At a very early date the inhabitants of the great Po plain began to make use of this fortunate circumstance. They connected with canals the hundreds of little streams that feed the Po. They built dams and dikes and today thousands of cubic feet of water pass through these canals every few minutes.

It was an ideal region for the growing of rice. In the year 1468 the first rice plants were introduced by a Pisa merchant and today the rice terraces are a common sight of the central plain of the Po. Other crops, corn and hemp and beetroot, were added and the vast plain, although it has less rainfall than the rest of the Italian peninsula, is the most fertile region of the entire country.

在很早的时候，波河大平原上的居民便开始利用这种天赐的便利条件。他们将数百条注入波河的涓涓细流用河渠连接起来。他们修筑了许多堤坝和排水道。时至今日，在几分钟之内，就会有几千立方英尺的水流通过这些河渠。

这是一个生长稻谷的理想地。1468年，第一批稻谷被一名比萨商人引入。今天，稻谷梯田已经成为波河中央平原的寻常风景。其他的庄稼，如玉米、大麻、甜菜也被添加进来。这个广袤的平原尽管比意大利半岛其他地方的降水量小些，但仍然成为这整个国家最为肥沃的地区。

At a very early date the inhabitants of the great Po plain began to make use of this fortunate circumstance.

We’d better make good use of our time when we are young.

As a leader, you must make fully use of your team members’ talents.

every few minutes  每隔几分钟

They built dams and dikes and today thousands of cubic feet of water pass through these canals every few minutes.

Our company develops new product line every few months.

I go to that bookstore every two weeks.

introduce   引入（新的植物，动物种类）， 引进，采用

In the year 1468 the first rice plants were introduced by a Pisa merchant.

New techniques were introduced to our factory.

inhabitant  居民，住户，（栖息在某地区的）动物

canal 运河   dam 水坝，水库     dike  堤，沟，渠   cubic feet 立方英尺

crop 庄稼，作物  rainfall  降雨，雨量    fertile 多产的，富饶的，肥沃的   terrace 梯田，台阶

entire 全部的，整体的  merchant  商人