VOA常速英语2015--手机支付让更多内罗毕贫民窟居民用上洁净水

手机支付让更多内罗毕贫民窟居民用上洁净水

Kayole slum,more than 100,000 people live here.

卡罗勒贫民窟，大约有10多万人在这里过活。

For decades the now-deserted public borehole had been the only source of water.

现在已经废弃的这个公共钻洞过去几十年来曾是这里的唯一水源命脉。

But now is changing,the World Bank and Nairobi water company five years ago begun a program to provide clean and cheap water to residents. Thousands of people now have water piped to their homes and more are applying for water connections.

而现如今境况已经发生了改变。5年前世界银行及内罗毕水源公司开展了一个向当地居民提供清洁且价格低廉水源的项目。现在数千人家里已经用上了自来水，还有更多人正申请将水管接到自家。

Veronica Njeri said the connection of water to her house provides many benefits.

维罗妮卡·尼杰里表示将水管接到家中给她带来了很多好处。

"The innovative¹ technology of paying the bill through my phone has made my work easier because before I had to queue sometimes I find the water office closed.Now I check my meter readings and pay my bills."

“这项通过手机支付的革新技术让我的生活更为便捷。因为以前我得去排队，有时候赶上自来水公司关门。现在我自己就可以查水表并且支付账单。”

Those who have piped water,like Njeri, say it has saved them time and has contributed to the general cleanliness and health of their families.

而像尼杰里那样安装了自来水的居民表示这一举措不仅节省时间，而且也有利于提升整体清洁水平及改善家人的健康。

The connected residents use their mobile phones to acquire and pay their bills. Mary Mwangi said it's now easy for her to pay her bills without delay.

那些家中铺设水管的居民使用用手机支付账单。玛丽·姆旺基表示现在自己支付账单简单多了，不会再有迟付的现象。

"We use this water for drinking, washing clothes, cleaning houses and utensils².The water is clean.The borehole water, if you drink it that thirst is still there because the water is salty."

“我们直接饮用自来水，用它洗衣服、打扫房间及进行清洁。水很干净。如果你钻洞水还是会感到口渴，因为那里的水很咸。”

This innovative technology has boosted the confidence of the water authorities to expand the distribution system.

这项革命性技术也让水利机构增加了扩展供水系统的信心。

The company has incurred³ losses in slum areas where there are illegal water connections and consumers are not paying their bills.

这家公司在贫民窟地区的经营一直亏损，因为那里存非法水管而且有些用户不付账单。

Vicky Kimaiyo, who is in charge of the project in Kayole for the Nairobi City Water and Sewage Company, said the water company is finding it easy to operate in areas like this.

内罗毕城市水源及污水公司负责卡罗勒项目的维奇·基麦罗表示水源公司现在觉得在这些地区开展业务要容易得多。

"I mean they were illegal connections,people were getting water for free.But right now they get metered and they pay for the water.So of course for the utility that's a plus, and for us who work in such informal settlements we are happy about it."

我的意思是他们以前曾经非法接入水管，曾经免费使用水源。但现在他们的用水量会被计算而且也为自己所使的水量买单。因此这是额外的收入部分，而对于如此非正式环境下工作的我们而言这是再高兴不过的事情。”

 

With more people applying for water connections-and high demand for clean water-the company is facing a challenge to provide all the water that is needed. For now, they are rationing⁴ water by dividing the area into zones, and giving customers in each zone just a few hours to fill their containers.

随着越来越多居民申请安装水管，对于洁净自来水的需求也越加巨大，公司面临的挑战是满足消费者的需要。现在他们通过将这个区域划分成小区的办法来分配水源，每个区域的供水时间有几个小时以便居民储存足够多水。

1 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

2 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

3 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

4 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。