同等学力英语阅读及翻译专项练习 2

Desperately short of living space and dangerously prone to flooding, the Netherlands plans to start building homes, businesses and even roads on water.

With nearly a third of the country already covered by water and half of its land mass below sea level and constantly under threat from rising waters, the authorities believe that floating communities may well be the future.

Six prototype wooden and aluminum floating houses are already attached to something off Amsterdam , and at least a further 100 are planned on the same estate, called Ijburg.

“Everybody asks why didn't we do this kind of thing before,” said Gijsbert Van der Woerdt, director of the firm responsible for promoting the concept. “After Bangladesh we're the most densely populated country in the world. Building space is scarce and government studies show that we'll need to double the space available to us in the coming years to meet all our needs.”

Before being placed on the water and moved into position by tugboats ( 拖船 ), the houses are built on land atop concrete flat-bottomed boats, which encase giant lumps of polystyrene ( 聚笨乙烯 ) reinforced with steel. The flat-bottomed boats are said to be unsinkable and are anchored by underwater cables. The floating roads apply the same technology.

The concept is proving popular with the Dutch. The waiting list for such homes, which will cost between euros 200, 000—500, 000 to buy, runs to 5, 000 names, claims Van der Woerdt.

With much of the country given over to market gardening and the intensive cultivation of flowers, planners have also come up with designs for floating greenhouses so that the water beneath them irrigates the plants and controls the temperature inside.

A pilot project, covering 50 hectares of flooded land near Amsterdam 's Schiphol airport, is planned for 2005.

The opportunities for innovative developers look promising. “We have 10 projects in the pipeline—floating villages and cities complete with offices, shops and restaurants,” Van der Woerdt said.

1. The Netherlands plans to start building floating communities on water because ___B___.

A. most parts of the country are covered by water

B. the country is constantly threatened by floods

C. it will promote the cultivation of flowers

D. people think it better to live on water

2. By citing “Everyone asks why didn't we do this kind of thing before”, the author wants to tell us that __D____.

A. building floating communities is a very good idea

B. the director of the firm didn't want to answer the question

C. the Netherlands should follow the example of Bangladesh

D. people are not satisfied with the government's work

3. The floating houses will be _A_____.

A. reinforced with steel B. made of concrete

C. constructed in water D. built on boats

4. According to the author, the floating communities on water _D_____.

A. can promote market gardening B. are beyond the reach of most Dutch people

C. will increase the cost of gardening D. will be very popular by the year of 2005

5. “10 projects in the pipeline” in the last paragraph means __D____.

A. “10 pipelines to provide gas” B. “10 companies to lay the pipelines”

C. “10 floating houses to be built on water” D. “10 building projects planned and started”

由于极其缺乏生活空间，也由于容易遭受洪涝的威胁，荷兰计划开始在水上兴建住房、商店甚至公路。

由于荷兰三分之一的国土已经被水淹没，一半的陆地位于海平面之下，并且经常处于上涨的海水的威胁之下，所以荷兰政府认为，将来的社会很可能是浮动的社会。

六种木制和铝制的浮动房已经被固定在阿姆斯特丹市外的某个物体上，并且计划在同一区域至少再兴建一百套住房——这个地方叫艾吉博格。

“每个人都问我们为什么以前没有这么做，”葛吉斯博特·万德沃尔特说，他是一家公司的老总，该公司负责推广兴建水上住房的观念。“我们国家是继孟加拉国之后世界上人口最稠密的国家。我们缺少建筑空间，政府的研究显示：为了满足我们的所有需求，未来几年，我们需要使可用的空间增加一倍。”

在被放于水中并被拖船拖到指定地点之前，这些房子被建在陆地上的混凝土平底船上——这些平底船装有大量用钢铁加固的聚苯乙烯。据说，这种平底船不会沉没，它们被水下缆绳固定着。浮动的公路也采用同样的技术。

据证实，这种观念正在受到荷兰人的欢迎。万德沃尔特宣称，等候这种房子的申请人数已达到五千——这种房子的售价为二十到五十万欧元。

由于国家的大部分地方被用来发展商品蔬菜种植业和鲜花集约培育业，计划者也为浮动温室提供设计，以便温室下面的水可以灌溉植物，控制温室的温度。

计划于二○○五年实施一项引水工程——该工程涵盖阿姆斯特丹市斯吉博尔机场附近被淹的五十公顷地区。

看来，革新的开发者们的机会可望获得成功。“我们有十项工程正在计划之中——配有办公室、商店和餐馆的浮动乡村和城市，”万德沃尔特说。

参考答案 ： 1 ． B 2 ． A 3 ． D 4 ． A 5 ． D