VOA标准英语2013--Asian Water Summit Focuses on Security, Disaster

 

Asian Water Summit Focuses on Security, Disaster

There was no sign of a water shortage here in northern Thailand as delegates gathered for the Asia-Pacific Water summit.

But inside, there was talk about an impending¹ crisis facing Asia.

For the region's biggest users - India and China - there is a heavy price to pay for development, said U.N. Habitat advisor² Dr. Kulwant Singh.

“Most of the industries that are driving the economic growth of the region require reliable supplies of fresh water for some part of their production cycle. Secondly³, the regions expanding urban population needs more water for drinking, for personal hygiene⁴, and for the industry, institutions and urban agriculture," said the advisor.

Studies say that water demand in India will double in the next 20 years to 1.5 trillion cubic meters, with China's needs rising by 32 percent.

Meanwhile, dams are being built on the Mekong river, and at least 11 new ones are in the planning stage - mostly within Chinese territory.  

These developments worry many, including  government delegates attending the conference.

“Over 60 percent of Vietnam's total water resources come from outside our territories and is distributed unevenly⁵ across and geographical⁶ regions of which 60 percent of the water resources is found in the south in the Mekong delta⁷ river," said Nguyen Thien Nhan, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam.

The delegates also focused on preventing water disasters, such as the massive floods in 2011 that claimed 800 lives in Thailand. 

Supajak Waree of Thailand's disaster warning center said Improved technology is one possible solution.

“We monitor the rain hot spots and have trained a network of people in different regions so that we can confirm accurate conditions with them. They're like a CCTV camera for us,” he said.

With the supply of clean and plentiful⁸ water seemingly imperiled, the effort to manage Asia's thirst for the precious liquid will continue. 

1 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

4 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

5 unevenly   

adv.不均匀的

参考例句：

• Fuel resources are very unevenly distributed. 燃料资源分布很不均匀。
• The cloth is dyed unevenly. 布染花了。

6 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

7 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

8 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。