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VOA慢速英语2012--Waste Not, Want Not

时间:2012-08-27 03:57来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Waste Not, Want Not

Next week (8/26-31) is World Water Week, and this year’s theme is Water and Food Security. Some 25 hundred officials, policymakers and scientists will gather in Stockholm for the largest annual meeting on water development issues.

According to Jens Berggren, when it comes to water, it’s a matter of supply and demand.

“The U.N. has assessed that by 2030 the global demand for water will outstrip2 supply by 40 percent,” he said.

Berggren is director of World Water Week at the Stockholm International Water Institute. He said although he believes there’s actually enough water for everyone, much of the supply simply goes down the drain.

“The bad news is that we are extremely wasteful3. We waste enormous amounts of water in the food that we produce, and we also waste enormous amounts of the food that is produced. So up to 50 percent of the food that is produced in the world never reaches the mouths of the consumers, but is either lost in the fields or wasted in the chain toward the consumers,” he said.

Wasting food, he said, is comparable to wasting water because it takes a lot of water to produce what we eat.

“In many developing countries the lack of storage facilities means that we waste a lot of the food that is produced on the fields. It rots away. It’s lost. The lack of infrastructure4, such as roads, means it cannot be transported in a safe manner. So there we lose a lot of water that is embedded5 in the food. And in more Western communities we lose a lot of water that is embedded in the food by just throwing the food away.”

Berggren said about $300 billion dollars in food is thrown away every year by consumers in the United States and Western Europe.

“We waste food also in our water supply system. There are lots of leakages6 in our domestic water supply that could quite easily be fixed7. We waste also water by bad irrigation practices. Instead of giving the plant the right amount at the right time, you just flood entire fields. And sometimes there is even rice that is being grown in deserts with huge evaporation8 from those fields. So there are several ways where we lose water,” he said.

Despite the enormous waste of food and water, he said, the know-how9 is available to ensure food and water security.

“A lot of the management techniques and the technologies and things that we would need to fix this problem exist on the shelves today, or in the books that have been written. It just hasn’t been implemented10 in practice. And I believe that that is because for some reason, decision makers1 and the general public have not really been aware of the problems that are confronting water.”

However, Berggren added a recent World Economic Forum11 survey of business leaders shows they are now well aware of the need to protect and conserve12 water. He said one of the goals of World Water Week is to raise global awareness13 about the issue.


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1 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 outstrip MJ6xM     
v.超过,跑过
参考例句:
  • He can outstrip his friend both in sports and in studies.他能在体育和学习方面胜过他的朋友。
  • It is possible for us to outstrip the advanced countries in the world.我们能超过世界上先进的国家。
3 wasteful ogdwu     
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的
参考例句:
  • It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
  • Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源,任务已经重新分派。
4 infrastructure UbBz5     
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
参考例句:
  • We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
  • We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
5 embedded lt9ztS     
a.扎牢的
参考例句:
  • an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
  • He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。
6 leakages 36373042d7bcef17373f6410c1bd165a     
泄露; 漏( leakage的名词复数 ); 漏出; 漏出物; 渗漏物
参考例句:
  • We can see that the flow has both leakages from it and injection into it. 我们就可以看到,这个流量既有漏出的又有注入的。
  • We can see that the flow has both leakages from it and injections into it. 我们就可以看到,这个流量是既有漏出的又有注入的。
7 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
8 evaporation Pnoxc     
n.蒸发,消失
参考例句:
  • Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
  • Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗,由此可以蒸发散热。
9 know-how TxeyA     
n.知识;技术;诀窍
参考例句:
  • He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
  • I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。
10 implemented a0211e5272f6fc75ac06e2d62558aff0     
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革,经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句
11 forum cilx0     
n.论坛,讨论会
参考例句:
  • They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
  • The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。
12 conserve vYRyP     
vt.保存,保护,节约,节省,守恒,不灭
参考例句:
  • He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
  • Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力,你会用得着的!
13 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
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TAG标签:   VOA慢速英语  Waste  Want
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