Notes on the text
课文注释
1 Without it we could not make a living．没有它我们就无法生存下去。without it 起非真实条件句的作用，make
a living，谋生。
2 hard by …，在……近旁。
3 in a heat wave，在大热天。
4 stand to lose，处于损失的境况之中。
5 put…out of order，使……出故障。
6 Noah's ark，诺亚方舟。这是摘自《圣经·旧约》《创世纪》中的典故。诺亚是故事中上帝用洪水消灭人类后的新始祖；诺亚借助一方形大船，与他家属及每种动物雌雄各一逃脱了洪水之灾。
参考译文
形成我们农场东部边界的一条河流一直在我们生活中发挥着重要作用。要是没有这条河，我们就无法生存下去。泉水只能满足家庭生活用水，因此我们必须从河里抽水以用于农业生产。我们向那条河倾诉我们的秘密。我们本能地懂得，就像养蜂人和他的蜜蜂那样，要是我们不把生活中的重大事件告诉那条河，就可能大祸临头。
夏天，我们为这条河举办特殊的生日宴会。有时，我们溯流而上来到我们喜爱的回水河汊举办；有时在船坞举办。那船坞是农场的一位前辈在一块草地上盖的；草地紧挨着一个专供游泳、跳水的深水池。天气炎热时，我们便选择在半夜举办生日集会，这种集会是最令人激动的。我们在河边迎接一年四季。春天在河边为最年轻的姑娘戴上花冠，夏天在河边欢庆“仲夏前夜”，秋天在河边为丰收而感恩，冬天往河中抛撒一个冬青花环。
久雨之后，河水会泛滥成灾，但是在我们这里，气候很少发生异常；河水极少泛滥。值得庆幸的是，只有低洼地受到洪水影响，而低洼地在我们农场比例很小。其他农场地势欠佳，洪水有时会给农场主带来灾难。
有一年冬天，天气不好，我们眼看着河水浸没了地势较低的草场。所有的牲口已提前转移到畜圈里，没有造成什么损失。不过，我们很为我们的近邻担心。他们的农场地势低洼，而且他们又是新来乍到。由于洪水造成了电话中断，我们无法了解他们的情况。从顶楼窗口看去，我们农场与他们农场接壤处的那段河流一览无余。在最紧急的时刻，我们轮流监视那段河流的险情。灾难的第一个迹象是一只死羊顺流而下，接着是一匹活马勇敢地与水搏击。但我们担心，洪水的力量将使它上岸之前就筋疲力尽了。突然，出现了一只筏子，看起来很像诺亚方舟，上面载着他们全家老小，还有几只母鸡、几只狗、一只猫与一只鸟笼，那里头有一只小鸟。我们意识到他们一定是被不断上涨的洪水吓坏了。因为他们的房子地基牢固，即使洪水几乎灭顶也不会倒塌。我家的男人们手拿船篙蹚过被水淹没的草场，希望能够钩住筏子一角，将它拽出激流，拖回岸边。他们终于成功了。至今我们仍认为这是个奇迹。
Multiple choice questions
多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions. Unit 3 Lesson 56
Comprehension 理解
1 People whose property was less favourably situated than the writer's ______ .
a．had no means of pumping water away from the river
b．farmed land which for the most part lay on a level with the river banks
c．lived where the climate was more variable and the rainfall heavier
d．had land which lay upstream where the river current was stronger
2 The writer's family suspected that their nearest neighbours might have trouble managing ______ .
a．as their farm was liable to flooding and they had not lived there long
b．because the floods had put the telephone out of order
c．when they saw the river sweep over the boundary between the two farms
d．as soon as they saw a dead sheep floating down the river
3 When the writer's family saw a raft appear along the river, they ______ .
a．thought their neighbour's house must have been submerged
b．rowed their boats down to the bank and pulled the raft in with the oars
c．managed to get down to the river in time to save their neighbours
d．were surprised that their neighbours had been able to save themselves