游泳运动员米迦勒·菲尔普斯谈节约用水

Swimmer Michael Phelps Talks About Saving Water

American Michael Phelps possess more Olympic medals than anyone else in history.

Phelps won 28 medals over the years as a competitive swimmer. So he knows a thing or two about water.

Retired¹ from the sport, Phelps has developed a new interest in water: saving it.

Colgate campaign

Recently, Phelps was in New York City for a public appearance. He spoke² about his partnership³ with Colgate-Palmolive, the manufacturer of Colgate toothpaste products. They are working together to bring attention to the need for water conservation -- safeguarding water supplies from overuse.

Phelps told reporters “Water has been such a big part of my life and important part of my life. And for me, it’s an honor and a pleasure to be able to spread the word that we need to conserve⁴ as much as we can.”

Colgate’s Save Water campaign has a simple message. It is urging people to turn off running water while cleaning your teeth. Phelps said the shocking numbers around water waste were a big surprise for him.

“Leaving the water running when you’re brushing your teeth ruins and wastes 4 gallons of water. It’s like 64 glasses of water,” he said.

Phelps added that everyone should also use less water when they clean up.

Stickers, smart speakers

With Earth Day on Sunday, Colgate has created a water-activated drain sticker that urges people to conserve water. When wet, it shows the message “Turn off the faucet⁵.”

Currently, the sticker is only sold at Walmart stores. But you can also make the promise on Colgate’s website to save water and share your promise on social media.

The company is also taking its Save Water campaign to owners of smart speakers, such as the Google Home or Amazon Alexa. It says they can use voice commands, like, “Hey Google, talk to Save Water by Colgate,” to hear the sound of running water while their faucet is turned off.

Phelps says small efforts like this can have an effect, both locally and around the world.

”It’s just common sense,” he said. “You’re standing⁶ there brushing your teeth…don’t have the water running. It’s as simple as that. It’s just one quick turn. And it’s so easy that everyone can do it. I think that’s a big, easy step that we can all take. Every single one of us.”

Future generations

About 4.3 billion people experience moderate to severe water scarcity⁷ at least one month every year. That number represents about 71 percent of the world’s population.

The Olympic champion and father of two is thinking of future generations in his efforts to bring attention to environmental issues.

“…(I) have a 2-year-old now. He’s kind of picking up on every little small thing that we do,” Phelps said. “It’s fun to teach him things like this early in their life because then it allows them to be able to carry it through their life but also teach other people the importance of conserving⁸ water.”

It’s just one of many teachings Phelps is passing on to others. These days, he spends more time playing golf than swimming, but what he has learned remains⁹ the same.

“Whenever you say you can’t do something, you might as well just give up on it,” he noted¹⁰. “You’ve already had that idea in your head that you can’t do something, so you’re just wasting your time. That was something at a very young age that I learned and it was hard. But once I got it, I just believed that I could use my mind, and I could get to any place where I wanted to go,” Phelps said.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

toothpaste – n. a product that is used for cleaning teeth

conservation – n. the protection of something

brush – v. an act of cleaning or smoothing something with a brush

drain – n. something (such as a pipe) that is used for removing a liquid from a place or container

faucet – n. a device that is used to control the flow of water from a pipe

pick up – v. to gain possession; to learn by watching

allow – v. to permit or let

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

5 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

8 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。