VOA常速英语2016--伊拉克摩苏尔大坝面临随时决堤危险（在线收听）

伊拉克摩苏尔大坝面临随时决堤危险

Maintenance work began Thursday to shore up the dam's weakening structure, undermined by years of conflict and neglect. Iraqis living near the Tigris River are worried.

周四大坝的维修工作正式开始，这座大坝支撑的结构由于多年的战乱冲突及年久失修已变得脆弱不堪。在底格里斯河附近居住的伊拉克人对这座随时可能倒塌的大坝感到担惊受怕。

“We are afraid and we don't know if it's true or not true that the dam could collapse. We are worried because we have family and kids. And we are stressed. We live very close to the Tigris.”

“我们感到担心，不知道这座大坝倒塌的传言是真是假。我们之所以担心是因为我们有家庭和孩子。而且我们非常紧张。我们住的地方离底格里斯河太近了。”

The dam needs regular maintenance because the ground underneath it is unstable. The government this week signed a $300-million deal with Italy's Trevi group to repair and maintain the structure for 18 months. But many Iraqis fear the dam could collapse before the Italian engineers arrive and assemble their machinery.

由于地下结构不稳，这座大坝需要定期进行维护。政府于本周与意大利特莱维集团签署了一项3亿美元的协议用作未来18个月内大坝的修复及维护工作。但许多伊拉克人还是担心大坝会在意大利工程师抵达进行修复之前倒塌。

“It is certain that the rising water levels will have a negative impact on citizens. We hope the relevant authorities will work hard to resolve this problem in order not to let the water leak into commercial interests and homes of locals.”

“肯定的是不断上升的水位对市民造成了负面影响。我们希望有关部门可以尽力解决这个问题，不让河水破坏商业经济，流到地居民家中。”

As the snow melts, the water pressure grows. A gate was opened to ease some of the water pressure, raising the levels of the Tigris River. But officials have downplayed the danger.

随着积雪融化，水位压力逐渐升高。为了减轻压力，政府部门已开启了一道闸门，这使得底格里斯河水位上升。但政府官员对这样的危险却置之不理。

“The quantities of water which flowed into the Tigris River have been utilized well in the agricultural plans drawn up by the Ministry of Water Resources in accordance with the Ministry of Agriculture. And big quantities of water have been used to flourish and revive the marshes which suffered a lot from water scarcity in the previous season. The U.S. Embassy said this week that the risk of the dam collapsing is "serious and unprecedented."

“流入底格里斯河的水一直被良好利用，这符合水利部门按照农业部起草的农业发展规划。而大量河水会用于灌溉旱季干涸的土壤，使湿地重获新生。本周美国大使馆表示，这座大坝倾塌的风险“非常严重而且前所未有。”

U.S. and Iraqi governments are working on a plan to evacuate as many as 1.5 million Iraqis living along the Tigris. The dam deteriorated during the conflict, including a temporary capture by the Islamic State militants. Its maintenance has remained insufficient in part because Islamic States still controls the factory that produces the cement for the dam's foundation.

美国及伊拉克政府正着手计划疏散底格里斯河附近居住的150万名伊拉克人。这座水坝在军事冲突中受到破坏，而且还曾被极端恐怖组织“ISIS”的武装分子短暂占领。这座大坝的修复工作仍未到位，部分原因是生产铸造坝基的水泥厂仍然被极端恐怖组织“ISIS”所掌控。