文章大意:本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了横跨亚利桑那州凤凰城的180英里长的运河,19世纪的时候城市的创始人们复兴了运河,城市的名称由此而来,更久以前霍霍坎人在这里建造并维护运河,以可持续的方式发展他们的社会。
Crossing Phoenix, Arizona, are 180 miles of canals. In 1867, the city’s founding father, Jack Swilling saw the remains of irrigation (灌溉) channels wandering across the landscape. He realized that, centuries before, some society had farmed this desert. Soon after, Swilling began clearing the blocked canals to bring agriculture back to the region.
Three years later, Swilling and other pioneers met to consider names for their settlement. The top two were Pumpkinville and Stonewall. Luckily, English adventurer Darrell Duppa proposed a name inspired by the resurrection (复兴) of the canals. “A great race once lived here and another great race will live here in the future,” he considered. “I predict that a new city will spring, phoenix-like, from the ruins and ashes of the old.”
Gary Huckleberry, a researcher, said, “In the southwest, we have some serious issues to deal with in terms of water. The Colorado River is the main source of water for the southwest and it’s over distributed. We’ve got population growth and climate change. How are we going to deal with that? I think there’s something to be learned by looking at past societies who managed water for thousands of years.”
That great society was the Hohokam. Between 100 and 1450 AD, they constructed 1,000 miles of canals. As the Hohokam expanded their network, they constantly repaired, cleaned and diverted the canals. “It requires cooperation, because all the users of the water from that canal have to agree not only to construct it, but also to maintain it,” Henderson, a scientist, said. “Users would have to agree to certain conditions to keep the entire system going.” The Hohokam committed to sharing water and put themselves on timetables.
The Hohokam used canal irrigation for 3,000 years. “That, to me, is the definition of sustainable development,” Huckleberry said. “They learned how to sustainably farm, to manage water, to not destroy their soils in a way that is worthy and might give us insight into how we might deal with the current trouble. I think one of the key lessons is that you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
8. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A.The reconstruction of canals. | B.The origin of the city’s name Phoenix. |
C.The discovery of the irrigation channels. | D.The agricultural development in the settlement. |
9. What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.The source of water. | B.The climate change. |
C.The population growth. | D.The over-distribution of water. |
10. What does Henderson say about the Hohokam?
A.They were expert in farming. | B.They were poor at time management. |
C.They had a strong sense of team spirit. | D.They fought for their rights to use water. |
11. Which of the following would Huckleberry agree with?
A.Canal irrigation is out of date. | B.Sustainable development matters. |
C.Farming can solve current trouble. | D.The loss of soils is worse than before. |