關于瓶裝水的15個小秘密

Some of us get our water for free from the tap. The rest pay for it — at the cost of roughly $100 billion a year. At that steep a price tag， you might assume buying the bottled stuff would be worth it. In most cases， you'd be wrong. For the vast majority of Americans， a glass from the tap and a glass from the bottle are virtually identical as far as their health and nutritional quality are concerned. In some cases， publicly-sourced tap may actually be safer since it is usually tested more frequently.

我們當中有些人從水龍頭就能接到免費的水，其余的人要花錢買——每年大約花掉1000億美元。面對昂貴的價簽，你可能會以為瓶裝水值這個價錢。但大部分情況下這個想法是錯的。對于大部分美國人來說，就對健康的影響和營養元素來說，自來水和瓶裝水不相上下。公共飲用水因為檢測更頻繁，所以有時可能更安全。

Read on to find out all the things you dont know about your drinking water.

讀讀下面的內容，了解一下關于飲用水你不知道的事。

1. The first documented case of bottled water being sold was in Boston in the 1760s， when a company called Jackson's Spa bottled and sold mineral water for “therapeutic” uses. Companies in Saratoga Springs and Albany also appear to have packaged and sold water.

瓶裝水最初在18世紀60年代開始出售，當時有一家叫Jackson's Spa的公司把礦物質水裝瓶出售，說是“有益健康”。在薩拉托加斯普林斯和奧爾巴尼也有公司開始把水包裝后出售。

2. Across the globe， people drink roughly 10% more bottled water every year， but Americans continue to consume more packaged water than people in other countries do.

全球瓶裝水的消耗量每年增加約10%，但美國人喝掉的瓶裝水一直比其他國家的多。

3. At 12.8 billion gallons， or 39 gallons per person， Americans today drink more bottled water than milk or beer.

美國人現在要喝掉120.8億加侖的水，或者說是每人39加侖，瓶裝水的消耗量比牛奶和啤酒都要多。

4. Americans drank more bottled water than soda for the first time in 2016. “Bottled water effectively reshaped the beverage marketplace，” Michael C. Bellas， Beverage Marketings chairman and CEO， said in a recent statement.

2016年美國瓶裝水飲用量首次超過蘇打水。Beverage Marketing的主席兼CEO Michael C. Bellas在最近的一次聲明中說：“瓶裝水有效地重塑了飲料市場。”

5. It's not cheap. At an average cost of $1.22 per gallon， we're spending 300 times more on bottled water than we'd spend to drink from the tap. But that number could be even higher， some analysts have pointed out， since most sales are for single bottles.

瓶裝水并不便宜，平均每加侖1.22美元。我們花費在瓶裝水上的錢是自來水的300倍。但有些分析人士指出實際價格還有可能更高，因為大部分人都是單瓶購買的。

6. But research suggests that for most Americans， the stuff in a bottle is not better for you than the stuff in your tap. In fact， a recent report found that almost half of all bottled water is actually derived from the tap. In 2007， Pepsi （Aquafina） and Nestle （Pure Life） had to change their labels to more accurately reflect this.

但研究表明對大多數美國人來說，瓶裝水里所含的物質并不比自來水好。事實上，最近有一份報告發現瓶裝水幾乎一半其實就是自來水。2007年，百事公司的阿夸菲納（Aquafina）和雀巢公司的優活（Pure Life）都更換了標簽，更準確地標明水的成分。

7. Tap water is also typically tested for quality and contamination more frequently than bottled water. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for conducting those tests.

對自來水水質和雜質的測試要比瓶裝水多。美國環境保護署負責進行這些測試。

8. Still， the quality of your tap can vary considerably based on where you live. According to EPA law， you should receive an annual drinking water quality report， or Consumer Confidence Report.

但你居住的地方不同，自來水的水質也有很大差距。根據美國環境保護署的規定，你每年都會收到飲用水水質報告或者消費者信心報告。

9. However， if you live in one of the 15 million （mostly rural） US households that gets drinking water from a private well， the EPA isn't keeping an eye on your water quality. “It is the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain the safety of their water，” the agency states on its website.

然而，如果你是美國從自家井里打水喝的1500萬家庭（主要在鄉村）中的一員的話，環境保護署就不會關注你家的水質。該機構在網站上聲明“房主有責任保護自家飲用水安全”。

10. Research suggests that the water from many of these wells is not safe to drink. In a 2011 report， 13% of the private wells that geologists tested were found to contain at least one element （like arsenic or uranium） at a concentration that exceeded national guidelines.

研究表明很多自家井里的水并不是安全飲用水。在2011年的一份報告中發現，地質學家檢測的井水中13%至少有一種成分（像砷或鈾）的濃度超過國家標準。

11. The recent resurgence in bottled water's popularity may be due to rising concerns about the purity of tap water. A recent Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans worried a “great deal” about the pollution in drinking water—the highest percentage since 2001.

瓶裝水最近再次流行起來可能是因為對自來水水質的擔憂。最近的一次蓋洛普民意測驗發現，63%的美國民眾非常擔心飲用水污染，這個比例是2001年以來最高的。

12. And when it comes to taste， most of us probably can't tell the difference. A recent blind taste test survey by students at Boston University found that only a third taste-testers identified the tap water sample correctly.

提到水的味道，我們大多數人都不能辨別其中的差別。最近波士頓大學學生進行的一項味道盲測發現，只有三分之一的參加味道測試的人能準確辨認出自來水樣本。

13. Making bottled water is also a resource-heavy process. A study in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that roughly 32—54 million barrels of oil went into producing the amount of bottled water consumed in the US in 2007.

生產瓶裝水也是一個大量消耗資源的過程。《環境研究快報》的一項研究發現，2007年生產美國所消耗的瓶裝水用掉了3200萬—5400萬桶油。

14. It also takes more water to make a bottle of water than it does to fill it. A recent study from the International Bottled Water Association found that North American companies use 1.39 litres of water to make one litres of the bottled stuff.

生產瓶裝水所用的水遠不止灌進瓶里的水。國際瓶裝水協會最近的研究發現，北美的公司生產1公升的瓶裝水要用掉1.39公升的水。

15. But hey， you might be thinking： At least they get recycled， right？ For every six water bottles Americans use， only one makes it to the recycle bin， according to National Geographic.

So think twice the next time you consider buying a case of bottled water.

但是你可能在想：至少瓶子還能回收，對吧？《國家地理》雜志顯示，美國人用的每六個水瓶中只有一個進了回收站。

所以下次你想再買瓶裝水的時候仔細斟酌一下吧。

Word Study

steep /sti：p/ adj. （價格）過高的，昂貴的

assume /??sju：m/ v. 以為；假設；假定

identical /a??dent?kl/ adj. 完全相同的；同樣的

consume /k?n?sju：m/ v. 吃；喝；飲用；消耗

derive /d??ra?v/ v.（使）來自；（使）起源于

maintain /me?n?te?n/ v. 維持；保持；保養

The house is large and difficult to maintain.

exceed /?k?si：d/ v. 超過（數量）； 超越（法律、命令等）的限制

identify /a??dent?fa?/ v. 認出；識別；分辨出

Would you be able to identify the man who robbed you？