VOA标准英语2008年-Flood Risk Keeps Thousands in China Away From T

By Jamila Trindle
Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
06 June 2008

Three weeks after the earthquake in China's Sichuan province displaced five million people, a few hundred thousand have had to move again - out of the way of a dammed river that poses a flood risk. As Jamila Trindle reports from near the city of Mianyang, many of the quake's survivors¹ are anxious to get back home.
　

Residents walk along riverbed downstream of Tangjiashan quake-formed lake, Sichuan province, 06 Jun 2008

The city of Mianyang was hit hard by the May 12 earthquake. Tents line the roads, temporary homes for people living in front of their damaged houses and shops.

But just north of the city, the tents disappear. Low-lying areas have been evacuated³ and people have been sent to higher ground. Landslides⁴ during the earthquake dammed a river further north, creating what is now called the Tangjiashan lake.

Thousands of soldiers have worked for days to gradually drain the lake, the largest of more than 30 formed by the quake. But experts fear that aftershocks could shake loose the dam before the lake is empty, flooding communities downstream.

Thousands of people from nearby villages are taking refuge at the top of a mountain known as Tao Hua. If the dam gives way and the lake floods the valley, the mountain should remain above the water.

Wen Feng brought his family here even before authorities began ordering small towns to evacuate². Wen said he had to bring his child and elderly parents here to the top of the hill immediately because they cannot flee if the flood comes. For adults like himself, he said, it is not a problem to flee, but he came here just for them.

Wen said he could not imagine losing his parents and seven-year-old son. He sits in a tent made from nylon tarps supported by small branches. He and his family have already had to move several times, and he said he does not know when they will be able to go home. He has nightmares about the quake, the aftershocks and now the flood, too.

Wen said everyone wants a quiet, peaceful life. "But the quake and the flood makes everyone here nervous. If the situation continues like this," he said, "our hearts will not be able to take it anymore."

It is hot on the mountain, and many people have retreated into the woods nearby to play cards in the shade. One woman, Wang Jin Hui, said she still worries, even here.
　

The major project of a sluice5 from the Tangjiashan Lake is completed at quake-induced Tangjiashan Lake in southwest China's Sichuan province, 31 May 2008

Wang said she worries about a bigger earthquake or the flood coming, that maybe the place where they are staying now will also be destroyed. After the quake, she said, her legs always feel soft, like she is swaying in the wind when she walks. All day her brain is nervous, and her heart feels like it will stop.

One disaster has been compounded by the threat of another. Wang still seems amazed at their predicament.

"It is crazy," she said. "The quake is not finished, but the flood is coming."

Yet every person says they will go back to their villages.

Wang said life will be hard if they go back. They will have to live in tents, but at least they can harvest the crops left in the fields. That remains⁶ one of their biggest concerns - for some people, those crops are all they have left.

Zhou Guo Tai is the accountant for Tai Bei village. He says his village was one of the first to be evacuated, so they have been here for 10 days. And during that time, the financial losses from their crops keeps mounting.

He says people are definitely more anxious here. Not only the farmers but also the officials are quite anxious. He really hopes the people can return to their homes as soon as possible.

He sits in front of a blue tent labeled "Tai Bei Village Office" tallying⁷ numbers. He says it is too hot inside the tents to do anything.

As some of the evacuees⁸ voice their anxieties, Wang Jin Qun tries to put things in perspective. She says of course they are very anxious about staying here too long. Their crops are still in the fields and cannot be harvested. But, Wang says, safety is the most important thing; life is the most important.

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

4 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

5 sluice   

n.水闸

参考例句：

• We opened the sluice and the water poured in.我们打开闸门，水就涌了进来。
• They regulate the flow of water by the sluice gate.他们用水闸门控制水的流量。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

8 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网