VOA标准英语2009年-Desalination Schemes Stir Debate in Parched Aus

Authorities in Western Australia say they can show the world how to conquer a water crisis that had threatened to decimate the state capital, Perth, amid a long-standing drought and declining rainfall. Desalination¹ is at the heart of Western Australia's approach to satisfying the thirst of a booming population that lives on the edge of a desert.

Western Australia's efforts to curb² consumption and find new sources have led officials to make the bold claim that the state no longer has a water crisis, even though rainfall levels have been halved³ in recent decades.

The southern hemisphere's first desalination plant opened near Perth, just over two years ago.
　
Jim Gill

Jim Gill, the former head of Western Australia's Water Corporation - the region's monopoly supplier - says the catalyst⁴ for the project was one of the driest periods ever recorded.

"2001 was the winter from hell and we only get our rainfall in winter. So, it was unbelievably dry and we postulated⁵ the scenario⁶ of another two or three or four years like that and, frankly⁷, we were going to have to shut Perth down," Gill said. "We were going to run out of drinking water. Luckily, we'd done the homework on desalination and we had the confidence to go ahead and do it. No, we don't have a water crisis anymore. Desalination was just one component⁸ of what we did. We put a lot of effort into demand management, as well, so we tried to get people to save 15 percent, which is not huge."

Western Australia says the key to keeping the taps flowing is a diverse supply that includes pumping water from underground and reservoirs, as well as desalination.

However, skeptics believe that this approach could lead to disaster.

Paul Llewellyn, a Green's member of parliament in the state's upper house, insists that desalinated water "exacerbates⁹ the climate problem" by using too much energy and is too expensive.

He is calling for a complete rethink and for water to be used far more efficiently¹⁰.

"It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Perth could be our first ghost city. That's extreme, but I think it's a challenging concept that we are living in an extremely dry place and what we should be moving to, to meet this water challenge in Western Australia is a much more intelligent, water-efficient economy," Llewellyn said.

Western Australia has opted¹¹ to spend its way out of a water crisis by building a desalination plant that sits just off the main highway at Kwinana, south of Perth. It has the look of a large factory. A second facility is to open in two years time - when a third of the state's drinking supplies will come from treated seawater.

The technology provokes differing attitudes among residents in Kwinana.

"I can't see a problem with it. But I'm not sure," one woman said. I'm not an environmentalist so don't know what impact it will have on the ocean but, to me, if they can't get the water naturally, they'll have to do something because it's my grandchildren and their grandchildren that are going to suffer if we don't do something about it now."

What about the desalination plant down the road? Is that a way forward?

"I don't believe so," one man said. "I think desalination plants are a waste of energy. What it's doing is heating up the seawater and it's altering the ecology around that area."

Rather than spend millions turning the sea into drinking water there are those who believe that what Western Australia really needs is a giant pipeline¹² linking Perth to brimming tropical rivers up north.

For 20 years, Ernie Bridge, a former state minister for Water Resources, has championed the idea of channeling supplies through a 2,000-kilometer pipe from the Kimberley region.

"It would simply shore up Perth for the next 100 years. There'd be no requirements on the water deliverers to contemplate¹³ hastily looking at other projects," Bridge said. "I can never understand a country like Australia seriously turning to desalination when you've got that abundance of potable water, surface water, renewable water with the monsoons¹⁴ that fall annually¹⁵ available to us in the north. I mean, I think there's a bit of stupidity that's associated with governments and their policies of committing to desalination."

However, there appears to be little political or public appetite to exploit these deep reserves. As Perth's population continues to grow, the debate about water and the various theories that have been put forward to ensure that the city does not run dry will inevitably¹⁶ become increasingly fierce.

1 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

5 postulated   

v.假定，假设( postulate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They postulated a 500-year lifespan for a plastic container. 他们假定塑料容器的寿命为500年。
• Freud postulated that we all have a death instinct as well as a life instinct. 弗洛伊德曾假定我们所有人都有生存本能和死亡本能。 来自辞典例句

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 exacerbates   

n.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的名词复数 )v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Stripping the land in these ways allows faster surface runoff and exacerbates flooding. 这些做法终将使土地裸露、地表径流加快，从而加重了洪水的威胁。 来自辞典例句
• This policy exacerbates the gap between rich and poor. 这项政策加剧了贫富差距。 来自互联网

10 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

11 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

12 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

13 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

14 monsoons   

n.（南亚、尤指印度洋的）季风( monsoon的名词复数 )；（与季风相伴的）雨季；（南亚地区的）雨季

参考例句：

• In Ban-gladesh, the monsoons have started. 在孟加拉，雨季已经开始了。 来自辞典例句
• The coastline significantly influences the monsoons in two other respects. 海岸线在另外两个方面大大地影响季风。 来自辞典例句

15 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

16 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。