第4页_U1_Reading and Thinking _2

reading and thinking.

two scan the text for numbers circle the numbers and guess what they mean.

from problems to solutions,

economic development is necessary if we want to improve society. there comes a time when the old must give way to the new and it is not possible to preserve everything from our past as we move towards the future. finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sights can be a big challenge. big challenges,however,can sometimes lead to great solutions in thes the Egyptian government wanted to build new dam across the nile in order to control floods.produce electricity and supply water to more farmers in the area. but the proposal LED to protests.water from the dam would likely damage a number of temples and destroy cultural relics that were an important part of egypt's cultural heritage. after listening to the scientists who had studied the problem and citizens who lived near the dam,the government turned to the united nations for help in nineteen fifty nine. a committee was established to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the loss of cultural relics.the group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. experts investigated the issue conducted several tests and then made a proposal for how the buildings could be saved.finally,a document was signed and the work began in nineteen sixty. the project brought together governments and environmentalists from around the world. temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece and then moved and put back together again in a place where they were safe from the water.in nineteen sixty one German engineers moved the first temple. over the next twenty years,thousands of engineers and workers rescued twenty two temples and countless cultural relics.fifty countries donated nearly eighty million dollars to the project. when the project ended in nineteen eighty,it was considered a great success not only had the countries found a path to the future that did not run over the relics of the past. but they had also learnt that it was possible for countries to work together to build a better tomorrow.the spirit of the aswan dam project is still alive today,perhaps the best example is shown by UNESCO. which runs a programme that prevents world cultural heritage sites around the world from disappearing nbsp.if a problem seems too difficult. a single nation,the global community can sometimes provide a solution.