世界水資源的缺乏World Water Shortage
A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025.
一項新的研究結果提出警告：到2025年，世界上將有30%的人沒有足夠的水飲用。
A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
這項研究是由美國一家名叫“人口行動”的私立機構進行的。報告說現在世界上有三億三千五百萬人沒有足夠的水。這些人主要分布在非洲或中東的28個國家。
P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.
人口行動組織的研究人羅博特.安格曼說，到2025年大約三十億人缺水。至少還有其他18個國家將可能面臨同樣嚴重的水短缺問題。人類對水的需求不斷上升，但地球上水的還是保持不變。
Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
安格曼先生說，水短缺的國家的人口增長率要高於世界其他地區的人口增長率。他還說這些國家的人口出生率將持續增長。
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.
報告表明，在未來，水資源的缺乏可能會導致一些嚴重的後果。首先它可能會產生更多的健康問題。水資源的缺乏就意味著飲用水不再有保障。安格曼先生說，諸如霍亂等在水中傳播的疾病會使世界出現許多問題。水缺乏也會引起更多的國際紛爭。各國可能由於水而發動戰爭。現在有些國家，例如埃及，荷蘭，高棉，敘利亞，蘇丹和伊拉克等，60%的純淨水是從國外進口的。報告認為水缺乏將影響發展國家發展經濟的能力。這是因為新工業在開始階段經常需要大量的水。
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
人口行動組織的研究報告為世界的水短缺問題提出了幾個解決的辦法。第一，找到多用途的用水方法。第二，教育人們不要浪費水資源。第三就是少用農業水。
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The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.