VOA常速英语2019--便携式马桶解决卫生问题

"My name is Jasmine Burton,and I’m originally from Atlanta Georgia.

“我叫贾斯敏·伯顿，来自乔治亚州的亚特兰大。

I’m passionate¹ about toilets,which is kind of a strange thing.

我对厕所很感兴趣，这是一件很奇怪的事情。

But I learned I was a freshman² at Georgia Tech.

但我知道我是佐治亚理工学院的新生。

That nearly half the world doesn’t have access to hygienic sanitation³.

世界上近一半的人没有卫生设施。

And that disproportionately hinders the livelihoods⁴ of women and girls".

这在不同程度上影响了妇女和女童的生活”。

According to the World Health Organization,68 percent of the world’s population have only minimum access to basic sanitation.

根据世界卫生组织的数据，全世界68%的人口只能获得最低限度的基本卫生设施。

Jasmine Burton decided⁵ she could do something to help solve this global sanitation problem.

贾斯敏·伯顿决定她可以做点什么来帮助解决这个全球卫生问题。

Three years later,Wish for Wash was born.

三年后，“Wish for Wash”项目诞生了。

Wish for Wash came out of a Georgia tech and design project.

“Wish for Wash”项目来自乔治亚理工学院的一个设计项目。

It was an interdisciplinary class where designers and engineers work together to create a product.

这是跨学科的，设计师和工程师一起合作，创造一个产品。

And for us,it was the opportunity to create a modular toilet for a refugee camp in northern Kenya called Kakaako.

对我们来说，这是一个为肯尼亚北部一个叫做Kakaako的难民营创造一个模块化厕所的机会。

And from there we were invited to participate in the Georgia Tech Inventure Prize Competition,

从那时起，我们被邀请参加乔治亚理工学院发明奖竞赛，

which is the largest undergraduate invention competition in the U.S. We won".

这项竞赛是美国最大的大学生发明竞赛。我们赢了。”

The team’s toilet is called SafiChoo or clean toilet in Swahili.

这个团队的厕所被称为SafiChoo，在斯瓦希里语中被称为“clean toilet（干净的厕所）”。

"What I think is a novel about it.

“我认为是一个新奇的设计。

It is the fact that it is modular.

它是模块化的。

So it is a sit toilet.

所以这是一个坐式马桶。

It can be used as a squat⁶ toilet.

它可以用作蹲式的。

It can be used as a compost toilet.

它可以用作堆肥厕所。

So it’s self-contained,

所以它是自成一体的，

or it can have a component⁷ on the inside that makes it into a pour flush unit.

或者它可以有一个内部的组件，使它具有冲洗功能。

So you can, you know, pour your own amount of water,if you don’t have access to running water.

如果你没有自来水，你可以自己倒水。

So the idea is it can be modular,and it can kind of meet the needs of the community based on where they are."

所以这个想法是，它可以是模块化的，它可以满足社区的需求，基于具体情况。

The company attracted the help of Tanvi Suresh

公司吸引了Tanvi Suresh的帮助

who designs consumer oriented products and is training volunteer students how to conduct research and development.

Tanvi Suresh设计面向消费者的产品，并培训志愿者学生如何进行研究和开发。

"So you need to actually understand like what the person wants.

“所以你需要真正理解这个人想要什么。

That’s our whole Human Design Center thinking about.

这是我们整个人类设计中心的想法。

Closing gauging⁸ different people of all ages and different skills,

结束对不同年龄和不同技能的人的测量，

and understanding sanitation something that they might not have thought a lot about in their prior experiences.

了解卫生设施是他们在之前的经历中可能没有想过的。

This $50.00 portable toilet is made from durable⁹ plastic material and has been tested in zambia for over a year.

这种价值50美元的便携式厕所由耐用塑料材料制成，在赞比亚进行了一年多的测试。

SafiChoo is also being used by refugee farmer communities around the Atlanta region.

亚特兰大地区的难民农民社区也在使用SafiChoo。

In some of these farming communities,our gardening communities, there’s kind of more remote.

在一些农业社区，我们的园艺社区，有一些比较偏远。

So you know, people will have to walk, you know,10-15 minutes beyond kind of their farming area to go to the restroom

所以你知道，人们将不得不走路10-15分钟去农业区之外的洗手间。

which encourages people to you know go to the bathroom in the woods

这鼓励人们去森林里的洗手间

which leads to health problems,if you’re actually you know gardening or farming there.

这就会导致健康问题，如果你知道园艺或农业的话。

And so it’s like if you have something that’s, you know,available on the property.

如果你也从事这方面的工作，你就会了解这些。

The community has expressed interest in it.

社区对此表示了兴趣。

So that’s what we were helping¹⁰."

这就是我们所能帮助的。”

The group raises money and awareness¹¹ through merchandise and coloring books for children available on the Wish for Wash website.

该组织通过在Wish for Wash网站上出售儿童用的商品和涂色书来筹集资金和提高知名度。

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

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 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

8 gauging   

n.测量[试]，测定，计量v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的现在分词 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• The method is especially attractive for gauging natural streams. 该方法对于测量天然的流注具有特殊的吸引力。 来自辞典例句
• Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an opportunity of gauging his mind. 由于他不爱说话，我过了一些时候才有机会探测他的心灵。 来自辞典例句

9 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 awareness   

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。