英语学习课件妙语短篇unit20.docVIP

A Load of Cement One of the worlds biggest miscalculations was made by someone who worked in the Nigerian Ministry of Defense. The year was 1974 and the Prime Minister, General Gowan, announced a huge construction program for the military. Under a new five-year plan, he said, there will be many new roads, airports, buildings and other major construction projects. Someone in the Ministry calculated that 20 million tons of cement would be needed. That person then ordered this cement from overseas for immediate delivery. It was not until the cement arrived in hundreds of ships that he realized he had made a mistake. The port was not big enough to unload more than 2,000 tons per day. This meant that it was going to take 27 years to unload all the cement. Most of the ships, therefore, were going to have to wait outside the harbor for a very long time. Some for as long as 27 years. Ships waiting to unload their cargo have to pay a fee. In 1974, this fee was $4,100 a day. This fee had to be paid to each ship every day by the Nigerian Government. To make the situation worse, the port was so full of cement-carrying ships that other ships could not get in. All other goods had to be either flown into Nigeria or brought in by road. Eventually, the situation became impossible. The Lagos Sunday Times suggested: The only possible course of action is for the government to calculate how many ships of cement it can unload within the next six months. The rest should empty their cement into the Atlantic Ocean and go away, now! Words and Expressions miscalculation /.miskaelkjuleifon/ n.估计错误 Nigerian /naic^rarran/ a.尼日利亚的 Ministry of Defense国防部 Prime Minister总理 general /c^ensrel/ n.将军 construction /konstrAkfon/ n.建筑，建设 military /milrton/ n. （the~）（总称）武装部队。陆军 major /meic^a/ a.较大的 project /prDd3ekt/ n.方案，计划 calculate /kaslkjuleit/ v.计算，预测 port /port/ n.港 unload /Anbud/ v.卸货 harbor /harbo/ n.（海）港 （英式拼法为harbour） fee /fir/ n费 Nfigeria /naid3iori3/ n.尼日利亚 eventually /Iventjugh/ ad