内容提要：约翰斯敦洪水以及它所造成的灾难后果。
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, lies in a deep valley of the Allegheny Mountains in the southeastern part of the state. Two rivers meet at the bottom of the valley near the city. One is Stony Creek and the other is Little Conemaugh.
In 1889,Johnstown was a small, steel-mill town with a population of about 10,000. High in the mountains about 10 miles east of Johnstown was a large dam 水坝 made of earth. The dam had been built on a creek leading to the Little Conemaugh River. The dam created a large lake behind it called Lake Conemaugh.
Heavy rains fell on the Johnstown area during late May 1889. The rivers ran swiftly and high.The lake overflowed 溢出 the dam. At 3:10 p.m. on May 31, the dam collapsed 倒塌，崩溃. An estimated 估计 20 million tons of water from Lake Conemaugh started down the valley. It took less than 40 minutes for the lake to empty. A wall of water, in some places 70 feet high, rushed down the Little Conemaugh River. At 4:07 p.m., it smashed through Johnstown. The drowning and devastation 破坏 of the town took about 10 minutes.
More than 2,300 people died. Thousands of homes and other buildings were destroyed. Nearly 800 drowning victims could not be identified. They were buried at a common grave at Grandview Cemetery on a hill high above Johnstown. Later, 777 small, unnamed, white marble headstones 墓碑 were arranged behind a monument dedicated 献给 to the Unknown Dead.
本文选自上海外语教育出版社引进出版的
《听读美国小故事》第5册（五月）
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