1.?few creations of big technology capture（致使）the imagination like giant?dams（水坝）.
2.?perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering（磨难）at the mercy of（任由……支配）flood and drought（干旱）that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding（叮咛、指令）so fascinating（令人入神的）.
3.?but to be fascinated（入神的）is also, sometimes, to be blind.
4.?several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
5.?the lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful.
6.?it doesn’t help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to（尽力）assert（清楚必定）themselves.
7.?egypt’s leadership（领导方位）in the arab world was cemented（加强、安靖）by the aswan high dam.
8.?turkey’s bid（尽力求取）for first world status includes the giant ataturk dam.
9.?but big dams tend not to work as intended（方案的）.
10.?the aswan dam, for example, stopped the nile flooding but deprived（掠夺）egypt of the fertile（肥美的）silt（淤泥）that floods left — all in return for（作为酬谢）a giant reservoir（蓄水池）of disease（痼疾）which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
11.?and yet（可是）, the myth（荒诞的说法）of controlling the waters（大片的水，水域）persists（持续存在）.
12.?this week, in the heart of civilized europe, slovaks and hungarians stopped just short of（差一点）sending in（差遣）the troops in their contention（争论）over a dam on the danube.
13.?the huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams.
14.?but slovakia is bidding for（争夺）independence from the czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
15.?meanwhile, in india, the world bank has given the go-ahead（附和）to the even more wrong-headed（判别差错的，至死不悟的）narmada dam.
16.?and the bank has done this even though its advisors（参谋）say the dam will cause hardship（磨难）for the powerless（布衣）and environmental destruction（损坏）.
17.?the benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed（得到保证的）.
18.?proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts.
19.?hydroelectric（水电的）power and flood control and irrigation（灌溉）are possible without building monster dams.
20.?but when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific.
21.?it is time that（是……的时分了）the world learned the lessons of aswan.
22.?you don’t need a dam to be saved.
【译文（来自baidu翻译）】：
????很稀有大型科技的创造能像大坝相同招引我们的愿望力。或许正是人类长时刻遭受水旱灾害的支配，才使得迫使水遵守咱们的指令的主意如此诱人。但有时，被迷住也是盲意图。几个大坝项目可以弊大于利。
????大坝的经历是，大并不老是秀丽的。关于那些尽力维护自个的国家和公民来说，缔造一座健壮的大坝现已变成一种作用的标志，这杯水车薪。阿斯旺大坝安靖了埃及在阿拉伯世界的领导方位。土耳
其争夺第一世界方位的尽力包括缔造无量的阿塔图尔克大坝。
????但大坝一般无法按预期运转。例如，阿斯旺大坝阻挡了尼罗河的洪水许多，但却掠夺了埃及洪水留下的肥美淤泥——一切这悉数都是为了交流一个无量的疾病水库，而这个水库如今处处都是淤泥，几乎无法发电。
????可是，控制海水的神话仍然存在。本周，在文明欧洲的中心肠带，斯洛伐克人和匈牙利人在多瑙河大坝的抢夺中几乎没有派出戎行。这个无量的归纳体可以会有大坝的一切常见疑问。但斯洛伐克正在争夺从捷克独立出来，如今需要一座大坝来证明自个。
????与此一起，在印度，世界银行现已附和建筑愈加差错的纳尔马达大坝。尽管世行参谋标明，大坝将给弱者带来困难，并损坏环境，但世行仍是做到了这一点。这些优点是给有权势的人的，但远不能保证。
????对大坝的影响以及控制水本钱的本钱和效益进行恰当、科学的研讨，有助于处置这些冲突。水力发电、防洪和灌溉不需要缔造巨型水坝。但当你处置神话时，很难做到既恰当又科学。如今是世界罗致阿斯旺经历经历的时分了。你不需要一座大坝来解救。