Lesson 38

Water and the traveller

Contamination of water supplies is usually due to poor sanitation close to water sources, sewage disposal into the sources themselves, leakage of sewage into distribution systems or contamination with industrial or farm waste.
供水污染通常是由于靠近水源的卫生条件差、污水直接排入水源、污水泄漏进配水系统或受到工业或农业废物的污染。
Even if a piped water supply is safe at its source, it is not always safe by the time it reaches the tap.
即使管道水在其源头是安全的，到它到达水龙头时也不一定安全。
Intermittent tap-water supplies should be regarded as particularly suspect.
间歇性的自来水供应应被视为特别可疑。
Travellers on short trips to areas with water supplies of uncertain quality should avoid drinking tap-water, or untreated water from any other source.
去往供水质量不确定地区的短途旅行者应避免饮用自来水或任何其他来源的未经处理的水。
It is best to keep to hot drinks, bottled or canned drinks of well-known brand names—international standards of water treatment are usually followed at bottling plants.
最好喝热饮，或知名品牌的瓶装或罐装饮料——因为装瓶厂通常遵循国际水处理标准。
Carbonated drinks are acidic, and slightly safer.
碳酸饮料是酸性的，且稍微更安全。
Make sure that all bottles are opened in your presence, and that their rims are clean and dry.
确保所有的瓶子都在你的面前被打开，并且它们的边缘是干净且干燥的。
Boiling is always a good way of treating water.
煮沸总是一种处理水的好方法。
Some hotels supply boiled water on request and this can be used for drinking, or for brushing teeth.
一些酒店应要求供应开水，这可用于饮用或刷牙。
Portable boiling elements that can boil small quantities of water are useful when the right voltage of electricity is available.
便携式加热元件在有合适电压的情况下，可以用来煮沸少量水，非常有用。
Refuse politely any cold drink from an unknown source.
礼貌地拒绝任何来自未知来源的冷饮。
Ice is only as safe as the water from which it is made, and should not be put in drinks unless it is known to be safe.
冰的安全性仅取决于制造它的水，除非已知它是安全的，否则不应将其放入饮料中。
Drinks can be cooled by placing them on ice rather than adding ice to them.
饮料可以通过将它们放在冰上而不是向它们里面添加冰块来冷却。
Alcohol may be a medical disinfectant, but should not be relied upon to sterilize water.
酒精可能是一种医疗消毒剂，但不应依赖它来消毒水。
Ethanol is more effective at a concentration of 50-70 per cent; below 20 per cent, its bactericidal action is negligible.
乙醇在50-70%的浓度下更有效；低于20%时，其杀菌作用可以忽略不计。
Spirits labelled 95 proof contain only about 47 per cent alcohol.
标为95标准酒精度的烈酒仅含有约47%的酒精。
Beware of methylated alcohol, which is very poisonous, and should never be added to drinking water.
小心甲醇，它非常有毒，且绝不应该被添加到饮用水中。
If no other safe water supply can be obtained, tap water that is too hot to touch can be left to cool and is generally safe to drink.
如果没有其他安全水源可以获得，太热而无法触摸的自来水可以放置冷却，通常是可以安全饮用的。
Those planning a trip to remote areas, or intending to live in countries where drinking water is not readily available, should know about the various possible methods for making water safe.
那些计划去偏远地区旅行，或打算居住在饮用水不容易获得国家的人，应该了解关于使水变得安全的各种可能方法。