Water crisis looming for China, officials warn

(英语文摘2004年上半年合订本3月份P60)

BEIJING – Surging(1) water consumption(2) in China's growing cities and towns(3), coupled with(4) reckless(不注意的) industrial and agricultural use, is straining(5) the nation's already strapped(6) water supplies, the government and several international organizations warn.

0.loom/span>朦胧地出现,隐约可见,可怖地出现.此处相当于appear / emerge

e.g. The mountainous island loomed on the horizon.

 那座巨大的岛屿隐隐约约浮现在地平线上。

The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind.

 战事将起的庞大阴影威慑人心.

1.     surge  vi.波动,冲动;n.冰川涌流,气压波,浪涌.冲击。此处替换很多，在第二期中已进行了相应的总结，比如：soaring / swelling (在下文) / skyrocketing / accelerating / explosive / huge ,etc..

e.g. The crowd surged past him.          

 人们从他身边涌过。 此句相当形象

 Anger surged (up) within him.

 他怒火中烧.

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前四期整理链接：

第一期   http://bbs.diandian.net/dispbbs.asp?boardID=2&ID=62338&page=7

第二期  http://bbs.diandian.net/dispbbs.asp?boardID=2&ID=63118&page=4

第三期   http://bbs.diandian.net/dispbbs.asp?boardID=2&ID=64004&page=4

第四期  http://bbs.diandian.net/dispbbs.asp?boardID=2&ID=64433&page=2

2     consumption 消费,流量,消耗.为consume的名词形式。类似的又assume(.假定)->assumption; presume(vt.推测)->presumption; resume(恢复,继续执行)->resumption,etc..

3.     cities and towns/span>大小城市。这是惯用语，希望大家尝试使用。

e.g. Jay is in town.

周杰伦就在这个城市。表达了一种很亲切的感觉。

She's spending the weekend in town.

 她正在伦敦度周末. 在England如果讲town指的就是 London

When they give parties they really go to town / on the town.

 他们每次搞聚会都不惜钱财.

1.     strapped/span>紧张的，捉襟见肘的。strap捆住

e.g. All the luggage has been strapped up.

 所有行李都已捆扎好。

2.     strain/span>劳累,拉紧,过份使用

e.g. You will strain your eyes by reading in such poor light.

 你在这样弱的光线下看书会损伤视力的。

 restrain=re(=back)+strain(拉紧): vt.制止,限制n.约束

另外还有一个refrain 节制,避免,制止

(1)在词性上：refrain是vi.，而restrain 是vt。。因此，to refrain from laughing = to restrain laughter

(2)在词义上：to refrain = to restrain oneself,常指“自制以避免……”，因此，Kindly refrain from smoking![告示]请勿吸烟！

(3)在搭配上：

constrain sb. to do sth. 强制某人干某事

restrain sb. from doing sth. 阻止某人做某事

China's water resources amount to（7） the fifth-largest in the world, and its winding（缠绕的,盘旋的） rivers have cradled civilizations（8） for over five millennia（9）. But with the country's population swelling to（10） 1.3 billion, many of China's rivers, including the legendary（传奇色彩的） Yellow River, are drying up, and the water table（水位） is falling.

7．account to /span>在此处应与rank同义，“排在第几位”。它的意思一般是“总共达到(总计,等于)”。

e.g. His word amount to a refusal.

 他说的话等于是拒绝。

8.cradle/span>放在摇篮内,抚育;摇篮。

e.g. The sea is thought to have been the cradle of life.

 人们认为海洋曾经是生命的发源地。

from cradle to grave/span>从生到死。

splendid civilization/span>灿烂的文明。

advanced civilization /span>高度的文明。

These letters revealed her wit and civilization.

 这些信流露出她的教养和才华。

9. millennia/span>千年。millennium的复数。类似的还有：

media 是medium的复数。

bacteria是bacterium的复数

data是datum的复数。

10．swell to /span>跃至，增至。参见“surge to”

e.g.My eye swelled with tears.

我的眼睛里含着泪。

The group of onlookers soon swelled (in)to a crowd.

旁观的人很快聚集起一大群。

have a swelled \ swollen head 自负；（尤指因突然成功）冲昏头脑。

The international groups say dwindling （日益减少的） water supplies could disrupt（用得很地道） China's food security, public health, environment, and economic growth." China's problem is `brown' poverty('褐色'贫穷) . If you look at a map, large swaths（细长的列,刈幅） of the country are totally brown -- nothing can grow there," said Deepak Bhattasali, the World Bank's chief economist (首席经济师)  in Beijing. "If this brown spreads, so will hunger, [and] industrial growth will slow."

（如果这种褐色蔓延，饥饿也会蔓延，工业增长将放慢）

The country's annual per capita water supply （人均年水资源占有量） is only 2,200 cubic meters, 25 percent of the global average, according to the World Bank. The government says that by 2030, the water supply is expected to fall below 1,700 cubic meters per person, which the World Bank calls dangerously low（这一数字低到危险的程度，很地道。） .During the same period, water demand is expected to more than triple（三倍）, from 120 billion tons a year to 400 billion tons. Using uncharacteristically strong language（使用少见的强烈措辞警告说）, the World Bank recently warned that the situation "will soon become unmanageable, with catastrophic consequences（11） for future generations（12）."

11．catastrophic悲惨的,灾变的.替换词有disastrous / wretched

词根为catastrophe n. 大灾难,大祸

e.g.The earthquake was a terrible catastrophe.

 这次地震是个可怕的灾难。

catastrophe: 大灾难（great sudden disaster）；

disaster：意义最广泛，侧重已发生的灾难。

calamity与catastrophe相似,指广泛的、悲惨的不幸，通常由自然原因造成而非行为。

misfortune ：指并非由于个人过错而引起的不利情况，指事态的逆转或不幸的事故。

catastrophic consequence/span>灾难性的后果。

12．future generations/span>后代。在前几期已经整理过，可替换的词主要有：offspring / descendent / successor ,etc..

Although such provinces as Gansu and Shaanxi have always been parched(13), other areas are now facing shortages. Picturesque(14) Hubei Province, is known as the "Province of a Thousand Lakes.(千湖之省) " But industrialization has turned more than three-fourths of its once pristine（15） lakes into sandpits.

13.parch v. 炒,烤干,焦干

e.g. The fierce sun parched the bare earth.

 灼热的阳光炙烤着光秃秃的大地。

14．Picturesque a.生动的，如画的,独特的

e.g. The place is remarkable for its picturesque scenery.

 这个地方以它的如画的景色著称。

15．pristine原来的,原始的,原本的。

e.g. Pristine mountain snow.

 山上洁白的雪

本身不是四六级单词，但是我们需要掌握：

原材料为raw material ;原油为crude oil; 原始人为primitive people