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新托福TPO3阅读原文(二)Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer及译文

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2021-02-12 20:19
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2021年2月12日发(作者:研究生英语)






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):Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer


TPO-3-2



Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer




The


vast


grasslands


of


the


High


Plains


in


the


central


United


States


were


settled by farmers and ranchers in the 1880s. This region has a semiarid climate,


and


for


50


years


after


its


settlement,


it


supported


a


low-intensity


agricultural


economy


of


cattle


ranching


and


wheat


farming.


In


the


early


twentieth


century,


however, it was discovered that much of the High Plains was underlain by a huge


aquifer (a rock layer containing large quantities of groundwater). This aquifer was


named the Ogallala aquifer after the Ogallala Sioux Indians, who once inhabited


the region.




The Ogallala aquifer is a sandstone formation that underlies some 583,000


square kilometers of land extending from northwestern Texas to southern South


Dakota.


Water


from


rains


and


melting


snows


has


been


accumulating


in


the


Ogallala for the past 30,000 years. Estimates indicate that the aquifer contains


enough


water


to


fill


Lake


Huron,


but


unfortunately,


under


the


semiarid


climatic


conditions that presently exist in the


region, rates of addition to


the aquifer are


minimal, amounting to about half a centimeter a year.




The first wells were drilled into the Ogallala during the drought years of the


early 1930s. The ensuing rapid expansion of irrigation agriculture, especially from


the 1950s onward, transformed the economy of the region. More than 100,000


wells


now


tap


the


Ogallala.


Modern


irrigation


devices,


each


capable


of


spraying


4.5


million


liters


of


water


a


day,


have


produced


a


landscape


dominated


by


geometric patterns of circular green islands of crops. Ogallala water has enabled


the


High


Plains


region


to


supply


significant


amounts


of


the


cotton,


sorghum,


wheat, and corn grown in the United States. In addition, 40 percent of American


grain-fed beef cattle are fattened here.




This


unprecedented


development


of


a


finite


groundwater


resource


with


an


almost negligible natural recharge rate



that is, virtually no natural water source


to


replenish


the


water


supply



has


caused


water


tables


in


the


region


to


fall


drastically. In the 1930s, wells encountered plentiful water at a depth of about 15


meters;


currently,


they


must


be


dug


to


depths


of


45


to


60


meters


or


more.


In


places, the water table is declining at a rate of a meter a year, necessitating the


periodic


deepening


of


wells


and


the


use


of


ever-more- powerful


pumps.


It


is


estimated that at current withdrawal rates, much of the aquifer will run dry within


40 years. The situation is most critical in Texas, where the climate is driest, the


greatest


amount


of


water


is


being


pumped,


and


the


aquifer


contains


the


least


water.


It


is


projected


that


the


remaining


Ogallala


water


will,


by


the


year


2030,


support only 35 to 40 percent of the irrigated acreage in Texas that is supported


in 1980.








The


reaction


of


farmers


to


the


inevitable


depletion


of


the


Ogallala


varies.


Many have been attempting to conserve water by irrigating less frequently or by


switching


to


crops


that


require


less


water.


Others,


however,


have


adopted


the


philosophy that it is best to use the water while it is still economically profitable to


do so and to concentrate on high-value crops such as cotton. The incentive of the


farmers who wish to conserve water is reduced by their knowledge that many of


their neighbors are profiting by using great amounts of water, and in the process


are drawing down the entire region’s water supplies.





In


the


face


of


the


upcoming


water


supply


crisis,


a


number


of


grandiose


schemes have been developed to transport vast quantities of water by canal or


pipeline from the Mississippi, the Missouri, or the Arkansas rivers. Unfortunately,


the cost of water obtained through any of these schemes would increase pumping


costs at least tenfold, making the cost of irrigated agricultural products from the


region uncompetitive on the national and international markets. Somewhat more


promising have been recent experiments for releasing capillary water (water in the


soil)


above


the


water


table


by


injecting


compressed


air


into


the


ground.


Even


if


this


process


proves


successful,


however,


it


would


almost


triple


water


costs.


Genetic


engineering


also


may


provide


a


partial


solution,


as


new


strains


of


drought-resistant


crops


continue


to


be


developed.


Whatever


the


final


answer


to


the water crisis may be, it is evident that within the High Plains, irrigation water


will


never


again


be


the


abundant,


inexpensive


resource


it


was


during


the


agricultural boom years of the mid- twentieth century.


译文:


TPO-3-2


奥加拉拉蓄水层的枯竭





19


世纪


8 0


年代,


在美国中部北美大平原的广阔草原上定居着农场主们和 牧


场主们。这里有着半干旱的气候,在人们定居


50

< p>
年后,它支撑了一个以畜牧业


和小麦种植为主的低密度农业经济。然而,在


20


世纪初,人们发现北美大平原


的大 部地下是巨大的蓄水层


(


含有大量地下水的岩层


)


。这个蓄水层因曾经在这里


定居过的奥加拉拉苏族印 第安人而得名,被称作奥加拉拉蓄水层。





奥加拉拉蓄水层属于砂岩结构,


在从 德克萨斯州西北到南达科塔州南部的地


下绵延了


58.3


万平方公里。雨水和融雪自


3


万年前便开始在 奥加拉拉蓄积。据


估计,


奥加拉拉蓄水层的含水量足以填满休伦 湖,


但不幸的是,


在目前该地区半


干旱 的气候条件下,奥加拉拉蓄水层的蓄水能力极低,每年仅半厘米左右。


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