60 Water for the People-Low

Water for the People FOCUS Question Where does the water we use come from?

人类用水焦点问题我们使用的水来自哪里?

Lifesaving Liquid What can't you live without? What makes up more of your body than any other substance? What substance is part of every food you eat? It's water! Water is one of our most precious natural resources. Every day, you take in water by drinking liquid and eating food. You need water to stay alive and to help your body function properly, If you don't get enough water, you'll get sick Drinking water keeps you alive and healthy.

什么是你生活中不可或缺的? 什么是你身体中最重要的物质? 你吃的每一种食物都含有什么物质? 这是水!水是我们最宝贵的自然资源之一。 每天，你通过喝水和吃东西来补充水分。 你需要水来维持生命，帮助你的身体正常运转。如果你没有得到足够的水，你就会生病。

Water is important for drinking, but we use it in many other ways, too. For example, water is used around the world to cook food. We use water to grow crops and raise livestock. We use it to wash our bodies and clean the things we own. People use water for making products like cars and clothing, and it's essential for transportation, such as when we ship goods across an ocean. We also use it for fun activities, including swimming, boating, water-skiing, and playing on waterslides. Wowser! People in the United States use about 1.5 trillion liters (400 billion gal.) of water each day! That's enough water to fill over 600 million Olympic-sized swimming pools!

水对于饮用很重要，但我们也在许多其他方面使用它。 例如，水在世界各地被用来烹饪食物。 我们用水来种植庄稼和饲养牲畜。 我们用它来清洗我们的身体和清洁我们拥有的东西。 人们用水来制造汽车和服装等产品，水对运输也是必不可少的，比如我们在大洋上运输货物。 我们也用它来做有趣的活动，包括游泳、划船、滑水和玩滑梯。 老古板!美国人每天使用大约1.5万亿升(4000亿加仑)的水!这些水足以填满6亿个奥运会规模的游泳池!

Where's My Water? Most of Earth's water—about 97 percent—is salt water found in the oceans. Although there's a lot of it, we can't drink salt water. We need fresh water to drink. The other 3 percent of Earth's water is fresh water Most fresh water is locked away as ice or as groundwater— water that is found in soil or rock. So what's left for us to drink? Less than 1 percent of the world's fresh water is found above the ground. This water, called surface water, is found in lakes, rivers, and streams. Where your drinking water comes from depends on where you live. Most drinking water comes from surface water or groundwater. Some places don't have either source nearby, so fresh water must be brought there.

我的水在哪里?地球上大部分的水——约97%——是在海洋中发现的盐水。 虽然有很多，但我们不能喝盐水。 我们需要淡水来喝。 地球上另外3%的水是淡水。大多数淡水以冰或地下水的形式被封存起来。地下水存在于土壤或岩石中。 那我们还能喝什么? 世界上只有不到1%的淡水是在地面上。 这种水被称为地表水，存在于湖泊、河流和小溪中。 你的饮用水来自哪里取决于你住在哪里。 大多数饮用水来自地表水或地下水。 有些地方附近没有这两种水源，所以必须把淡水带到那里。

Rivers and Streams In the United States, most drinking water comes from big rivers and smaller streams. Water from precipitation and runoff collects in rivers. Rain may fall into a river or fall on land and then flow downhill into the river. Rivers are also fed by springs that bring water up from the ground. If you live in Seattle, for example, your drinking water comes from the Cedar and Tolt Rivers. The city of Richmond has the James River to thank for its drinking water. Minneapolis gets its drinking water from the Mississippi River. Be Safe! Never drink water right from a river or stream. Surface water often contains harmful substances and organisms that can make you sick. It needs to be cleaned before it is safe to drink.

在美国，大多数饮用水来自大河和小溪流。 来自降水和径流的水聚集在河流中。 雨水可能落入河流或落在陆地上，然后下坡流入河流。 河流也由从地下涌出的泉水滋养。 例如，如果你住在西雅图，你的饮用水来自雪松河和托尔特河。 里士满市的饮用水要感谢詹姆斯河。 明尼阿波利斯市的饮用水来自密西西比河。 是安全的!永远不要直接喝河里或小溪里的水。 地表水通常含有有害物质和微生物，会让你生病。 在安全饮用之前，它需要清洗。

Lakes and Reservoirs You can think of lakes and reservoirs as storage tanks for drinking water. Both of them are large bodies of surface water surrounded by land. A lake is often natural, while a reservoir is a lake made by people. To make a reservoir, people build a dam that blocks a river's flow and causes the water to collect in an area where people can use it. Rivers and precipitation feed lakes and reservoirs. Groundwater also helps keep lakes and reservoirs full. Chicago is on the shore of Lake Michigan. This large lake supplies the city with drinking water. New York City's drinking water comes from nineteen reservoirs and three lakes far from the city.

你可以把湖泊和水库想象成饮用水的储存罐。 它们都是被陆地包围的大面积地表水。 湖通常是自然形成的，而水库则是人为形成的。 为了建造水库，人们要建造一个大坝，阻止河流的流动，使水聚集在人们可以使用的地方。 河流和降水为湖泊和水库提供水源。 地下水也有助于保持湖泊和水库的充足。 芝加哥位于密歇根湖岸边。 这个大湖为这个城市提供饮用水。 纽约市的饮用水来自远离市区的19个水库和3个湖泊。