英语听力—环球英语 543 Rolling Water

　　Voice 1
Hello, I'm Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight².
Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting it is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Betty Sgawuka has collected water for her family ever since she learned³ how to walk. She learned from her mother. Every day she would walk over a kilometre to the river. When she was a little girl, she carried a small water container as she walked behind her mother and sisters. But as she grew older, she carried more water. She would fill up a large container with 30 litres of water. She would then lift this container up to the top of her head. Betty would then walk all the way back home carrying this heavy container. Betty would do this six or seven times every day. She talks about how she used the water.
Voice 3
"No one here has running water in the house. So we had to be very careful with the water because it was so hard to get and so heavy."
Voice 1
Today's Spotlight is on an invention that is helping⁴ women in Africa gather water more easily.
Voice 2
Collecting water is a common practice for many women and girls in country villages in Southern Africa. Usually women and girls work in the home. Men and boys work outside the home. Women may spend up to 26 percent of their time collecting water. Women and children provide almost all the water in villages.
Voice 1
In larger communities, the women are responsible for finding⁵ clean water. The women know where to find and store good water. But all this water collecting takes time and energy. If a women or child is spending much of their day collecting water, they do not have time for other activities. They cannot go to school, or care for sick family members.
Voice 2
In some areas in Africa, women walk over 15 kilometres to get water. And if it is the dry season, they may have to travel twice as far. But it is not just the distance that is a problem. When the water containers are full, they are very heavy. Many women carry these containers balanced on their heads. The women walk with up to twenty kilograms of water on their heads. This weight can damage a woman's body. Women can develop back and neck problems. Carrying water like this may even damage a woman's waist bones, making it difficult for her to have children.
Voice 1
Many aid groups are working hard to provide wells for communities in Africa. This is important, but sometimes the wells have problems. The machines that pump the water can break. And there is not always someone close by to fix the machine. During dry seasons the wells may become dry for months at a time.
Voice 2
In 1992, two South African engineers wanted to do something to help with these water problems. Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker wanted to create a new way to carry water. They thought of carrying water in a wheelbarrow, a large container with two handles and one wheel. But when they started making the design, they found that the wheel was the most costly⁶ part. So they had an idea to put water in the wheel itself, instead of in the container on top.
Voice 1
So the two men began a new design. A container that could roll on rough ground. A container that could carry more water than the women usually carried. A simple container, that would not break.
Voice 2
After working for some time, the men had their design. They called the container the Hippo Water Roller. It looked like a large barrel⁷, a round plastic container turned on its side. A removable cover was on one side of the Hippo Roller. A long piece of metal attached to each side of the container.
Voice 1
A person could hold onto this metal handle and push the Hippo Roller on the ground. The container acted as a large wheel. It was made out of a very thick, strong plastic. The designers said this is why they called it a Hippo Roller. A hippopotamus⁸ is an animal that is found in the water in Africa. It is sometimes called a "hippo". It has very thick skin like the thick plastic of the Hippo Roller.
Voice 2
The Hippo roller lets people carry 90 litres of water at a time. It is easy to fill and easy to clean. The thick plastic container can roll over rocks, sand, and plants. The metal handle is made from strong steel. The handle can be removed to let the container stand up to be filled.
Voice 1
Using the Hippo Roller saves time. It carries about five times more water than a usual water container. For most families, this is enough water for one day. Carrying the water in the Hippo Roller is less work for women and children. It does not damage the person's body. And the container can also be used as a clean place to store water.
Voice 2
Another important part of the Hippo Roller Project is education. The group teaches families how to grow crops using a method called drip⁹ irrigation. This method delivers water to plants directly in small amounts. The Hippo Roller group also teaches people about how to purify¹⁰, or clean, water. And they teach ways to avoid becoming sick from bacteria in water.
Voice 1
Today, over 27,000 Hippo Rollers have been given to families all across Southern Africa. Each Roller costs too much money for these families. So the Hippo Roller organization collects money from people to pay the cost of the Hippo Rollers. Families using the Hippo Rollers do not have to pay anything.
Voice 2
The United Nations estimates¹¹ that at least one billion people in the world do not have good access to water. For these people, water is difficult to get. The Hippo Roller is helping with this problem. One Hippo Roller can serve a family of seven people. By using it, a family saves time and energy that can be used for other work and education.
Voice 1
People have even seen a change in family responsibilities because of the Hippo Roller. The new technology is interesting and exciting to men. So they are more willing to help the women collect the water.
Voice 2
All across Southern Africa groups of women and men can be seen walking through grassy¹² fields. In front of them they push large rolling blue Hippo Rollers. They push a device¹³ that carries water, but also carries a better life for them and their family.
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 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。

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 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。

5 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

6 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。

7 barrel   

n.圆桶；一桶的量；枪管；vt.把...装桶

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel.我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。
• The man rolled the barrel into the yard.那个人把圆桶滚进院子。

8 hippopotamus   

n.河马

参考例句：

• The children enjoyed watching the hippopotamus wallowing in the mud.孩子们真喜观看河马在泥中打滚。
• A hippopotamus surfs the waves off the coast of Gabon.一头河马在加蓬的海岸附近冲浪。

9 drip   

n.滴，点滴；水滴；乏味的人；v.滴下，漏水

参考例句：

• I hate this sort of drip.我讨厌这种无聊的闲话。
• A drip of water fell from the tap.从龙头滴下一滴水。

10 purify   

vt.使纯净，提纯，使纯洁

参考例句：

• They open the windows to purify the air of the room.他们打开窗户清涤室内空气。
• You should purify the water before drinking it.喝水前，你应使之净化。

11 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

13 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。