时代周刊:缺水的日子(2)

Charlie Mae Holcombe, 71, who lives in the area,

现年71岁，也住在该地区的查理·梅·霍尔科姆表示，

said that the lack of sanitation¹ accounts for the allergies², asthma³ and heart problems pervasive⁴ in the county.

正因为缺乏卫生设施，过敏、哮喘和心脏问题在该县十分普遍。

"Everyone's dying," she tells photographer Matt Black.

“每个人都是要死不活的，”她对摄影师马特·布莱克说道。

Hers is one of dozens of stories Black gathered as he documented America's water crisis for over a year.

布莱克用了一年的时间收集到了数十个有关美国用水危机的故事，霍尔科姆的故事就是其中之一。

For most Americans, water does not get a second thought.

对大多数美国人而言，水都是一个自然而然的东西。

It flows at the turn of a knob, at a cost that is all but negligible.

只要拧一下水龙头就会出来，几乎不费吹灰之力。

This is as it should be.

原本也应如此。

Being essential to life, clean water is a right under international law and U.N. declarations.

我们的生活离不开清洁用水，正因为如此，国际法和联合国的有关宣言都将清洁用水定义成了所有人应有的一项权利。

Yet in the U.S., it's far from guaranteed.

然而，在美国，这一权利远没有得到保障。

More than 30 million Americans lived in areas where water systems violated safety rules at the beginning of last year,

环保局数据显示。去年年初，

according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

仍有超3000万美国人生活在供水系统违反安全规定的地区。

Others simply cannot afford to keep water flowing.

其他人甚至连水费都负担不起。

As with basically all environmental and climate issues,

和几乎所有环境问题，气候问题一样，

poor people and minority communities are hit hardest.

受用水缺乏问题困扰最深的也是穷人和少数族裔社区。

In Denmark, S.C., local officials added the untested chemical HaloSan to drinking water,

在南卡罗来纳州丹麦市，为了去除饮用水中存在的铁锈样的沉积物，

intending to combat rust-like deposits but leaving residents to deal with a slew⁵ of unexplained skin ailments⁶.

当地官员便往饮用水中添加了未经测试的化学物质HaloSan，结果却让居民们染上了各种莫名其妙的皮肤病。

Suspicious of the water, Eugene "Horseman" Smith and his wife Pauline Ray Brown have collected samples for a decade,

抱着怀疑的心态，尤金·“骑士”史密斯和妻子波琳·雷·布朗开始收集当地的水样，一收集就是10年，

sharing them with scientists and an attorney.

他们将收集到的样本共享给了科学家和一位律师。

"Denmark is like a third-world country," says Smith.

“丹麦像个第三世界国家一样，”史密斯说。

In Inez, Ky., residents still battle the remnants of millions of gallons of toxic⁷ sludge,

肯塔基州的伊内兹居民面对的则是数百万加仑的有毒污泥，

replete⁸ with arsenic⁹ and mercury, that leaked into the water two decades ago.

那些淤泥富含砷和汞，还是20年前泄漏到他们的水系统里的。

Locals face liver and kidney damage, as well as increased risk of cancer.

当地居民不仅罹患癌症的风险增加了，肝脏和肾脏也受到了损害。

1 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。

2 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

3 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

4 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

5 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

6 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 replete   

adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁

参考例句：

• He was replete with food and drink.他吃喝得饱饱的。
• This immense space may be replete with happiness and glory.这巨大的空间可能充满了幸福和光荣。

9 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。