And I'm Beth.

我叫貝絲

We all know how horrible it feels to be thirsty. Human bodies need around 3 litres of water a day and thankfully most of us can just turn on the kitchen tap to get clean drinking water.

我們都知道口渴的感覺有多可怕。人體每天需要大約 3 升水，幸好我們大多數人只需打開廚房的水龍頭，就能獲得乾淨的飲用水。

But globally, over 2 billion people – around a quarter of the world's population – live in water-stressed countries, where access to water for drinking, cooking and washing is not guaranteed. What's more, water is also needed to grow food and that's getting harder due to droughts, which are increasing with climate change.

但在全球範圍內，有超過 20 億人（約佔世界人口的四分之一）生活在水資源緊張的國家，這些國家的飲用水、烹飪用水和洗滌用水無法得到保障。更重要的是，種植糧食也需要用水，而隨著氣候變化，乾旱日益加劇，這變得越來越困難。

In this programme, we'll visit farmers in one of the driest places on earth – Yuma in the USA – where a new technology involving liquid clay is helping farmers grow fruit and vegetables in the desert. And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary too.

在本節目中，我們將訪問地球上最乾旱的地方之一--美國尤馬的農民，那裡的液態粘土新技術正在幫助農民在沙漠中種植水果和蔬菜。和往常一樣，我們還將學習一些有用的新詞彙。

But first, I have a question for you, Neil. Everyone knows that plants need sunlight and water to grow, but soil is just as important. One of the most useful soils is clay – a dense, smooth soil which is very fertile but sticky.

但首先，我有個問題要問你，尼爾。大家都知道植物生長需要陽光和水，但土壤也同樣重要。最有用的土壤之一是粘土--一種緻密、光滑的土壤，非常肥沃，但粘性很強。

Clay has been used in agriculture for thousands of years, but what is its more modern use?

幾千年來，粘土一直被用於農業，但它的現代用途是什麼？

Is clay good for… a. Curing headaches b. Digesting food c. Smoothing face skin

粘土對...... a. 治療頭痛 b. 消化食物 c. 平滑臉部皮膚有好處嗎？

Well, I think clay can be used to smooth the skin on people's faces.

我覺得粘土可以用來撫平人們臉上的皮膚。

OK, Neil. We'll find out if that's the correct answer later.

好吧，尼爾我們稍後會知道答案是否正確。

Lack of water and farming are closely connected. Agriculture uses a massive 70% of the world's fresh water supply, so ways to use water more efficiently are much needed.

缺水與農業生產密切相關。農業用水量佔全球淡水供應量的 70%，是以亟需更高效地用水的方法。

Ole Sivitsen's company, Desert Control, works with date farmers in Yuma, an area on the border of California and Mexico. One of the hottest places on earth, Yuma has been experiencing its worst drought in 500 years, forcing farmers to pump water from rivers to grow their date palm trees.

奧勒-西維森的公司 "沙漠控制"（Desert Control）與位於加利福尼亞和墨西哥交界處的尤馬的椰棗種植農合作。作為地球上最炎熱的地方之一，尤馬遭遇了 500 年來最嚴重的乾旱，農民們不得不從河裡抽水種植椰棗樹。

Fortunately, Ole's team have created a liquid that, they say, can turn the sandy desert soil into a sponge which holds water and nutrients. Here he explains his invention to Anthony

幸運的是，奧勒的團隊創造出了一種液體，他們說這種液體可以把沙漠中的沙土變成海綿，儲存水分和養分。在這裡，他向安東尼解釋了他的發明

Wallace, reporter for BBC World Service programme, People Fixing the World.

華萊士，英國廣播公司世界服務節目《修復世界的人們》的記者。

To understand how it works, we need to look at the difference between sandy soil and clay soil. Sandy desert soil has a lot of gaps in it, so water drains through it quickly, making it harder for plants to establish a root system in the ground. But clay soil is made up of much smaller particles that cling together and naturally stop water from escaping.

要了解其工作原理，我們需要了解沙質土壤和粘土的區別。沙漠中的沙質土壤有很多空隙，是以水分會很快流走，使植物難以在地下建立根系。但粘土是由小得多的顆粒組成的，這些顆粒會粘在一起，自然地阻止水分外流。

It creates the habitat for the soil microbiology to also start to develop and evolve. So it's kind of a kick-start as well to nature's natural processes.

它為土壤微生物創造了棲息地，使其也開始發育和進化。是以，這也是大自然自然進程的一種啟動。

The problem with sandy soil is that it drains water. If you drain something, you remove the liquid from it. Clay soil, on the other hand, is made of smaller particles which cling or stick together tightly and hold water, helping plants grow.

沙質土壤的問題在於排水性。如果排水，就會帶走其中的液體。另一方面，粘土由較小的顆粒組成，這些顆粒會緊緊地粘在一起，保持水分，幫助植物生長。

Ole makes a liquid by mixing clay and water, which changes the soil composition and kick-starts the growth of his trees. The liquid makes the trees start growing more quickly. Liquid clay technology is still new and costing around $2,000 an acre, it's not cheap. But Ole claims his technique halves the amount of water needed to grow fruit trees and that most farmers will make back their investment within two years.

奧勒將粘土和水混合製成一種液體，這種液體能改變土壤的成分，啟動樹木的生長。這種液體能讓樹木生長得更快。液態粘土技術仍是一項新技術，每英畝的成本約為 2000 美元，並不便宜。但奧勒聲稱，他的技術能將果樹生長所需的水量減半，而且大多數農民能在兩年內收回投資。

Ole's claims sound too good to be true, but are there downsides to interfering with nature in this way? Presenters Myra Anubi and Anthony Wallace discuss this question for BBC World

奧勒的說法聽起來好得不像真的，但以這種方式干預自然是否有弊端？主持人邁拉-阿努比（Myra Anubi）和安東尼-華萊士（Anthony Wallace）為英國廣播公司世界頻道討論這個問題。

Service's People Fixing the World.

修復世界的服務人員

Anthony, I'm still left wondering, right, when you manipulate soil like this, could you be causing problems down the line?

安東尼，我還在想，當你這樣處理土壤時，會不會引起其他問題？

Yeah, I think any time that there's a new technology where you are, like you said, manipulating nature, only time will tell what the long-term effects of that will be. But Ole did stress that their liquid clay does not use any chemicals, only clay, air and water.

是的，我認為任何時候出現新技術，就像你說的那樣，操縱自然，只有時間才能證明其長期影響。但奧利強調，他們的液體粘土不使用任何化學物質，只使用粘土、空氣和水。

Ole's liquid clay involves manipulating soil, using and controlling it skilfully to achieve some results. Myra worries that when people do this, they could create problems down the line, at some unspecified point in the future.

奧勒的液體粘土涉及到對土壤的操作，巧妙地利用和控制土壤以達到某種效果。邁拉擔心，當人們這樣做時，可能會在未來某個不確定的時間點造成問題。

In fact, only time will tell if liquid clay is a long-term solution to the problem of water scarcity. The phrase only time will tell means that the result of something happening now will not be known until the future. Something we can know, though, is the answer to my question,

事實上，只有時間才能證明液態粘土是否能長期解決缺水問題。只有時間才能證明 "這句話的意思是，現在發生的事情的結果要到將來才能知道。不過，我們可以知道的是我的問題的答案、

Neil.

尼爾

Yes, you asked about a modern use for clay and I guessed it was for smoothing facial skin.

是的，你問到粘土的現代用途，我猜是用於平滑面部皮膚。

Which was the correct answer! A clay mask, also called a mud pack, is used to smooth the skin on your face.

哪個是正確答案？粘土面膜也叫泥漿面膜，用於平滑面部皮膚。

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this programme, starting with the verb to drain, which means to remove liquid.

好了，讓我們回顧一下本課程所學的詞彙，首先是動詞 drain，意思是排出液體。

To cling means to stick or hold tightly onto something.

緊緊抓住 "的意思是緊緊地粘住或抓住某物。

If you kick-start something, you make it start or develop more quickly.

如果你啟動了某件事情，就會使它更快地開始或發展。

To manipulate means to skilfully use or control something.

操縱是指巧妙地使用或控制某種事物。

The phrase down the line means sometime in the future.

down the line "的意思是未來的某個時候。

And finally, the idiom only time will tell means that the truth about something happening now will only be known in the future.

最後，only time will tell 這個成語的意思是，現在發生的事情只有將來才能知道真相。

Once again, our 6 minutes are up but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now.

我們的 6 分鐘時間又到了，但記得下次再來 6 Minute English 觀看更多熱門話題和實用詞彙。再見

Bye!

再見！