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Squeaks and I were just reading about the drought
我和吱吱刚刚读到一篇关于干旱的报道，
that happened not too long ago in California, in the United States.
它是美国加州不久前发生的。
In a drought, people start running low on fresh water to drink, usually because it didn't rain enough.
在干旱中，人们可饮用的淡水减少，原因通常是雨水不够。
Then, Squeaks had a great question:
随后，吱吱问了一个好问题：
If you look at a map of the US, you can see that California is right next to the Pacific Ocean.
如果你看美国的地图，就会知道加州就在太平洋旁边。
And there's so much water in the ocean!
而海洋里有那么多水！
So Squeaks wanted to know: why can't we just drink the ocean?
于是吱吱就想知道：我们为什么不能喝海水呢？
Well, the main problem is that the water in the ocean
主要问题是海水
isn't at all the same as the water that comes out of your faucet at home, or from a drinking fountain.
和你家水龙头或饮水机里流出的水完全不一样。
Because ocean water has a lot of salt in it.
因为海水含很多盐。
The salt in the ocean is pretty much the same kind of salt
海水中的盐几乎就是
that we put on our popcorn when we have movie night at the Fort!
我们在城堡里看电影时往爆米花里放得盐！
But ocean water is super salty. It has way more salt than our popcorn does.
但是海水超级咸。它比我们的爆米花含得盐还多。
And that's why we can't drink it!
这就是为什么我们不能喝它！
Our bodies need just the right amount of both water and salt.
我们的身体需要适量的水和盐。
To stay healthy, we need lots of water, and not too much salt.
为了保持健康，我们需要大量的水，而不需要太多的盐。
Your body has lots of different parts to make sure
你的身体有很多不同部位来确保
that it keeps the right balance of salt and water all of the time!
它始终保持着盐水平衡！
The most important body parts for this job are your two kidneys.
做这项工作的最重要身体部位是你的两个肾脏。
They're right here in your body, in your lower back.
它们就在你的身体里，背部靠下的位置。
The main thing your kidneys do is to make urine, otherwise known as pee.
肾脏最主要的功能就是产生尿液，即小便（pee）。
If you have too much salt in your body,
如果你体内含盐太多，
your kidneys move some of it into your urine, and then you just pee it out!
肾脏就会将其中一部分转移到尿液中，然后你通过小便将它排出体外！
That's part of why you might feel thirsty after having lots of salt,
这就是为什么你在吃了很多盐之后会感觉口渴，
like when you eat a big bucket of popcorn.
比如你吃一大桶爆米花后就会口渴。
It's your body's way of telling you that you should drink more water
这是身体告诉你应该多喝水的方法，
so it can make more urine to help you get rid of the salt.
这样它就可以产生更多的尿液来帮助你排盐。
Afterwards, you have less salt in your body,
然后，你体内的盐少了，
and the balance between water and salt inside you goes back to normal.
盐水平衡就恢复正常了。
So, when we're having some salty popcorn, the salt is no problem!
所以，当我们吃咸爆米花时，盐构不成问题！
Our kidneys get rid of it for us.
我们的肾脏为我们处理了它。
But drinking salty ocean water would be a problem.
但喝咸海水是个问题。
There's a limit to how much salt your kidneys can put into your urine.
肾脏排入尿液中的盐量是有限制的。
And there's so much salt in ocean water that you wouldn't be able to get rid of it all properly.
海水中含盐量太高，所以你无法把它们全部处理掉。
That means there would be too much salt in your body,
这意味着你体内的盐会过多，
and drinking more of the ocean water wouldn't help,
喝更多的海水也无济于事，
it would make the problem even worse!
它甚至会让问题变得更糟！
So even though drinking the ocean sounds like it might be a great way to get more water to drink, we can't.
所以，饮用海洋听起来可能是获得更多饮水的好方法，但我们做不到。
We need the fresh, non-salty water that comes from places like lakes.
我们需要来自湖泊等地的不含盐的淡水。
Now, this doesn't mean you should worry
这并不意味着你应该担心
if you're at the beach and you accidentally swallow a mouthful of water when you're playing in the waves.
你身处海滩，并在海浪中嬉戏时不小心吞的一口水。
But you definitely don't want to drink a glassful.
但你绝对不想喝一杯海水。
You might be wondering, why don't we just find a way to get rid of salt in the ocean water so we can drink it?
你可能会想，我们为什么不找一种方法去除海水中的盐，这样我们就可以喝它了？
And that's also a great question!
这也是个好问题！
We do have some ways to take the salt out of ocean water. It's just very hard to do.
我们确实有办法从海水中提取盐，但很难做到。
Big buildings with machines inside them, called water treatment plants,
这种里面配有机器设备的大型建筑叫做水处理场，
help some people in the world get the water they need to drink
它可以帮助世界上的一些人获得他们需要的水，
by getting rid of the salt in ocean water and turning it into fresh water.
方法是把海水中的盐去掉，然后把它变成淡水。
But these Water Treatment Plants take a lot of time and money to build and keep running,
但是这些水处理厂需要花费大量的时间和金钱来建造和运营，
so there aren't very many of them. It's too expensive.
所以它们并不多。太贵了。
Scientists are trying to find better ways to get salt out of the ocean water that don't cost much money.
科学家们正试图寻找从海水中提取盐的更好方法，它不需要花很多钱。
So hopefully someday we'll be able to use a lot more of the ocean's water for drinking!
所以希望我们有一天能利用更多的海洋作为饮用水！
Until then, we can all do our part to save the water people can drink by not wasting it.
在那之前，我们都要尽自己的一份力量节约饮用水，不要浪费它
Thanks for joining us!
感谢您的收看！
If you want to keep learning, having fun with Squeaks and me,
如果你想继续学习，与我和吱吱共度美好时光，
hit the subscribe button, and we'll see you next time here at the Fort!
就点击订阅吧，我们下期见，沃斯堡等你哦！
