本篇文章是与输送水资源有关的，属于科普知识。慢速英语，语速正常。可以作为口译入门或基础英语听力口语听写的素材。大家快来挑战自己吧！
Let’s say you’re the owner of a public water system.
假设你是公共供水系统的所有者。
You’ve found a source of water of sufficient quantity for your customers.
你已经为客户找到了充足的水源，
You’ve found a way to clean that water so it’s safe for them to use.
也找到了净化水的方法，这样客户就可以安全用水了。
And now it’s time to send the water on its way.
现在是时候将水送到需要的地方了。
There are a few ways we can get water from one place to another.
将水从一个地方送到另一个地方，大致有几种方法。
One of them is just to carry it there.
方法之一就是携带运送。
Whether it’s on the back of an animal, on a truck, or a bottle in your backpack,
不管是用动物驮、是卡车运输，还是放在背包里用瓶子装，
we still physically carry water all the time.
我们至今依然使用这种运送方式。
But it’s usually not the most efficient way.
但这通常不是最有效的方法。
The first infrastructure dedicated to water conveyance was the open channel.
最早用于输水的基础设施是明渠。
Whether in a ditch, canal, or aqueduct, the water is carried by gravity, sometimes over very long distances.
无论是沟渠、运河还是渡槽，水都受重力作用输送，有时要跨越很长的距离。
We still use open channels to carry water for irrigation and drainage, but they have some disadvantages as well.
现在我们仍然使用明渠引水灌溉和排水，但这种方式也有一些缺点。
The water is exposed to pollution and contamination, channels bisect the land, making it difficult to get across, and the water can only flow to areas of lower elevation than where it started.
水暴露在外，易受污染，河道将土地一分为二，难以通过，而且水只能流向较其发源地海拔低的地区。
And that last one is a big disadvantage, especially if you’re trying to deliver water to an area with hills or mountains.
最后一点，也是最严重的一个缺点，尤其是你想把水输送到山地或丘陵地区时，这恐怕无法实现。
So most public water systems today rely on pipes for distribution.
因此，现如今大多数公共供水系统都用管道进行输送。
解析在这里哦！
1. conveyance，名词，表示“输送”，比如：the conveyance of bicycles on trains（用火车运送自行车）。
2. ditch，名词，表示“沟渠”，比如：Both vehicles ended up in a ditch. （两辆车都掉进了沟里。）
3. gravity，名词，表示“重力”，比如：center of gravity（重心）。
4. drainage，名词，表示“排水、排水系统”，比如：The area has good natural drainage. （这个地区有良好的天然排水系统。）
5. bisect，动词，表示“（把地区或线条）一分为二、二等分”，比如：The main street bisects the town from end to end. （这条主街把整个镇一分为二。）
