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The Wonder of the Itaipu Dam 气势磅礡的伊太普水坝

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In the heart of South America, crossing the world’s seventh largest river is the incredible Itaipu Dam. Although China’s Three Gorges Dam has the potential to generate more energy, the Itaipu Dam still produces more electricity than any other hydroelectric project on earth. With its ___1___ design and sheer size, the Itaipu Dam is certainly a modern engineering wonder.

深入南美洲，令人叹为观止的伊太普水坝就横越在世界第七大的河流上。虽然中国的三峡大坝有可能生产更多的电量，但是伊太普水坝的发电量比世上其他任何水力发电工程都还大。伊太普水坝深具远见的设计及无与伦比的规模，无疑是现代工程的奇迹。

The dam spans the Parana River, which separate Paraguay and Brazil, and it provides approximately two-thirds of Paraguay’s and a quarter of Brazil’s power ___2___. Rio de Janeiro, the world’s second most populous city, runs completely on electricity generated by the Itaipu Dam. The dam consists of eighteen ___3___ hydroelectric generators. The dam was also cleverly designed to be expandable, so new generators can be ___4___ whenever necessary.

伊太普水坝横跨分隔巴拉圭和巴西这两个国家的帕拉那河，供给巴拉圭约三分之二和巴西约四分之一的电力需求。里约热内卢这个全球人口第二稠密的城市，就完全靠伊太普水坝发的电来运作。伊太普水坝由十八座巨型水力发电机组成，而且也巧妙地设计成能够扩充，以便随时有需要可以增加新的发电机。

Construction started in 1975 ___5___ a workforce of around 30,000 people. The first generators came on in 1983, and the power plant reached full ___6___ in 1991. The project has eased both countries’ energy problems and ___7___ development in this remote frontier region. The reservoir created by dam ___8___ 170 kilometers behind it, and this artificial lake has attracted millions of tourists since its creation. Environmentalists have raised concerns that this lake would alter the local climate, but fortunately, these concerns seem to be unfounded thus far.

整个工程于1975年开始动工，动员约三万人。第一座电机组在1983年开始运转，到了1991年此发电装置就达到了满载的发电量。这项工程舒缓了巴拉圭和巴西两国的能源问题，并且促进了这个边远地区的发展。伊太普水坝的水库在水坝后方延伸一百七十公里，而自这个人工湖完工后便吸引了数百万名的游客。环保人士担心这座湖会改变当地的气候，但幸运的是，这些忧虑至目前为止似乎都没有根据。

Not even dams live forever, and Itaipu is expected ___9___ around 200 years, when it’s predicted that its lake will fill with silt. Yet for generations ___10__, Rio’s lights will shine on thanks to this engineering wonder.

即便水坝也不是永续长存的，预计伊太普水坝能使用两百年左右，届时人工湖将会被淤泥填满。但对后代子孙来说，里约热内卢的灯火仍会因这项工程奇迹而持续通明。

－By Darshan Tyler & Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

potential [pəˋtɛnʃəl] n. 潛力，潛能

sheer [ʃɪr] adj. 全然的; 〔某物〕之重/之大等〔用於強調〕

span [spæn] v. （橋、拱等）橫跨，跨越

approximately [əˋprɑksəmɪtlɪ] adv. 大概；近乎

populous [ˋpɑpjələs] adj. 人口眾多的，人口稠密的

expandable [ɪkˋspændəb!] adj. 可擴大的；可擴展的

reservoir [ˋrɛzɚ͵vɔr] n. 水庫

unfounded [ʌnˋfaʊndɪd] adj. 沒有事實根據的

More Information

In the heart of 在……中央

hydroelectric [͵haɪdroɪˋlɛktrɪk] adj. 水力電氣的；水力發電的

Paraguay [ˋpærə͵gwe] n. 巴拉圭（南美洲之一國名）

Rio de Janeiro 里約熱內盧（巴西共和國的舊首都）

workforce [`wɝkˏfɔrs] n. 全體從業人員﹐勞動力

come on〔燈﹑機器等〕打開; 開動 to begin to work at one's scheduled time

thus far 到此為止 until now

silt [sɪlt] n. 泥沙，淤泥

far-sighted [ˋfɑrˋsaɪtɪd] adj. 有遠見的﹐有先見之明的

Itaipu hydroelectric dam

Answer