Passage 3
Stepping onto one of the Uros islands in southern Peru can feel like walking on a bouncy castle. Your feet sink a bit into the soft floor， which trembles slightly when a motorboat speeds past. That’s because this land is actually floating—on the largest lake in South America， nearly Lake Titicaca， located 12，500 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains.The floating islands made of roots and reeds(芦苇) are currently home to about 2，000 residents. For locals， they from the foundation of their cultural identity(特征)， which they have packaged into a tourist destination that is now important to their economy.Today’s locals build their islands the same way their distant ancestors built theirs: from totora， a water plant native to South America and found throughout Titicaca. Each year， the Uros harvest fresh roots from the lakebed. The roots are them bound into piles covered with dried reeds 6 feet tall. This complicated skill is passed down from one generation to the next， since before the Inca Empire came to an end in the 16th century.Nelson Coila Lujano， who lives on an island called Utama with his wife and three kids， describes an idyllic childhood， being raised on the lake:“I used to listen to the songs of the birds and had a deep appreciation for the water， the sky， and the sun， because they kept us safe， healthy and happy.”
It's difficult to say just how many islands exist on the lake， partly because islands are periodically broken down and reconstructed， and partly because the residents are constantly moving back and forth between the water and the Peruvian mainland. The average island measures 21 by 32 yards， and is shared between three to eight different families. Each is connected to the lakebed via a network of ropes and anchors. The fluid structure dictates every aspect of Uros social life: Young couples seal their love in special romantic boats. And when two families have a quarrel， they can cut off their section of the island and reattach it elsewhere in the community.