在很多城市，水资源比较紧张，所以鼓励市民节约用水。但让人想不到的是，城市水厂生产的水，竟然有超过五分之一白白漏掉了。
To reduce water leaks
by Nathan Hurst
We see news articles from time to time about sinkholes and water main breaks, but the problem is actually far more widespread and impactful than the odd chasm（深坑） in a city street.
article /ˈɑːtɪk(ə)l/ n. 文章
from time to time 有时、不时地
sinkhole /ˈsɪŋkhəʊl/ n. 因地面塌陷而突然形成的大坑（由sink和hole组成）
main /meɪn/ n. （自来水、煤气等）主管道
widespread /waɪdˈspred/ adj. 分布广泛的（由wide和spread组成）
impactful /ɪmˈpæktf(ə)l/ adj. 有重大影响的（由impact加后缀-ful变成形容词）
odd /ɒd/ adj. 奇怪的、反常的
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 240,000 water main breaks occur yearly in the U.S., with 7.5 trillion liters of treated drinking water escaping. This means 14 to 18 percent of water treated each day is lost, enough to serve 15 million homes.
society /səˈsaɪəti/ n. 协会、社团
civil /ˈsɪv(ə)l/ adj. 民用的（相对于军用而言）
estimate /ˈestɪmeɪt/ v. 估计、估算
occur /əˈkɜː(r)/ v. 发生
yearly /ˈjɪəli/ adv. 每年
trillion /ˈtrɪljən/ n. 万亿
treat /triːt/ v. 处理（这里指水处理）
In many developing nations, the problem is worse; the World Bank's conservative estimate suggests 35 percent of water put into distribution systems may be lost across 44 countries.
nation /ˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 国家（developing nation就是发展中国家）
conservative /kənˈsɜːvətɪv/ adj. 保守的
estimate /ˈestɪmət/ n. 估计、估计值（注意它做名词和做动词时发音不同）
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
distribution /ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分配、配送（由distribute加后缀-ion变成名词）
What can a city do? Best practices start with a water audit, calculating the amount of water that would travel through an ideally efficient system, and comparing it to the amount that actually gets used by consumers.
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 实践、做法
audit /ˈɔːdɪt/ n. 审计、核算
calculate /ˈkælkjuleɪt/ v. 计算
ideally /aɪˈdɪəli/ adv. 理想地、理想情况下（由ideal加后缀-ly变成副词）
efficient /ɪˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/ adj. 高效的
consumer /kənˈsjuːmə(r)/ n. 消费者
The result of that audit gives cities some idea how much water is being lost. To mitigate that, they often hire contractors to look for leaks. Conventionally, leak detection involves waiting for that visible evidence, or systematically checking entire systems, opening hydrants or digging up pipes to place auditory sensors on them in hopes of hearing a leak.
mitigate /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/ v. 缓解、减轻
hire /haɪə(r)/ v. 雇用、聘用
contractor /kənˈtræktə(r)/ n. 承包人、承包公司
leak /liːk/ n. 泄漏、泄漏处
conventionally /kənˈvenʃ(ə)n(ə)li/ adv. 传统上、常规地（由conventional加后缀-ly变成副词）
detection /dɪˈtekʃ(ə)n/ n. 检测（由detect加后缀-ion变成名词）
visible /ˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ adj. 能看见的
evidence /ˈevɪd(ə)ns/ n. 证据
systematically /ˌsɪstəˈmætɪk(ə)li/ adv. 系统地
entire /ɪnˈtaɪə(r)/ adj. 全部的、整个的
hydrant /ˈhaɪdrənt/ n. 消防栓
dig up 挖出、深挖使某物露出来
place /pleɪs/ v. 放置
auditory /ˈɔːdɪt(ə)ri/ adj. 听觉的
sensor /ˈsensə(r)/ n. 传感器
When You Wu was growing up in Shanghai, once a week on Thursdays, his neighborhood would turn off water to its citizens, as a way to prevent water shortages. "They shut down the water to my community, which affects over a quarter million people," says Wu, who moved to the U.S. in 2008. "By the time I came to MIT, I realized we were conserving water, but at the same time, 20 to 30 percent of the clean water was lost to leaks in the same system."
neighborhood /ˈneɪbəhʊd/ n. 居民区、小区
citizen /ˈsɪtɪz(ə)n/ n. 公民、居民
shortage /ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/ n. 短缺（由short加后缀-age变成名词）
community /kəˈmjuːnəti/ n. 社区
affect /əˈfekt/ v. 影响
MIT 麻省理工学院（美国名校）
conserve /kənˈsɜːv/ v. 节约使用
He started messing around with sensors, wondering if there's a better way to find leaks. Over six years he worked on the project, founding a company, Watchtower Robotics, after graduation.
mess around 漫无目的地做事
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目
found /faʊnd/ v. 创办
graduation /ˌɡrædʒuˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 毕业
That company is just now starting pilot programs to deploy Wu's third prototype（原型）, a badminton birdie-shaped soft robot called Lighthouse that slips through the pipes with the flow of the water. As it travels, flex sensors monitor a set of flippers（软橡胶片） at the base of the robot for the tiny tugs（拖拽） that happen as it passes pressure differentials formed by leaks. Eventually it pops out of a downstream fire hydrant, and operators use the data to calculate where the leak might be.
pilot /ˈpaɪlət/ adj. 试验性的
program /ˈprəʊɡræm/ n. 项目、计划
deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ v. 有效利用
badminton /ˈbædmɪnt(ə)n/ birdie /ˈbɜːdi/ 羽毛球
shaped /ʃeɪpt/ adj. 具有某种形状的（badminton birdie-shaped就是羽毛球形的）
slip /slɪp/ v. 滑动、快速移动
flex /fleks/ sensor 弯曲传感器
monitor /ˈmɒnɪtə(r)/ v. 监控、探查
tiny /ˈtaɪni/ adj. 极小的
pressure /ˈpreʃə(r)/ n. 压力
differential /ˌdɪfəˈrenʃ(ə)l/ n. 差异
form /fɔːm/ v. 形成
eventually /ɪˈventʃuəli/ adv. 最终
pop /pɒp/ v. 弹出
downstream /ˌdaʊnˈstriːm/ adj. 下游的（由down和stream组成）
operator /ˈɒp(ə)reɪtə(r)/ n. 操作者、操作员（由operate加上表示人的后缀-or）
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
Watchtower Robotics is now participating in trials and partnerships to get its products ready for market. It has recently completed its first pilot project in Corydon, Indiana. Success for the company will mean fewer catastrophic breaks and fewer people out digging up pipes.
participate /pɑːˈtɪsɪpeɪt/ v. 参加、参与
trial /traɪəl/ n. 试验（由try加后缀-al变成名词）
partnership /ˈpɑːtnəʃɪp/ n. 合作关系
Indiana /ˌɪndiˈænə/ n. 印第安纳州（美国中西部的州）
catastrophic /ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk/ adj. 灾难性的
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
网友评论