撒哈拉沙漠里的“及時(shí)雨”

劉同功

近年來，在非洲撒哈拉沙漠地區(qū)，活躍著一支被人們稱為“沙漠玫瑰”的中國鉆井隊(duì)。他們揮灑汗水，用精湛的中國鉆井技術(shù)，為長(zhǎng)久以來缺水的當(dāng)?shù)卮迕翊虺隽艘豢诳谏衬嗜?/p>

In?a?remote?village?in?the?Siwa?Oasis?of?Egypts?Western?Desert，?part?of?the?Sahara?Desert，?a?Chinese?drilling?company，?is?digging?deepwater?wells?for?the?villagers?in?efforts?to?bring?them?sufficient?access?to?drinking?water.

“I?offered?a?sheep?to?the?Chinese?drilling?team?on?behalf?of?the?whole?village?as?a?thankyou?gift?for?drilling?water?wells?for?us，”?said?Hasan?Osman，?a?30yearold?villager，?looking?at?the?huge?drilling?platform?of?the?Chinese?firm?Zhongman?Petroleum?and?Natural?Gas?Group?（ZPEC）.

The?village?where?Osman?lives?is?called?Malol，?located?in?the?Siwa?Oasis，?about?560?kilometres?west?of?the?capital?Cairo.?Being?close?to?the?Egyptian?border?with?Libya，?Siwa?is?the?most?remote?and?inaccessible?desert?oasis?in?Egypt.?“The?water?we?have?been?drinking?is?salty?and?insufficient?for?drinking，?let?alone?for?growing?crops，”?Osman?said.

With?the?arrival?of?the?ZPEC?drilling?team?comes?the?potential?access?to?potable?water.?Like?longawaited?rain?in?the?desert，?the?drilling?site?has?become?a?magnet?for?villagers?who?talk?about?the?promising?project?and?make?friends?with?the?workers.?“Were?very?happy?that?the?Chinese?company?is?digging?a?well?for?us！?What?a?pleasure！”?Osman?said?with?an?expectant?grin.

Li?Wei，?general?manager?of?the?ZPEC?branch?in?Egypt，?told?reporters?that?the?village?heavily?relies?on?underground?water，?but?the?existing?wells?are?mostly?shallow?with?a?depth?of?300?to?400?meters，?offering?water?of?high?salinity?（鹽度）?well?below?ideal?drinking?water?level.

Pointing?to?a?well?being?drilled?at?hand，?Fahmy?AbdelHamid，?a?project?manager?who?has?been?working?for?ZPEC?for?nearly?five?years，?said?the?well?has?been?drilled?to?a?depth?of?over?400?meters?so?far，?with?28?workers?manning?it?in?two?shifts?round?the?clock.?AbdelHamid?also?praised?the?Chinese?technical?expertise?（專長(zhǎng)）?in?the?drilling?field，?noting?he?has?gained?a?lot?of?experience?from?his?work?at?ZPEC.?“Were?not?only?bringing?a?couple?of?deepwater?wells?to?the?village?but?also?hope?for?the?local?people?to?live?a?better?life，”?said?Li.

1.?What?can?we?know?about?Malol?in?the?Siwa?Oasis？

A.?It?has?plenty?of?rainwater.

B.?It?has?no?access?to?clear?water.

C.?It?is?lacking?in?drinking?water.

D.?It?has?enough?water?for?crops.

2.?What?does?the?underlined?word?“potable”?in?paragraph?4?mean？

A.?Expensive.?B.?Drinkable.?C.?Recyclable.?D.?Aggressive.

3.?Whats?the?problem?with?the?water?in?the?wells?in?Malol?village？

A.?It?contains?too?much?salt.

B.?Its?seriously?polluted.

C.?It?is?not?suitable?for?cooking.

D.?It?contains?no?minerals.

4.?Whats?the?attitude?of?AbdelHamid?towards?his?Chinese?colleagues？

A.?Curious.?B.?Doubtful.

C.?Admirable.?D.?Dissatisfied.

Ⅰ.?Difficult?sentence?in?the?text

Pointing?to?a?well?being?drilled?at?hand，?Fahmy?AbdelHamid，?a?project?manager?who?has?been?working?for?ZPEC?for?nearly?five?years，?said?the?well?has?been?drilled?to?a?depth?of?over?400?meters?so?far，?with?28?workers?manning?it?in?two?shifts?round?the?clock.?AbdelHamid是一位已經(jīng)在中曼集團(tuán)工作了近五年的項(xiàng)目經(jīng)理，他指著旁邊一個(gè)正在掘進(jìn)的深井說，那口井目前已經(jīng)鉆到了400多米的深度，有28名工人分兩班日夜不停地作業(yè)。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句是一個(gè)復(fù)合句。Pointing...at?hand為現(xiàn)在分詞作伴隨狀語;a?project?manager?who?has?been?working?for?ZPEC?for?nearly?five?years是一個(gè)同位語;后面的with的復(fù)合結(jié)構(gòu)作方式狀語。

Ⅱ.?Textcentered?chunks

in?efforts?to?努力做到

on?behalf?of?代表

let?alone?更不用說

round?the?clock?日夜不停;夜以繼日