2022年经济学人 密歇根水污染，人们只能喝瓶装水(1)

United States

美国版块

Tainted¹ water

污染水

Message in a bottle

瓶中信

Help is on its way for Benton Harbor's lead-pipe problem, and America's

本顿港的铅管问题及整个美国的铅管问题正在得到解决

PEOPLE LIVING in Benton Harbor, Michigan, don't drink the tap water.

住在密歇根州本顿港的人们不喝自来水。

Many drive to nearby grocery stores to buy bottles.

许多人开车去附近的杂货店买瓶装水。

But unlike her neighbours Lisa Williams does not have a car, so she uses what comes out of her tap, even though the community's water has tested above the federal-action limit for lead since 2018.

但与她的邻居不同的是，丽莎·威廉姆斯没有汽车，所以她使用从水龙头中流出的水，尽管社区的水自2018年以来已经超过了联邦标准规定的铅限量。

"I have to," Ms Williams laments²; the bottled water that volunteers drop off goes only so far.

“我没有其他办法，”威廉姆斯女士哀叹道；志愿者们提供的瓶装水数量减少了，所以只能是这样。

After Benton Harbor—a city of nearly 10,000 people, over 80% of them black—made headlines for its water crisis this year, Michigan promised to replace all the town's lead service lines within 18 months.

拥有近万人口的本顿港（其中80%以上是黑人），今年因水危机成为头条新闻，密歇根州承诺在18个月内更换该镇的所有的水管线路。

That did not stop its residents from filing a class-action lawsuit³ in November alleging⁴ deliberate government indifference⁵.

这并没有阻止其居民在11月份提起集体诉讼，指控政府故意漠不关心。

The same day a judge approved a $626m settlement for people affected⁶ by a water crisis across the state in Flint, which caused a similar media frenzy⁷ after residents complained about tainted water in 2014.

就在同一天，一名法官批准了一项6.26亿美元的资金，用于解决弗林特市的水危机，2014年居民抱怨水污染引发了类似的媒体狂热。

Getting national attention, it seems, pays off.

获得全国关注似乎是有回报的。

Like Flint's residents, Ms Williams will soon be able to trust the tap.

和弗林特的居民一样，威廉姆斯女士很快就能相信水龙头的水了。

Many of the 22m or so people across America served by lead service lines can look forward to doing the same.

全美2200万左右使用自来水管，他们都期待着做同样的事。

Congress has earmarked $25bn for water repairs, between a bipartisan infrastructure⁸ bill and a yet-to-be-passed Build Back Better Act.

美国国会已预留250亿美元专款用于修水管，包括一项跨党派的《基建法案》和一项尚未通过的《重建法案》。

Even so, that is about $20bn short of what experts say is needed to replace all lead services lines in the country.

即便如此，这也比专家们所说的需要来取代全国所有的水管预算少了约200亿美元。

Benton Harbor exemplifies how many low-income communities have managed to obtain funding in the past: grassroots organising.

本顿港是许多低收入社区获得资金案例一个典范：草根组织。

The town has become America's new "lead hotspot", evoking⁹ comparisons with Flint and other cities that received big investments after public protests and national press coverage¹⁰.

该镇已成为美国新的“主要热点”，人们将弗林特市和其他在公众抗议和全国新闻报道后获得巨额投资的城市相比较。

In September the Benton Harbor Community Water Council petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a free source of safe drinking water.

9月，本顿港社区水资源委员会向环境保护署（EPA）请愿，要求免费提供安全饮用水。

"We knew that by having that press conference when we filed that petition it would get people excited," says Edward Pinkney, the council's president.

该委员会主席爱德华·平克尼说：“我们知道，当我们提交请愿书时举行新闻发布会，会让人们感到兴奋。”

1 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

5 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

8 infrastructure   

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。

9 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。