Three Gorges Dam migrants find new homes

 　　NANCHANG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Although he is still homesick from time to time, 61-year-old Lei Yangqing admits that life has never been better for himself and his fellow villagers, who moved years ago to make way for the construction of the Three Gorges¹ Dam.

　　In 2012, Lei's family built a two-story residence with money from government subsidies². The house is twice as big as his former home in southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

　　In August 2001, a total of 69 villagers, including Lei, from 15 households in the village of Zhongyang in Yunyang county were resettled in the village of Qiujin in east China's Jiangxi Province.

　　"Twelve of the 15 households have built new houses," said Lei, who used to be head of his village committee. "Mine is comparatively small in size."

　　Some families have also purchased farm vehicles or other machinery³ with the 10,000-plus yuan (about 1,592 U.S. dollars) that every relocated migrant received from the central government last year, Lei added.

　　Official statistics show that around 1.4 million people have been relocated since 1993 to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project.

　　A new, spacious⁴ house is not all it has taken to convince these migrants to move to places hundreds of miles away from their hometowns. They have also required assurance that their living standards will be constantly improved.

　　Lei's family was allotted⁵ cotton fields totaling 4,667 square meters, as well as some paddies, upon arriving in Qiujin.

　　With the help of local villagers, Lei learned how to grow cotton in less than two years. In 2012, he harvested 2,500-plus kg of cotton and earned more than 20,000 yuan by selling it.

　　"Years ago in Chongqing, my family could only make ends meet by growing corn, potatoes and wheat. But now we have extra money we can save," Lei said.

　　Still, Lei is making much less than a number of younger villagers.

　　Last year, then-38-year-old Quan Zizhong spent 300,000 yuan on a 120-square-meter apartment in town. He said he buys his wife new gold jewelry⁶ every year.

　　"I always felt guilty about not being able to buy her a single piece of jewelry when we got married," said Quan, who has been selling pork since the second year he arrived in Qiujin.

　　He makes more than 10 times as much as he did farming back in Chongqing.

　　In addition to the Quan family, six other migrant households are also making a living by selling pork.

　　All 15 households have seen their annual income at least quadruple since they relocated, according to Lei.

　　And they have successfully blended into the local community as well.

　　Local villagers send them wedding and funeral invitations, and indigenous⁷ or not, people lend a helping⁸ hand to whoever in need, Lei added.

　　"We left one ho

1 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

2 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

5 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

6 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

7 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。