好文分享 – 關於水資源

英文要學好不外乎單字片語，

而許多的單字片語就能組成一篇文章，

所以今天就來個好文分享：

好文分享 – 關於水資源

英文練習包含了聽、說、讀、寫，

靜態的閱讀相對來說是比較容易的，

萬事起頭難，

就從閱讀開始學習英文吧：

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Water is our most important natural resource. Yet, although it covers most of the world, only 2.5% of it is salt-free and suitable for human use. Demand for fresh water has risen sharply in the last 50 years, and it is still rising and causing serious problems. Finding possible and effective solutions may be one of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century.

水是我們最重要的自然資源。然而，儘管它覆蓋了世界大多地區，但只有 2.5%是無鹽且適合人類使用。在過去50年間，對淡水的需求急遽上升而且仍在上升且造成一些問題。尋找可能且有效的解決方案或許會是 21 世紀最大的挑戰之一。

There are several reasons behind this growing crisis. The first is waste. About 70% of our fresh water is used to grow crops. It takes 1,000 tons of water to grow just one ton of wheat. Unfortunately, around 60% of that water is wasted. Better irrigation methods are needed to ensure the smart and efficient use of water. Pollution is another big problem. Many of the world’s great rivers and lakes are badly polluted with garbage and chemicals. Hundreds of millions of people relying on those water bodies are thus affected. Steps are being taken to clean up some rivers and lakes, but they are expensive and can take many years.

這個日益嚴重的危機背後有幾個原因：第一項是”浪費”，約有七成左右的淡水用在灌溉農作物。種植一噸小麥需要1000噸的水，不幸的是約有六成的水被浪費了。需要更好的灌溉方法來確保高明且有效利用這些水。汙染是另一個大問題。世界上許多河川與湖泊都受到垃圾與化學物質的嚴重汙染。清潔河川與湖泊的措施已在進行中，但這些措施是昂貴且需要很多年。

Overuse also puts pressure on water supplies. In the U.S., 95% of its fresh water comes from underground sources. Levels are quickly falling, since so much water is used to grow crops and raise livestock. Once used, those supplies are gone forever because they are mostly not refilled by rainwater. The key is to lower demand and reduce use.

過度使用也對供水造成了壓力。在美國，95% 的淡水來自於地下水。由於太多水用來種植農作物與飼養牲畜導致水位迅速的下降。由於沒有雨水的補充，大多水源只要使用就永遠消失了。關鍵是要降低需求與減少使用。

Today around the world, more than one billion people have no access to clean water, which leads to millions of deaths every year, including thousands of children dying every day in Africa. By 2025, as many as 25 African countries may face water shortages, and wars could even break out over water rights. The fresh water crisis is not limited to poor countries. Indeed, rich and poor countries from Asia to Europe to America are troubled by the lack of water, a growing problem that could soon affect us all.

今日，世界各地有超過十億人口無法獲得乾淨的水，導致數百萬人死亡，包含每天在非洲死去的數千兒童。到 2025年，多達 25個非洲國家可能會面臨缺水，且可能會為了水權而戰爭。淡水危機不僅限於貧窮國家。事實上無論貧富，從亞洲到歐洲到美洲都有缺水的困擾。日益嚴重的問題可能會影響我們所有人。

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看完上面文章，

是否感受到缺水危機？

當然這不是今天的主題，

既然要練習英文，

閱讀完文章之後，

可以整理下屬於自己的單字片語集：

• Demand       需求
• fresh water  淡水
• effective      有效的
• challenge     挑戰
• crisis            危機
• waste           浪費
• wheat          小麥
• irrigation     灌溉
• efficient       有效率的
• Pollution      汙染
• garbage        垃圾
• clean up       清潔
• expensive     昂貴
• grow             栽種
• crops            農作物
• raise              飼養
• livestock       牲畜
• rainwater      雨水
• break out      爆發

這就是今天的主題：

好文分享 – 關於水資源