20100818 Water for the World (1)

Water for the World

Clean water changes lives

You use water every day and probably take it for granted. When you take a shower, you don't worry that the water will stop. When you drink water, you can be confident it is pretty safe. You never have to worry about not having enough water. It is always available to you. But for nearly one billion people, water is a problem. For those who do not have access to safe water, life is a constant struggle.

The problem

In developing countries, clean, safe water is hard to come by. In fact, entire villages sometimes do not have a clean water source. Villagers cannot turn on a faucet to get water but must walk several kilometers to find it. They often have to collect water from dirty rivers and streams. This water is then used for everything from bathing to drinking. When people drink dirty water, they can become very sick. Water-related diseases can even be deadly, especially among children. One child dies every 15 seconds from a water-related disease.

take something for granted 把某事當作是理所當然的

eg: Children tend to take their parents' loving care for granted.

=> 孩子常常都會把父母親的照顧當作是理所當然的。

take someone/something for granted 不關心/不注意

eg: Mark took his wife for granted for so long that she couldn't stand it anymore.

=> Mark太久以來都不把妻子當作一回事，他太太再也無法忍受了。

come by 得到/獲得

=> get/obtain

eg: Such a great opportunity is hard to come by. You should take it!

=> 這樣難得的機會很難得會有。你應該要把握它

eg: Such a good guy as Joseph is hard to come by.

=> 像Joseph這樣好的人很難再碰上。

eg: Henry couldn't explain how he came by his nasty cut.

=> Henry 無法解釋他為什麼會有這麼嚴重的傷口。

faucet n. 水龍頭

tap water 自來水

eg: The plumber replaced the leaking faucet with a new one.

=> 水管工人把漏水的水龍頭換成新的

eg: When I turn on the faucet, only dirty water comes out.

=> 當我打開龍頭，只有骯髒的水出來。

eg: Dad connected the hose to the faucet and started to water the lawn.

=> 爸爸把水管連接到水龍頭並且開始澆灌草坪

access n. 通道/入口/門路

=> the ability to get something

disease n. 病/疾病

//== Chat room ==//

bathing 洗澡

bathroom 洗澡間/(美)廁所

W.C. (歐洲)廁所

= water closet

the loo (英)廁所

washroom (加拿大)廁所

outhouses (古時) 戶外廁所

=> 遠離主建築物的木頭隔間的戶外廁所

portable toilets 臨時活動廁所

= Porta-Potties

potty

=> we often refer to the toilet as the potty for the little kids

potty training

=> children learn how to use the toliet

//== More Information ==//

In developing countries, It's the women and girls who usually collect the water. They often walk several kilometers to find it - taking as long as eight hours a day! Once filled, their water pots can weigh as much as 20kg. A person living in Sub-Saharah Africa uses about 10 to 20 liters of water each day, in contrast, the average Canadian uses 326 liters of water each day.