七、阅读短文,回答问题(10 分)
About 2 300 years ago, the area around Chengdu had bad floods every spring. Luckily, the Qin governor (太守), Li Bing, was a water engineer. The king of Qin provided the money and asked the governor to work out the problem.
The usual way to prevent flooding is to build a dam (大坝) across the river. However, the king had also asked Li Bing to make sure that ships could still sail (
航
行) in the river, because the king needed to send food to the army (军队). So Li Bing came up with a plan which still works today!
Helped by his son and the workers, Li Bing built a man-made island (岛) in the middle of the river. This island divided the water into an inner and an outer river. The inner river was deeper than but not as wide as the outer river. It took four years to build the island.
Li Bing also cut a new channel (运河) through Mount Yulei. This channel would take water away to irrigate (灌溉) the farmland below. The rock of the mountain was too hard to cut. Li Bing burnt the rock and used water to cool it. This made the rock break into smaller pieces which could be carried away more easily. Cutting the channel took eight years!
After Li Bing’s work was finished, there were no more floods, and the Dujiangyan irrigation system made the crops grow better. The river flowed naturally, and because there was no dam, ships and fish could pass freely. Sichuan became the most productive(多产的) area in China, as it still is today. Today, scientists and visitors from all over the world come to look at this wonderful example of engineering. This work and the name of Li Bing live on.
前 4 题每题的答案不超过 10 个词,第 5 题的答案词数不限。
1. What was Li Bing’s job?
He was a governor and a water engineer.
2. Why did the ships need to sail in the river?
To send food to the army.
3. How did Li Bing break the rock into smaller pieces?
He burnt the rock and used water to cool it./By burning it and cooling it with water.
4. How long did it take Li Bing to cut a new channel?
Eight years.
5. What kind of person do you think Li Bing was?
He was clever and hard-working.