用。例如阿斯旺大壩，它阻止了尼羅河洪水的泛濫，但也使得埃及失去了洪水離去后所留下的肥沃土壤——換回來的是一個疾病滋生的大水庫。現在整個水庫填滿了淤泥，幾乎不能發電。　　然而控制水的不切實際的想法仍在繼續。本周，在文明的歐洲中心，斯洛伐克人和匈牙利人為了多瑙河上的一處水壩引發爭端，幾乎差點動用了軍隊。這個大型的工程可能會出現所有大壩上的常見問題。但斯洛伐克正在力圖從捷克脫離而獨立，現在它需要建一個大壩來證明自己的實力。　　與此同時，在印度，世界銀行已經貸款來建造問題繁多的納爾黙達大壩。盡管世界銀行的顧問指出，該大壩將給百姓帶來苦難，并且也會破壞周邊的環境，但銀行已經這樣實行了。這些利益歸有權勢者所有，但是這種利益也是沒有保障的。　　對于水壩的影響以及水壩治水的成本和收益進行正確而科學的研究，能夠有效地解決這些沖突。即使不興建大型水壩，水利發電、治理洪水以及灌溉也是可能的，不一定非得建大壩。但是當你面對那些不切實際的神話時，你就很難做到合理和科學了。現在該是世界吸取阿斯旺大壩教訓的時候了。我們未必非要通過大壩來拯救自己。

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