Aral is a town in Xinjiang that sits at the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, and it is about as far from any ocean as a place can be. Deserts surround it on three sides. Yet this month, workers there pulled the first oysters out of the water, and one of them weighed more than 300 grams. Local people said the shellfish was fat, fresh and as good as anything from the coast, and buyers were already asking when they could order in bulk.
The secret is not a sea but a problem that farmers have carried for years. To grow crops on salty land, Aral takes water from the Tarim River and washes the salt out of the soil. The wash water has to go somewhere, so it gathers in pools that are far too salty to use. For a long time those pools simply sat there. In 2023, a group of scientists arrived from Zhejiang to try a different plan: treat the water until fish and shellfish could live in it.
The work was harder than it sounds. The water was too alkaline and changed from week to week, so the team used tiny living things and added fresh water in small amounts to hold the acid level near what sea animals expect. They checked the water again and again, added the minerals the animals needed, and slowly taught young shellfish to survive the new conditions. The desert helped in return. Long summer sun feeds the tiny plants that oysters eat, and with no typhoons or strong tides, the water stays calm.
The harvest is only the first step. The same pools now hold crabs, prawns, sea bass and grouper, and other towns nearby have raised salmon in cold mountain water and freshwater lobster on salty flats. For local families, this means fresh seafood without a long journey and new work close to home. It also means that a substance everyone once called waste is now counted as a resource. Water that was too salty to use has found a use at last.
Words to know:
- bulk (大批；批量)
- alkaline (碱性的（= 碱性大的）)
- acid (酸度)
- mineral (矿物质)
- prawn (对虾；大虾)
- grouper (石斑鱼)
- lobster (龙虾)
- substance (物质)
长难句拆解 · 关系从句 + as … as 结构 + 并列分句
Water that was too salty to use has found a use at last.
主干是 Water has found a use：主语 Water，谓语 has found（现在完成时），宾语 a use。
that was too salty to use 是关系从句修饰 Water；too … to … 结构表示「太……以至于不能……」，此处 to use 的逻辑宾语就是 water 本身。
at last 是时间状语，与现在完成时搭配，强调「经过很长时间终于」，呼应全文「过去闲置、如今有用」的转折。
这句和上一句 It also means that a substance everyone once called waste is now counted as a resource 形成同义反复，是作者用来收束全文的写法，阅读时可作为主旨句。
直译：曾经咸得没法用的水，终于有了用处。
长难句拆解 · 现在完成时被动 + 地点状语前置
For local families, this means fresh seafood without a long journey and new work close to home.
主干是 this means A and B，means 后接两个并列宾语：fresh seafood without a long journey 与 new work close to home。
For local families 是范围状语前置，作用是限定「对谁而言」，翻译时宜提到句首变成「对当地家庭来说」。
without a long journey 与 close to home 都是介词短语作后置定语，一个修饰 seafood，一个修饰 work，形成对照：吃的东西近了，干活的地方也近了。
这类「means + 两个名词短语」的句式，是英语新闻里概括政策或项目效果时最常用的收尾写法，值得记下来用在作文里。
直译：对当地家庭来说，这意味着不必远行就能吃到新鲜海产，也意味着家门口有了新工作。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
阅读时留意这些可互换的表达，右侧遮住先自测一遍，再看原文是否同义。
- about as far from any ocean as a place can be → almost as far inland as possible / at the greatest distance from the sea
- pulled the first oysters out of the water → took the first oysters from the pools / harvested their first oysters
- buyers were already asking when they could order in bulk → traders wanted to know the date for large orders / customers asked about wholesale supply
- The wash water has to go somewhere → The salty water needs an outlet / There is nowhere else for that water to go
- hold the acid level near what sea animals expect → keep the acid level close to its natural level / control the acid level within a safe range
- The desert helped in return → The desert gave something back / The local climate was a help too
- counted as a resource → regarded as something useful / treated as an asset
阅读自测 · 3 题
T/F/NG：The first oyster harvested in Aral weighed exactly 316 grams. 简答：Why does Aral take water from the Tarim River? 选词填空：Long summer sun feeds the tiny ______ that oysters eat.
参考答案与解析
答案： NOT GIVEN
原文只说 more than 300 grams，没有给出精确数字。题干用 exactly 把一个范围改写成确定值，属于「精确化」干扰；若原文写了 316 克而题干写 300 克，那才是 FALSE。
答案： To wash the salt out of the soil so that crops can grow.
答案在第 2 段 To grow crops on salty land, Aral takes water from the Tarim River and washes the salt out of the soil。若答「为养鱼」是把结果当原因。
答案： plants
原文为 feeds the tiny plants that oysters eat。若填 animals 或 fish 即把被捕食者与被捕食者关系弄反，属于「偷换主体」。
中文译文
阿拉尔是新疆的一座城镇，坐落在塔克拉玛干沙漠的边缘，离任何海洋都差不多是一个地方所能达到的最远距离。沙漠三面环绕着它。然而就在这个月，那里的工人从水里捞出了第一批生蚝，其中一只重达300多克。当地人说，这种贝类肥美、新鲜，和沿海出产的一样好；采购商已经在打听什么时候可以批量订货。
秘密不在海里，而在农民背了多年的一个难题上。为了在盐碱地上种庄稼，阿拉尔引来塔里木河水，把盐从土壤里洗出去。洗过地的水总要有去处，于是汇成了一个个咸得没法用的水塘。很长一段时间里，这些水塘就那么闲置着。2023年，一批来自浙江的科研人员来到这里，尝试另一种办法：把水处理到鱼和贝类能够存活的程度。
这项工作比听起来更难。水体碱性太强，而且一周一个样，于是团队用微生物帮忙，再少量补充淡水，让酸度保持在海水动物适应的水平附近。他们一遍遍检测水质，补上动物需要的矿物质，又慢慢教会幼贝适应新的环境。沙漠也反过来帮了忙。漫长的夏日阳光养活了生蚝吃的微小植物；这里没有台风，也没有大潮，水体始终平静。
这次收获只是第一步。同样的水塘里现在养着青蟹、对虾、海鲈和石斑鱼，附近其他城镇还在冰冷的山泉水里养三文鱼、在盐碱滩上养淡水龙虾。对当地家庭来说，这意味着不必远行就能吃到新鲜海产，也意味着家门口有了新工作。它同时意味着，一种曾被称为废物的东西如今被算作资源。曾经咸得没法用的水，终于有了用处。