环球英语 08 Sun Cleaned Water

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee
Voice 2
And I’m Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The sun beats down. It is a hot dry day. A man is working in a field. It is tiring work - the ground is hard and difficult to dig². He stops for a short time. His body is suffering. He has lost a lot of water through his skin. Now he is dehydrated. He needs a drink. He stands under a nearby tree. He finds his water bottle and lifts it to his mouth. He takes long deep swallows.
Voice 2
The water tastes good. There is nothing like a cool drink of water on a hot day. But for many people that drink may cost them their lives. Over one billion [1,000,000,000] people in the world live without a clean water supply. Over two million [2,000,000] people die each year from health problems related³ to drinking dirty water. Experts estimate⁴ that six thousand [6000] children die each day from conditions caused by dirty water.
Voice 1
Experts at the United⁵ Nations believe that all people should have clean drinking water. It says that education about water and health is important. It could reduce the amount of diseases⁶ that people get from bad water. March the 22nd 2005 was an important day. The United nations launched⁸ its ‘New Decade⁹ for Action - Water for Life’ programme. During the next ten years the UN wants to teach the the world about the value of clean water. UN experts want to encourage new projects and ideas. They want to make clean water a reality for everyone in the world. One important project is taking place in Ndolela village in Tanzania. It is important because it could be repeated in many other places. Such projects could be the way forward for people needing to clean water for little cost.
Voice 2
Aid group ‘Plan International’ started the project. Plan International helps communities across the world. The group wants to create a better, healthier living environment for everyone. They do this using local skills and labour. Clean drinking water is extremely¹⁰ important for healthy living. But many poor communities do not have the money to pay for costly¹¹ clean water systems. However the project in Ndolela village does not cost a lot of money. It uses the sun to clean the water!
Voice 1
Rose Longwa is a mother with five children. Rose has seen her children suffer from severe¹² sickness many times. Some village children have even died from conditions related to drinking dirty water. Ndolela village is luckier than some. A water collection point pumps piped water into the village. It has to come a long way. When the water arrives it is not clean enough to drink. And anyway, the water often fails to arrive. The pipe may get blocked with leaves or other matter. Sometimes the pipe gets a leak¹³. From time to time the water collection point dries up. Then the women in the village have to get water from a spring. The spring water is not clean either. It contains bacteria¹⁴ and small single cell¹⁵ creatures such as protozoa. The protozoa and bacteria can cause severe stomach infections¹⁶.
Voice 2
In the past the women have boiled the water. Heating¹⁷ the water to a high temperature kills the bacteria and protozoa. The water is then safe to drink. But it takes a lot of fuel to boil enough water for a whole family. Rose spent most of her day collecting enough wood to boil the water. But now Rose uses solar purification¹⁸. She uses the sun to clean the water. Rose says,
Voice 3
‘It is easy to do. I fill clear plastic bottles with water. Then I place the bottles on the top of my black-painted house - on the roof. The water bottles stay there in the hot sun for a whole day’.
Voice 1
The sun heats the water. The roof at the top of the house is painted black. This helps to speed up the heating process. The colour black takes in the heat from the sun. The ultraviolet¹⁹ rays and the heat from the sun act together on the water. The bacteria and protozoa in the water are destroyed within eight hours. No fuel has burned. But the water is safe to drink. Pastor²⁰ Moses Kwanga from the local church supports the project. He says,
Voice 4
‘The technology is very easy. But until now people did not know about it. We can use old pieces of black roofing to put the bottles on. The bottles are also easy to find. We can use them again and again. It does not cost a lot of money. Everyone can have clean drinking water with this system’.
Voice 2
The number of people in Tanzania using the sun to clean water is very limited. Only a few villages, like Ndolela, use the system. Daudi Makamba is an expert from the aid agency²¹ ‘Plan International’. He says he finds it difficult to persuade people to use the new technology. Daudi knows that the system works²². It saves lives. But people often find change difficult to accept. People find new ideas and news ways of doing things strange. Some communites have expressed another concern. They say that the system requires a great deal of trust. The bottles have to sit out in the open for many hours. People worry that their enemies may put chemicals into the bottles.
Voice 1
Rose Longwa knows about these difficulties²³. But she claims that it is possible for people to overcome such problems. Rose knows that the water system developed in Ndolela works. Since using the system fewer people than ever before suffer from sickness. Rose encourages other villages to consider trying this system. Rose says that people often reject a good idea because they are afraid. They are afraid of things they do not understand. But education, knowledge, and understanding can help remove and ease⁷ those fears.
Voice 2
The villagers of Ndolela have worked together on this water project. They have become stronger as a community. New relationships between different families have formed. Helping²⁴ each other and co-operating with each other builds trust. And, with trust, people have hope.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Elizabeth Lickiss. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. Computer users²⁵ can hear our programmes, read our scripts²⁶ and see our wordbook on our website at . This programme is called ‘Sun Cleaned Water’.
Voice 2
We love to hear comments and questions from our listeners²⁷. You can reach us by e-mail. Our address is radio @ english . net. Thank you for joining us in today’s Spotlight programme. Goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 dig   

v.挖（洞，沟等）；掘

参考例句：

• It is difficult to dig the ground when it is frozen.地面冻住了就不易挖掘。
• In those days we often went to dig for wild vegetables.那时候我们常常出去挖野菜。

3 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

4 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

5 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

6 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

7 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

8 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

9 decade   

n.十年，十年期

参考例句：

• Prices have risen steadily during the past decade.过去的十年间，物价一直在上涨。
• The century has rounded into its ninth decade.本世纪已进入了90年代。

10 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 severe   

adj.严格的，凶猛的，严肃的，严重的，严厉的，朴素的

参考例句：

• The severe storm did for most of the crops.猛烈的暴风雨毁掉了大部分庄稼。
• The pace was too severe to be kept up for long.跟上这步伐太难了，无法持久。

13 leak   

vi.漏，渗；泄漏；vt.使渗漏，使泄漏；n.漏洞，漏隙；泄漏，漏出

参考例句：

• There is a leak in the roof.房顶上有个漏洞。
• There has been a leak of information.走漏了风声。

14 bacteria   

n.(单数bacterium)细菌

参考例句：

• Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye.细菌是肉眼看不见的。
• The biology of bacteria can be quite hard to understand.细菌生物学有时会很难理解。

15 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

16 infections   

传染，感染( infection的名词复数 )； 传染病

参考例句：

• rising rates of MRSA infections in hospitals 医院中抗甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌感染病例不断增长的发生率
• Malnourished children are more likely to succumb to infections. 营养不良的儿童更有可能死于感染。

17 heating   

n.加热，供暖，暖气装置；adj.加热的，供暖的

参考例句：

• They will install a heating and lighting system in our house.他们将在我们家装上供热供电系统。
• If the pressure is too low,the heating system will act up.如果压力太低，供暖系统就会出毛病。

18 purification   

n.纯化，净化；提纯

参考例句：

• The water goes through three stages of purification. 这水经过 3 个步骤的净化。
• -- Or a polluted soul towards their purification? —或者说，一个亵渎的灵魂能够净化他人吗？ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

19 ultraviolet   

adj.紫外线的；n.紫外线

参考例句：

• It's called ultraviolet rays.它被叫做紫外线。
• The sun's ultraviolet rays are responsible for both tanning and burning.阳光中的紫外线是皮肤晒黑和灼伤的根源。

20 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

21 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

22 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

23 difficulties   

n.困难( difficulty的名词复数 )；难度；难事；麻烦

参考例句：

• I am acutely aware of the difficulties we face. 我十分清楚我们面临的困难。
• the difficulties of English syntax 英语句法的难点

24 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

25 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

26 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。

27 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》