本篇文章共分 A-G 6 大段 (其中部分段落包含 2 小段)，從發明者的研發動機、設備結構、運作方式與產量、到設備的目標市場與理想的企業營運方式一一加以說明，最後並展望未來的發展。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

The Desolenator 太陽能淨水機

1. 淨水機研發動機

   Travelling around Thailand in the 1990s, William Janssen was impressed with the basic rooftop solar heating systems that were on many homes, where energy from the sun was absorbed by a plate and then used to heat water for domestic use. Two decades later Janssen developed that basic idea he saw in Southeast Asia into a portable device that uses the power from the sun to purify water.

   20 世紀 90 年代在泰國旅行時，威廉．楊森對許多家庭的基本屋頂太陽能加熱系統印象深刻，在那裡，太陽的能量被一塊平板吸收，然後用於加熱家庭用水。二十年後，楊森將他在東南亞看到的這個基本想法發展成一個可擕式設備，利用太陽的能量來淨化水質。

2. 設備使用環境

   The Desolenator operates as a mobile desalination unit that can take water from different places, such as the sea, rivers, boreholes and rain, and purify it for human consumption. It is particularly valuable in regions where natural groundwater reserves have been polluted, or where seawater is the only water source available.

   Janssen saw that there was a need for a sustainable way to clean water is both the developing and the developed countries when he moved to the United Arab Emirates and saw large-scale water processing. ‘I was confronted with the enormous carbon footprint that the Gulf nations have because of all of the desalination that they do,’ he says.

   Desolenator  太陽能淨水機作為一個移動的海水淡化裝置，它可以從不同地方取水，如大海、河流、井水和雨水，並將其淨化供人類使用。在天然地下水儲備被污染的地區，或者海水是唯一可用的水源的地區，它特別有價值。

   當楊森移居到阿拉伯聯合大公國並看到大規模的水處理時，他看到發展中國家和發達國家都需要一種可永續的方式來清潔水。他說：「我面對的是波斯海灣國家因其所有的海水淡化而產生的巨大碳足跡。」

3. 設備運行方式與產能

   The Desolenator can produce 15 litres of drinking water per day, enough to sustain a family for cooking and drinking. Its main selling point is that unlike standard desalination techniques, it doesn’t require a generated power supply: just sunlight. It measures 120 cm by 90 cm, and it easy to transport, thanks to its two wheels. Water enters through a pipe, and flows as a thin film between a sheet of double glazing and the surface of a solar panel, where it is heated by the sun. the warm water flows into a small boiler (heated by a solar-powered battery) where it is converted to steam. When the steam cools, it becomes distilled water. The device has a very simple filter to trap particles, and this can easily be shaken to remove them. There are two tubes for liquid coming out: one for the waste – salt from seawater, fluoride, etc. – and another for the distilled water. The performance of the unit is shown on an LCD screen and transmitted to the company which provides servicing when necessary.

   太陽能淨水機每天可以生產 15 升飲用水，足以維持一個家庭的烹飪和飲用。它的主要賣點是，與標準的海水淡化技術不同，它不需要生成電源：只需要陽光。它的尺寸為 120 釐米 × 90 釐米，由於有兩個輪子，所以很容易運輸。水通過管道進入，在一片雙層玻璃和一個太陽能電池板的表面之間以薄膜形式流動，在那裡被太陽加熱。當蒸汽冷卻時，它成為蒸餾水。該設備有一個非常簡單的過濾器來收集微粒，這個過濾器可以很容易地藉由搖動來清除微粒。有兩個管子用於流出的液體：一個用於廢物—海水中的鹽、氟化物等—另一個是蒸餾水。該設備的性能顯示在一個 LCD 螢幕上，並傳送給在必要時提供服務的公司。

4. 未來缺水與困境

   A recent analysis found that at least two-thirds of the world’s population lives with severe water scarcity for at least a month every year. Janssen says that be 2030 half of the world’s population will be living with water stress – where the demand exceeds the supply over a certain period of time. ‘It is really important that a sustainable solution is brought to the market that is able to help these people,’ he says. Many countries ‘don’t have the money for desalination plants, which are very expensive to build. They don’t have the money to operate them, they are very maintenance intensive, and they don’t have the money to buy the diesel to run the desalination plants, so it is a really bad situation.’

   最近的一項分析發現，世界上至少有三分之二的人口每年至少有一個月生活在嚴重缺水的情況下。楊森說，到 2030 年，世界上一半的人口將生活在水的壓力下—意味著在一定時期內需求超過供應。「將能夠幫助這些人的可持續解決方案推向市場，這一點非常重要。」他說。許多國家「沒有錢建造海水淡化廠，因為建造海水淡化廠非常昂貴。他們沒有運營的經費，這些設備非常需要密集的維護，他們也沒有錢來購買運轉海水淡化廠所需的柴油，所以這是一個非常不利的情況。」

5. 設備目標市場

   The device is aimed at a wide variety of users – from homeowners in the developing world who do not have a constant supply of water to people living off the grid in rural parts of the US. The first commercial versions of the Desolenator are expected to be in operation in India early next year, after field tests are carried out. The market for the self-sufficient devices in developing countries is twofold – those who cannot afford the money for the device outright and pay through microfinance, and middle-income homes that can lease their own equipment. ‘People in India don’t pay for a fridge outright; they pay for it over six months. They would put the Desolenator on their roof and hook it up to their municipal supply and they would get very reliable drinking water on a daily basis,’ Janssen says. In the developed world, it is aimed at niche markets where tap water is unavailable – for camping, on boats, or for the military, for instance.

   該項設備針對各式各樣的使用者—從發展中國家沒有持續供水的房主到生活在電網之外的美國農村地區居民。在進行實地測試後，第一批商業版本的太陽能淨水機預計將於明年年初在印度投入使用。獨立運行設備在發展中國家的市場包含兩方面—那些無法負擔全額設備費用而須通過小額貸款支付的人，以及可以租賃自己設備的中等收入家庭。「印度人不會一次付清冰箱的費用，他們會分六個月支付。他們會把太陽能淨水機放在屋頂上，並與他們的都市給水系統連接，如此便能每天得到非常穩定的飲用水。」楊森說。在已開發國家，它針對的是無法獲得自來水的利基市場—例如露營、船隻或軍事用途。

6. 設備價格

   Prices will vary according to where it is bought. In the developing world, the price will depend on what deal aid organisations can negotiate. In developed countries, it is likely to come in at $1,000 (£685) a unit, said Janssen. ‘We are a venture with a social mission. We are aware that the product we have envisioned is mainly finding application in the developing world and humanitarian sector and that this is the way we will proceed. We do realise, though, that to be a viable company there is a bottom line to keep in mind,’ he says.

   價格將根據購買地點而有所不同。在發展中國家，價格將取決於援助組織所能達成的交易。楊森說，在已開發國家，其價格可能是 1,000 美元（685英鎊）一組。「我們是一個具有社會使命的企業。我們意識到，我們所設想的產品主要是用於開發中國家和人道工作領域，這也是我們將採取的方式。不過，我們確實意識到，要成為一家能生存的公司，必須牢記損益表底線，」他說。

7. 未來發展

   The company itself is based at Imperial College London, although Janssen, its chief executive, still lives in the UAE. It has raised £340,000 in funding so far. Within two years, he says, the company aims to be selling 1,000 units a month, mainly in the humanitarian field. They are expected to be sold in areas such as Australia, northern Chile, Peru, Texas and California.

   該公司本身設在倫敦帝國學院，儘管其首席執行官楊森仍然住在阿聯酋。到目前為止，它已經籌集了 34 萬英鎊的資金。他說，在兩年內，該公司的目標是每月銷售 1,000 台，主要是在人道工作領域。預計它們將在澳大利亞、智利北部、秘魯、德州和加州等地區銷售。