The developers were to canalize the city.是什么意思？

The developers were to canalize the city.

开发商想在这座城市里设运河.

the

art. 指已提到的人（物），指说话人与听者已知的人（物），用于独一无二的事物前，与形容词最高级和序数词连用；

例句
He did have a real knowledge of the country...
他对该国的确知之甚多。

developers

n. 开发者( developer的名词复数 )，研制者，显影剂，显色剂；

例句
The developers insist the 80m village will not leave a blot on the landscape.
开发商们坚称这个耗资8,000万的居住区不会破坏风景。

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

canalize

v. 在…开运河[水道]，改造或使似运河；

例句
They canalize their energies into charity work.
他们致力于慈善事业.

city

n. 城市，全市居民，（由国王或女王授予特权，通常有大教堂的）特许市，（由政府授予特权的）特权市；

例句
Urban dwellers often accept noise as part of city life...
城市居民常将噪音当成城市生活的一部分。