China’s Massive Dam Faces Major Flood Control Test
中國大水壩面臨重要的洪水考驗

本新聞影音出處：新唐人電視台英語新聞
//english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_china/2010-07-19/300131844130.html

【新聞關鍵字】
1. dam: n. 水壩
2. major: adj. 重要的、主要的
3. swell: v. 上漲
4. send out: ph. 放出
5. make room for: ph. 讓出地方給..
6. lock: n. 船閘
7. succeed in: ph. 成功
8. downstream: a.在下游的
9. dike: n. 堤、壩

China’s enormous Three Gorges dam is facing the test of flood control, as torrential rains swell the rivers that feed it.
中國巨大的三峽大壩正面臨洪水考驗，因為暴雨使進入水壩的河水氾濫。

Much of China has been suffering flooding and landslides after weeks of torrential downpours. The rains have killed at least 146 people and left another 40 missing.
連續幾週來的豪大雨，使中國很多地方遭受水災和土石流之苦。大雨已造成至少146人死亡和40人失踪。

Engineers have raised the rate at which water is being sent out of the reservoir to make room for new waves of floodwaters expected this week.
工程師們已加快洩洪速度，為本週預期新一波的洪水預留空間。

[Wei Shanzhong, Yangtze River Flood Control Admin.]:
“The rain in the gorge area will immediately affect the water flow, increasing to around 70,000 cubic meters (per second). The level of this flood will be higher than the historic floods of 1954 and 1998.”
[Wei Shanzhong，長江防洪管理負責人]：
“三峽地區降雨將直接影響水流量，（每秒）增加約 7萬立方米。這波洪峰將比1954與1998年的歷史紀錄還要高。“

State-run media showed pictures of drained locks, closing passage up the reservoir for ships destined for southwestern hub of Chongqing.
國營媒體公布關閉西南樞紐重慶到三峽大壩間的船閘照片。

The locks close if the water comes faster than 11 million gallons per second.
若每秒進來的水量快於1千1百萬加侖，船閘會關閉。

Even if the dam succeeds in its role of holding back deadly floodwaters there may still be problems downstream where continuous rains have also weakened dikes.
即使三峽大壩能成功的阻卻致命性的洪水，持續降雨也會削弱大壩的堅固性，對下游造成問題。
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(//www.dajiyuan.com)