雅思练习总结（二十六）

本文章是雅思练习总结（二十六），总结了文章《MAKING EVERYDROP COUNT》，内容包括原文精翻，文章脉络总结，单词扩展学习3个部分

1 文章原文及翻译

MAKING EVERYDROP COUNT

翻译：让每一滴水，都充满价值

A
The history of human civilisation is entwined with the history of the ways we have learned to manipulate water resources. As towns gradually expanded, water was brought from increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering efforts such as dams and aqueducts. At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major systems, with an innovative layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today.

翻译：人类文明史是与人们学会利用水资源的历史交织在一起的。随着城镇的扩张，人们需要从越来越偏远的水源引水，从而产生了水坝、渡槽等复杂工程。在罗马帝国鼎盛时期，九大系统通过创新的管道布局和精心修建的下水道，为罗马居民提供的人均供水量甚至与当今工业世界许多地方的供水量相当。

B
During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries, the demand for water rose dramatically. Unprecedented construction of tens of thousands of monumental engineering projects designed to control floods, protect clean water supplies, and provide water for irrigation and hydropower brought great benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation systems that make possible the growth of 40 % of the world’s food. Nearly one fifth of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by turbines spun by the power of falling water.

翻译：在 19 世纪到 20 世纪的工业革命、人口爆炸期间，人类社会对水的需求急剧增加。为控制洪水、保护清洁水源、为灌溉和水力发电提供水源，人们史无前例地兴建了数以万计的大型工程项目，为数亿人带来了巨大的利益。粮食产量提升与人口激增能够保持同步，主要是因为人工灌溉系统的扩张使世界粮食产量增长了 40%。此外，全球近五分之一的电力都是由水力涡轮发电机产生的。

C
Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, half of the world’s population still suffers, with water services inferior to those available to the ancient Greeks and Romans. As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in November 2001, more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water some two and a half billion do not have adequate sanitation services. Preventable water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and the latest evidence suggests that we are falling behind in efforts to solve these problems.

翻译：但是这种同步增长的情况也有其阴暗的一面：尽管我们已经在科技方面取得了长足的进步，但世界上一半的人口仍然饱受苦难，他们所获得的供水服务还比不上古希腊时期和古罗马时期的祖先们。正如联合国 2001 年 11 月关于水资源获取的报告所重申的那样，全球超过 10 亿人无法获得干净的饮用水，约 25 亿人缺乏足够的卫生服务。可预防的与水有关的疾病每天会导致约 10,000 至 20,000 名儿童死亡。最新证据表明，我们在解决供水问题的努力还是不够。

D
The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardising human health. Tens of millions of people have been forced to move from their homes - often with little warning or compensation - to make way for the reservoirs behind dams. More than 20 % of all freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because dams and water withdrawals have destroyed the free-flowing river ecosystems where they thrive. Certain irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity. Groundwater aquifers* are being pumped down faster than they are naturally replenished in parts of India, China, the USA and elsewhere. And disputes over shared water resources have led to violence and continue to raise local, national and even international tensions.

翻译：人们当前采取的水资源政策所造成的后果，远不止对人们健康的危害。为了给水坝让路，数千万人带着少量的警告和补偿被迫离开家园。目前，因为水坝和取水破坏了它们赖以生存的自由流动的河流生态系统，有超过 20% 的淡水鱼类生存受限或濒临灭绝。此外，某些灌溉方式降低了土壤质量并降低了农业生产力。在印度、中国、美国和其他一些地区，地下水含水层的抽水速度快于自然补充速度。而共享水资源的争端已导致暴力事件，并继续加剧地方、国家甚至国际紧张局势。

E
At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about water is beginning to change. The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of basic human and environmental needs as top priority - ensuring ‘some for all,’ instead of ‘more for some’. Some water experts are now demanding that existing infrastructure be used in smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is increasingly considered the option of last, not first, resort. This shift in philosophy has not been universally accepted, and it comes with strong opposition from some established water organisations. Nevertheless, it may be the only way to address successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone with clean water to drink, adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable water-related illness.

翻译：然而，在千禧年伊始，资源规划者对水资源的看法正发生着变化。他们的重点正逐渐转移回以满足人类和环境的基本需求为首要任务——确保“人人有份”，而不是“分配失衡”。一些水资源专家现在要求人们以更明智的方式使用现有基础设施，而不是建造新设施。建设新设施越来越多地被认为是最后的选择，而不是首要选择。这种理念的转变尚未得到普遍接受，并遭到一些老牌水资源组织的强烈反对。尽管如此，这可能是成功解决紧迫问题的唯一方法，即为每个人提供干净的饮用水、足够的水来种植粮食以及远离可预防的水相关疾病的生活。

F
Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted. As a result, the pressure to build new water infrastructures has diminished over the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lakes has slowed. And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen.

翻译：令人惊讶且松了一口气的是，人类社会对水的需求并没有像一些人预测的那样迅速增长。因此，过去二十年来，建设新的水利基础设施的压力已经减弱。尽管发达国家的人口、工业产出和经济生产力继续飙升，但人们从含水层、河流和湖泊中取水的速度却有所放缓。在世界的一些地区，对水的需求实际上有所下降。

G
What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use. Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water withdrawals increased tenfold while the population quadrupled. But since 1980, the amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry. In 1965, for instance, Japan used approximately 13 million gallons* of water to produce $1 million of commercial output; by 1989 this had dropped to 3.5 million gallons (even accounting for inflation) - almost a quadrupling of water productivity. In the USA, water withdrawals have fallen by more than 20 % from their peak in 1980.

翻译：那么应该如何解释这一显著转变？两个因素：人们已经找到了更高效的用水方法，而社区也在重新考虑用水的优先事项。在 20 世纪的前四分之三的时间里，人均淡水消耗量平均翻了一番；在美国，人口增长了三倍，而取水量却增长了十倍。但自 1980 年以来，由于一系列有助于节约家庭和工业用水的新技术，人均用水量实际上有所下降。例如，1965 年，日本使用大约 1300 万加仑*的水来生产 100 万美元的商业产出；到 1989 年，这一数字已降至 350 万加仑（即使考虑到通货膨胀）——水生产率几乎翻了两番。在美国，取水量已从 1980 年的峰值下降了 20% 以上。

H
On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have to be built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not been met. But such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more accountability to local people and their environment than in the past. And even in regions where new projects seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands with fewer resources, respecting ecological criteria and to a smaller budget.

翻译：但在另一方面，大坝、渡槽和其他类型的基础设施仍需建设，特别是在人类基本需求尚未得到满足的发展中国家。但这些项目的建设必须符合更高的标准，并且要比过去对当地人民及其环境承担更多的责任。即使在似乎有必要建设新项目的地区，我们也必须找到用更少的资源、尊重生态标准和更少的预算来满足需求的方法。

2 文章结构分析

这篇文章的内容总结如下：

A段是说，人类的文明发展史和水资源利用史是紧密相连的，随着城镇的扩张，人们需要从越来越偏远的水源引水，从而产生了水坝、渡槽等复杂工程。在罗马帝国鼎盛时期，他们的水资源总量，甚至要比当代的某些工业城市要多。
B段、C段是说，在 19 世纪到 20 世纪的工业革命时期，由于人工爆炸、工业发展等因素，人类社会对水的需求急剧增加。虽然工业的发展让粮食产量跟上了人口增长速度，但是也带来了水污染这样的负面因素，联合国 2001 年 11 月关于水资源获取的报告表明，全球超过 10 亿人无法获得干净的饮用水，约 25 亿人缺乏足够的卫生服务。可预防的与水有关的疾病每天会导致约 10,000 至 20,000 名儿童死亡。
D段是对负面影响的补充，这里主要说的对环境的污染。因为水坝的修建，有数以千万计的人背井离乡而没有得到补偿和警告；水坝的修建破坏了鱼的生存环境；灌溉系统则破坏了土地肥力；地下水资源的争抢导致了国家间的暴力事件
E段是说，资源规划者们对于水资源的看法从“分配失衡”转变到了“人人有份”，而且不再鼓励修建新的水坝，而主张利用好现有的，虽然这遭到了环境组织的抵制，但是个趋势
F段、G段是说，人类社会对水资源的需求并没有像之前预测的那样，持续增长，而是在慢慢放缓，导致这种情况的原因有 2：人们已经掌握了更高效的用水方法，而社区也在重新考虑用水的优先事项。
I段是说，虽然情况有所好转，但对发展中国家来说，大坝、渡槽和其他类型的基础设施仍需建设，但这些项目的建设必须符合更高的标准，政府和人民也要负担起更高的责任感，找到占用更少资源、尊重生态标准和更少的预算来满足用水需求的方法