[ti:For France, 100 Years of World War I Cleanup Still to Come] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.00]In a few weeks, the world will mark the 100th anniversary [00:06.21]of the end of World War I. [00:09.92]But experts in France say it could be another 100 years [00:15.54]before France is cleansed from the weapons left behind. [00:22.17]In fields across eastern France, [00:26.48]bomb experts continue searching for ammunition [00:30.92]and other equipment left from the conflict. [00:34.69]Some remain unexploded and dangerous. [00:39.49]The Meuse river runs through Vilosnes-Haraumont, [00:44.90]a town near the city of Verdun. [00:48.19]The German army placed thousands of shells in the river [00:53.62]after the battle of Mort Homme in 1916. [00:59.11]Last week, two divers jumped into the cold waters [01:04.39]to tie ropes around many artillery shells buried in the river. [01:10.37]Then a large machine carefully lifted the old bombs [01:14.94]out of the water and placed them on the grass. [01:19.15]In one day, workers removed more than [01:23.19]five tons of unexploded shells from the Meuse. [01:28.79]A demining center in Metz, France, [01:32.99]says it collects between 45 and 50 tons of bombs a year. [01:39.21]The center says there are at least 250 to 300 tons [01:45.50]still buried in the nearby rivers and hills of eastern France. [01:51.80]Guy Momper is the bomb clearance expert leading the removal effort. [01:57.96]"We need to tidy up the land," he said. [02:01.20]When a shell is found, he said, "we go out and collect it." [02:06.92]World War I was mostly fought on French and Belgian land. [02:12.98]More than 10 million soldiers, [02:16.09]including 1.4 million French, died in the war. [02:21.84]The soldiers dug trenches; long, narrow spaces [02:27.14]in the ground from which they would fight. [02:30.28]The war changed the land of France, Germany and Belgium. [02:35.89]It ended on Nov. 11, 1918. But, its effects can still be seen. [02:45.27]Old trenches are still in the fields [02:48.46]and the ground still has many holes from exploded bombs. [02:53.58]The bombs pulled from the Meuse river have little risk of exploding, [02:59.69]but Momper and his team want to be sure there are no accidents. [03:05.49]The team places the shells beside the road [03:08.76]next to the river, to await their safe removal. [03:13.43]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM