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Clean Drinking Water for Haiti 高中生为海地发明净水系统

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Florida students are making a difference by inventing a water-purification system  一群美国佛罗里达州的学生，发明了净水系统，让世界变得更美好

What started off as a science project at Gulliver Prep School of Florida will soon provide clean drinking water to people in Haiti. A team of 13 biomedical sciences and engineering students invented a solar-powered water-purification system that they’ll be sending to a hospital when the school year starts.

佛罗里达州葛利沃预校的一项科学计划，即将为海地民众带来清净的饮用水。由十三位生物医学科学和工程科学生所组成的团队，发明了太阳能净水系统，将在学年度开始时，运送到一家医院使用。

The project first took off in 2008, after a string of tropical storms and hurricanes ravaged Haiti, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

这项计划是在二００八年展开的，而在此之前，海地遭受到一连串热带暴风和飓风侵袭，导致数百人丧生，还有数以千计的人无家可归。

“We saw everything that happened and knew we needed to help,” said Julian Costa, 17. The students had learned that access to clean drinking water was a problem in Haiti. So they decided to invent a water-purification system that would work well in the conditions.

「我们看到了海地发生的灾难，认为大家必须伸出援手，」十七岁的朱利恩．柯斯塔表示。这群学生后来得知，海地极度缺乏干净的饮用水，因此他们决定发明一套适用于海地的净水系统。

Finding an effective design  寻求有效的设计

For an entire month, students in the biomedical sciences program cultured bacteria similar to that found in Haiti’s water. They then studied different ways to kill the bacteria, ranging from distillation to ultraviolet light purification.

这些生物医学科学的学生于是花了一整个月的时间，培养出和海地水域类似的细菌，然后再研究能杀死细菌的各种不同方式，从蒸馏到紫外线净化都有。

“The UV light was one of the most effective things we tried,” explained Nikita Mayani, 15, a biomedical sciences student. Mayani and her peers passed the information along to students in the school’s engineering program who were to design and build a prototype.

「紫外线是我们试过的方法中，最有效的一种，」十五岁的生物医学科学学生妮基塔．马雅妮表示。马雅妮和同学再把这个消息告诉同校工程科的学生，后者就负责设计和建造净水系统的雏型。

Because power outages are frequent in Haiti, the young engineers decided to go with a solar-powered system. They also made sure their design had wheels so it could be easily transported.

由于海地经常会停电，因此工程科的年轻学生决定采用以太阳能为动力的系统，此外，设计也必须有轮子，这样搬运起来才会更方便。

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purification [͵pjʊrəfəˋkeʃən] n. 净化；提纯；纯化 the act of removing harmful substances from something

start off 开始; 出发 to be or make the first step in an activity; initiate

prep school 预校（私立而且收费高的，专为使学生能进入著名大学而办的特种中学）a private school for children over the age of 11 that prepares them to go to college

condition [kənˋdɪʃən] n. 情况；环境

distillation [͵dɪst!ˋeʃən] n. 蒸馏；净化 the process of heating a liquid until it changes to a gas and then making it liquid again by cooling

pass along 传送，传递

prototype [ˋprotə͵taɪp] n. 原型；标准；模范

go with 相配；搭配

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Partnering with MIT  和麻省理工学院携手合作

“It’s a pretty solid design,” Costa explained. “It collects rainwater, the water goes through the UV filters and then you have drinkable water.”

「这个设计相当牢靠，」柯斯塔解释说，「它会收集雨水，然后水再流经紫外线过滤器，之后就变成可以饮用的水了。」

The teens built a prototype this spring using grant money from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The total cost: about $5,000.

这群青少年运用麻省理工学院赠予的补助金，在今年春季制作出雏型机。全部制作成本为五千美元左右。

“This is not stuff you can get from a textbook,” said their teacher, Claude Charron. “This is about designing something nobody else has designed. It’s about seeing how far we can go.”

「这可不是教科书上可以学到的功课，」这群学生的老师克劳德．沙伦表示，「这是全新、之前没有任何人尝试过的设计，而这当中的意义在于，我们想知道大伙究竟能完成什么样的创举。」

The school has had a partnership with MIT for nearly a decade. Past students have engineered devices to help disabled adults.

该校和麻省理工学院合作已经将近十年了，过去该校的学生也曾设计出造福残障成年人的器材。

“We’re trying to create a climate for invention,” Charron said.

「我们希望能掀起一波鼓励发明的风气，」沙伦表示。

Making a difference  让世界变得更美好

The students plan to develop another system during the school year, and send the better of the two models to Haiti. They’ll be giving their invention to a hospital run by Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, a charitable organization serving children in Latin America and the Caribbean.

这群学生计划在学年内再研发出另一套系统，并把两种款式中性能较好的一个，运送到海地。他们发明的净水系统将致赠给「为我们的小小弟兄姊妹」慈善机构所营运的医院，该机构专门服事拉丁美洲和加勒比海地区的孩童。

For Mayani, working on the project has been an eye-opening experience. “Here, we get everything we want,” she said. “But in Haiti, they were suffering. They didn’t even have clean drinking water.”

对马雅妮来说，参与这项计划是个极具启发性的经验。「在美国，我们要什么就有什么，」她如此说道，「可是在海地，民众却在受苦，他们甚至连干净的饮用水都喝不到。」

Charron, the engineering teacher, said the project showcases what high school students can do.

工程科教师沙伦指出，这项计划足以显示出高中生其实潜力无穷。

“These aren’t just kids,” Charron said. “They’re capable of designing something like this. They’re capable of making a difference.”

「他们不只是孩子而已，」沙伦表示，「因为他们有足够的能力去设计这类器材，他们有能力去改造世界。」

−by Kathleen McGrory

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MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 麻省理工学院 an esteemed research university located in Massachusetts

disabled [dɪsˋeb!d] adj. 残废的；有缺陷的

Caribbean [͵kærəˋbiən] adj. 加勒比人的; 加勒比海的

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take off 起飞 for something to begin and achieve wide use

ravage [ˋrævɪdʒ] v. 毁灭，毁坏；蹂躏 to cause great damage to something

culture [ˋkʌltʃɚ] v. 培养(细菌); 培植(细胞) to grow very small organisms or other cells in an artificial environment for scientific purposes

outage [ˋaʊtɪdʒ] n. （水、电等的）中断供应 a period when a service, such as electricity, is not available

grant money 补助金 a sum of money given especially by the government to a person or organization for a special purpose

climate [ˋklaɪmɪt] n.（某一社会，时代的）风气，趋势；气氛 the general development of a situation, or the situation, feelings and opinions that exist at a particular time

eye-opening 令人大开眼界的；很有启发的 surprising, enriching or educational