山東 李全忠

干旱導(dǎo)致歐洲河流干涸，多瑙河的水位降到了過(guò)去近一個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)的最低水平，埋葬在多瑙河深處的十幾艘德國(guó)艦船殘骸露出水面。

主題語(yǔ)境：人與社會(huì) 篇幅：335詞 建議用時(shí)：7分鐘

1From the depths of the big Danube River, the huge wrecks (沉船) of more than a dozen German ships have risen once again, exposed by a drought that has starved Europe's rivers and led to some of the lowest water levels of the past century. The exposed wrecks had been on the river's bottom for nearly eight decades and emerge only when the water level is extremely low. The spread of an extraordinarily hot and dry summer across Europe has dropped water levels suddenly, creating a danger for local river transport and fishing on the Danube River.

2More broadly,the high temperature weather has caused alarm across the continent as heat waves have increased at a faster rate, with scientists pointing to global warming and other factors as playing major roles.

3The extreme temperatures have led to lower harvests and restricted Europe's ability to create its own energy supply.They have reduced hydropower (水力發(fā)電)in Norway and threatened nuclear reactors in France. Britain banned the use of outdoor hoses (水管) after England experienced its driest July since 1935. In Spain, towns in Andalusia have restricted water usage. In Germany, environmentalists are concerned that dried-up lakes and rivers in the center of the country threaten the survival of fish and other wildlife.The drought has also brought more interest in relics dating back thousands of years thatsometimes surface as water levels drop in rivers across Europe.

4The foundations of a 2,000-year-old bridge in Rome emerged in the Tiber River this summer.In Spain,the Dolmen of Guadalperal,a four-to-five-thousand-year-old monument often compared to Stonehenge, rose from the waters west of Madrid. Earlier, a village in Spain, which had been abandoned and flooded when artificial reservoirs (水庫(kù)) were built in the 1960s,became visible after years under water.

5So-called hunger stones also resurfaced as rivers ran low.When water levels dropped,the local populations knew the harvest would be bad and the following year would be tough.

Reading Check

1.What do we know about the wrecks of the ships from paragraph 1?

A.They belonged to the European Union.

B.They reappeared mainly due to the human factor.

C.They have been in the Danube River for nearly eighty years.

D.Transport and fishing on the Danube River contributed to their exposure.

2.What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A.Measures of dealing with the drought.

B.Results caused by severe weather.

C.Challenges environmentalists are faced with.

D.Problems scientists are managing to solve.

3.How does the author develop the fourth paragraph?

A.By listing examples.

B.By stating arguments.

C.By providing research results.

D.By explaining scientific knowledge.

4.Why does the author write the text?

A.To stress the importance of rivers.

B.To describe a phenomenon in detail.

C.To introduce the dangerous drought in Europe.

D.To increase people's environmental awareness.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Useful expressions

lead to 導(dǎo)致

more broadly 更廣泛地

play a major role in 發(fā)揮重要作用

dry up 干涸；逐漸枯竭

date back 追溯到；始于

so-called(表示不認(rèn)同)所謂的

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence

The drought has also brought more interest in relics dating back thousands of years that sometimes surface as water levels drop in rivers across Europe.這場(chǎng)干旱也使人們對(duì)（其歷史能夠）追溯到數(shù)千年前的歷史遺跡產(chǎn)生更大的興趣，這些遺跡有時(shí)會(huì)隨著歐洲河流水位的下降而露出水面。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句是一個(gè)主從復(fù)合句，句中的dating back thousands of years 是現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)作后置定語(yǔ)，修飾前面的relics；that 引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，修飾先行詞relics；as 引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語(yǔ)從句。