国家地理 拉响关于水质的警报(1)

When my young daughter says she's thirsty, I take for granted that the water from our kitchen tap is clean and safe. In fact, that's what most Americans assume. But should we?

小女儿说她口渴时，我理所当然认为从厨房水龙头流出的水既干净又安全。事实上，大多数美国人都这么想，但这个想法是对的吗？

As we mark World Water Day on March 22, the disturbing truth is that roughly a quarter of Americans drink from water systems that violate the Safe Drinking Water Act. Violations¹ range from failing to properly test water to allowing dangerous levels of lead or arsenic², and occur everywhere: in rural communities and big cities, in red states and blue ones.

我们把3月22日定为世界水资源日，但令人不安的事实是，大约有四分之一的美国人喝的水来自违反《安全饮用水法案》的自来水系统。违规的范围广泛，从没有对自来水进行适当检测，到默许铅或砷达到危险标准，而且这些情形处处可见，无论是在农村小区或大城市，无论是在倾向支持共和党的州还是民主党的州。

The lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, was extreme -- and shocking because of the role that race played. However, it was not an isolated³ case, and we need to consider it a national wake-up call.

密歇根州弗林特市的铅污染相当严重，而种族议题又让这件事更加令人心惊。然而，这不是单一事件，我们必须把它看成是全美国的警报。

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。