High 2 · Reading series
Lesson 27 · The River after Heavy Rain
Audio track 27
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After heavy rain, the river behind our school rose quickly. My grandfather said he had never seen it reach the path, and I wanted to believe him. Yet our town's hazard map marked the area as one that could flood under certain conditions.
In geography class, we compared the map with photographs from different years. The riverbank had changed, and new buildings stood where open ground once absorbed water. We could not predict the next flood from those pictures, but they helped us understand why one person's memory was not enough.
For the school newspaper, we interviewed the town office about official alerts and checked where students could find current information. We wrote clearly that our article was not an emergency notice. Readers should follow up-to-date instructions from responsible authorities when a warning is issued.
My grandfather's stories still mattered. They described what he had experienced. The map and alerts answered a different question: what might happen, including events he had never seen.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
大雨后，学校后面的河水迅速上涨。祖父说自己从没见过水漫到小路，我很想相信他。不过，镇上的灾害风险地图标明，在某些条件下这片区域可能被淹。
地理课上，我们把地图与不同年份的照片作比较。河岸变了，曾能吸水的空地如今盖了新楼。照片不能让我们预测下一次洪水，却帮助我们明白，为何仅凭一个人的记忆还不够。
为了校报，我们向镇政府询问官方警报，核对学生从哪里取得最新信息。文章也明确注明，它不是紧急通知。真正发出预警时，读者应遵照负责部门发布的现行指示。
祖父的故事依然重要，讲的是他亲身经历过什么。地图与警报回答另一个问题：未来可能发生什么，包括他从未见过的情况。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- hazard map
- 灾害风险地图；标示特定条件下的淹水区域。
- flood
- 淹没；河水可能漫到小路。
- riverbank
- 河岸；照片显示地形变化。
- absorbed
- 吸收；原先空地能吸水。
- predict
- 预测；旧照无法断定下次洪水。
- alerts
- 警报；由镇政府发布。
- current
- 最新的；需查看当下信息。
- authorities
- 主管部门；预警时应听从。
- issued
- 发出；指警报正式发布。
- experienced
- 亲历过；祖父的记忆只覆盖这些事件。
Background notes (Chinese)
个人经历反映曾经发生的事，不足以排除较少见的风险。文中的校报核查官方渠道，并区分日常报道与紧急时的权威指示。