The Three Gorges Dam

After more than fourteen years of work, the world's largest hydroelectric darn will be
operating in 2008 or 2009. Built across the Yangtze River in central China, this darn is one of
the largest engineering projects in history. The wall of the Three Gorges Darn, which was
completed in 2006, is more than a mile and a half wide (2 km), and rises more than 600 feet
(183 m) above the river bottom.
The Yangtze, sometimes known in China as "The Dragon," is the world's third longest river.
People have lived, fished, and worked along its banks for thousands of years. The area where
the darn is being built is among the most beautiful places in China. Towering green mountains
sit on both sides of the river, creating narrow passages known as gorges.
But danger lies in the midst of all this beauty. Formerly, the Yangtze rose over its banks
once every ten years on average, and this flooding often caused enormous damage and the loss
of lives. In the twentieth century, more than 300,000 people died in floods along the river. Since
the early 1900s, China's leaders have wanted to build a dam that would control the Yangtze's
waters. Reducing the risk of floods is, in fact, the main reason given by the Chinese government
for their decision to build the dam.
Another important function of the darn will be to produce electricity. Water from the
reservoir will pass through enormous turbines (motors) in the dam before it flows back into the
river bed. According to Chinese engineers, this new dam will fill almost one-ninth of China's
electricity needs. At present, China depends on burning coal for 75 percent of its power, and
this causes severe air pollution in many parts of the country. Hydroelectric power from dams is
much cleaner than that produced by coal and less dangerous than that produced by nuclear
power. In fact, with its economy expanding rapidly and prices of oil rising, the Chinese
government is desperately looking for new sources of energy.
The economic advantages of the new dam, however, do not come without a cost. The lake
or reservoir that is formed behind the dam will destroy 395 square miles (632 sq km) of land
that for generations has been home to about 1.2 million people and the farms, factories, and
towns where they lived. By 2005, over 1 million had already been displaced by the spreading
waters; by 2009, whether they want to or not, all of them will have moved.
Many inhabitants of the area have adapted to the new situation with a will to succeed.
Huang, a farmer whose house and land vanished under many feet of water, used money he
received from the government to buy a small boat. He earns his living now by leading river
tours and transporting goods on his boat. While his new land does not grow crops as easily as
his old, he likes his new life. He has said that he probably floats right over his old home, but he
tries not to think about it.
 However, other families have not found it so easy to move their whole lives elsewhere.
Many people were not as lucky as Huang to find a new way to make a living. Farmers who
were given land often found that the farms were smaller and the land was less productive than
their old farms near the river. In fact, the farm land along that part of the Yangtze was some of
the most fertile in all of China. Some families also found that the money provided by the
government was barely enough to build a very simple house with a concrete floor. For all these
reasons, many have found that their economic situation and living conditions are worse than
before. So far, the government has not been open to complaints and protests by the citizens who
have been badly affected by this situation.
Aside from the social costs of displacing more than a million people, the dam is also causing
environmental damage. One problem has already been noticed by environmentalists. Experts
say that the reservoir behind the dam is seriously polluted because the area was not cleaned up
before it was flooded. The water now contains a combination of human waste, chemicals from
now-flooded factories, and very dangerous heavy metals.
A second environmental problem could soon arise, according to environmentalists, as the
dam slows the river waters. The Yangtze River has always carried a large amount of silt, or
mud, picked up by the strong flow of the water. This silt contains untreated human waste from
the towns and cities along the Yangtze. In former times, the flow was powerful enough to wash
that waste out to sea. But with the dam blocking the river and slowing the flow of water, some
scientists fear that diseases contained in the polluted mud could become a health danger for
those who live nearby.
Progress is a complicated thing. The Three Gorges Dam will help satisfy the energy needs
of China's 1.2 billion people and it will prevent floods along the Yangtze, bringing a better life
to many. But to make such a project happen, more than 1 million people have lost their homes
and jobs. Some have already made the change to a new life with ease; others have not, and their
lives are worse than before. The Chinese have a saying: Water spilled can never be retrieved.
This means that once something has started, there is no going back. In the years ahead, the
debate will continue about the Three Gorges Dam and whether or not building it was the right
choice for China.
Questions
1. Choose the statement that best expresses the overall thesis of this passage
a. The Three Gorges Dam will provide more energy for the Chinese economy.
b. The Three Gorges Dam will have a negative effect on the environment.
c. The Three Gorges Dam will have both positive and negative effects.
d. The Three Gorges Dam will benefit everyone in China.
2. The Yangtze River
a. flooded often during the past century.
b. will flood more often in the future.
c. hasn't flooded since the early 1900s.
d. may rise over the dam every ten years.

3. The main reason for building the dam, according to the Chinese government, is to
a. improve the environment.
b. improve transportation.
c. create a freshwater supply.
d. reduce the risk of floods.

4. The second important reason for building the dam is to

a. make money for the government.
b. produce hydroelectric power.
c. give people in the area more jobs.
d. improve the local water supply.

5. Some local inhabitants are making a living on the lake formed behind the dam.
a. True
b. False

6. Local in habitants
a. are not all satisfied with their new lives.
b. all think the dam is a wonderful opportunity.
c. are all very unhappy with their situation.
d. have not noticed any difference in their lives.

7. The lake behind the dam is a good source of drinking water.

a. True
b. False

8. You can infer from this passage that the Chinese government is
a. not at all concerned about the lives of the people displaced by the dam.
b. very interested in the environmental problems along the Yangtze.
c. more concerned about the economy than the environment.
d. unable to successfully carry out large engineering projects.