VOA标准英语2011--Tajikistan Plans to Build World's Tallest Hyrdo Dam

Tajikistan Plans to Build World's Tallest Hyrdo Dam

With high mountains covering half of the nation, landlocked Tajikistan would like to become the Switzerland of Central Asia, exporting hydroelectricity to its neighbors. But first it has to generate enough power to avoid more winters of electricity rationing¹ at home.

Wearing a hard hat in publicity² photos, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon wants to be his nation’s builder-in-chief.

In September, he inaugurated the world’s tallest flagpole. Next year, he wants to start building the world’s tallest dam. Called Rogun, it would rise almost as high as the Empire State Building.

Designed to be the biggest hydroelectric plant in Central Asia, this $2 billion project could end power shortages at home, and export excess electricity around Central Asia, to Afghanistan and on to Pakistan.

Muhiddin Kabiri, who leads Tajikistan’s opposition³ Islamic Revival⁴ Party, says after the government sold $200 million worth of dam construction bonds to people in this poor country last year, dam-building has to start soon or the government will lose face.

Water is the lifeblood for Central Asia, a region where the population has doubled since the Soviet⁵ Union collapsed⁶ 20 years ago. Tajik cotton fields and fruit orchards⁷ will be guaranteed irrigation water.

But downstream from the dam, Uzbekistan fears for its crops. It wants to stop Rogun.

Izzatmand Salomov, a Tajik journalist, dismisses worries about water wars. Salomov calls Uzbekistan’s ecological⁸ complaints "fairy tales." Salomov adds that Uzbekistan fears losing money from selling electricity to Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Last April, after yet another winter of electricity rationing in Tajikistan, Zafar Abdullayev used Facebook to organize a protest against Tajikistan’s state power company.

Abdullayev says that Rogun is essential for Tajikistan to develop and that Uzbekistan’s worries are unfounded.

Rogun was first designed 35 years ago, in the Soviet era. With Tajikistan now entering another winter of power rationing, Tajiks say the time has come to stop studying, and to start building.

1 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

2 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

8 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.