万花筒2008-01-22:新水源：从马桶到水龙头

CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports on Orange County, California's latest source for water

Clean, clear water, it is in short supply here in Orange County, so any new source, like this one, is warmly welcome. That is, if you can get past where this water comes from.  

That's right, what's now destined¹ to become Orange County's drinking water, started out as the sewer² water, brown wastewater from toilets, dishwashers, bathtubs, you name it.  

"We've explained from the beginning, this is actually sewer water, that's been treated by the sanitation³ district, and then purified even more by us, till it's really uh, almost distilled⁴ water. "  

To do that, Orange County launched a first of its kind facility, a nearly half billion dollar reclamation⁵ plant that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day.  

It's gonna become a model for the entire world, uh, Singapore has already built a smaller version of our exact plant, and there are several others around the United States, that are, that are being planned.  

The plant runs sewage that would have been discharged to the sea through a 3-step purification process, first, it heads through micro-filters to sift⁶ out solid matter.  

Any solid particle, larger than, 1/300th the size of a human hair would remain on the outside. Then it runs through another filter to remove any viruses or pharmaceuticals⁷, and finally, the water gets a purging⁸ bake in high intensity⁹ light, breaking down anything, that's left, the result?  

"Yeah" "how does it taste? ","Tastes like distilled water. ""How long ago was that sewage? ""Probably about 2 days ago. " 

Soon water officials won't be the only ones tasting it, this water will now mix with groundwater, and should run out of Orange County taps, in as little as 6 months. The water must meet safety standards. One environmental group has reservations about what they call the limits of such tests.  

Brings up concerns of, what we're looking for, what we're not looking for, what we don't know. While there is no doubt Southern California needs more water, some say this is a little hard to swallow. Even though, I know that they've uh, filtered it 3 times, it's just, just kind of creepy.  

But many say the benefits just may outweigh¹⁰ the creepiness. I think it's about time we recycled everything. That's due in part to a massive campaign, touting¹¹ the benefits of less discharge to the sea, and more water for a thirsty Orange County.  

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Orange County.

1 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

2 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

3 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

4 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 reclamation   

n.开垦；改造；（废料等的）回收

参考例句：

• We should encourage reclamation and recycling.我们应当鼓励废物的回收和利用。
• The area is needed for a land reclamation project.一个土地开垦项目要在这一地区进行。

6 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

7 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 purging   

清洗； 清除； 净化； 洗炉

参考例句：

• You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged, purging ecstasy of battle. 你体会到战斗中那种使人嘴巴发干的，战胜了恐惧并排除其他杂念的狂喜。
• Purging databases, configuring, and making other exceptional requests might fall into this category. 比如清空数据库、配置，以及其他特别的请求等都属于这个类别。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

10 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

11 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网