瓶装水销量首次超越汽水，世界正在改变

For the first time ever, Americans drank more bottled water than soda in 2016.
2016年，有史以来第一次，比起汽水，美国人饮用了更多瓶装水。

The Wall Street Journal reported that annual sales of water exceeded soda sales for the first time. Beverage Marketing Corp. found that in the U.S., consumption of bottled water hit 39.3 gallons per capita last year, while soda sales reached just 38.5 gallons. That marks a big switch from 2006, when Americans on average drank more than 50 gallons of soda and less than 30 gallons of water.
据华尔街日报报道，瓶装水的年度销量首次超过了汽水。饮料营销公司发现，去年美国人均瓶装水的消费量达39.3加仑，而汽水的销量仅为38.5加仑。这标志着一次巨大的转变，因为从2006年起，美国人（每年）平均就要饮用50多加仑的汽水，而瓶装水的饮用量则小于30加仑。

What’s driving this trend isn’t totally clear.
是什么带动了这一趋势还不完全清楚。

Perhaps it’s a sign of Americans’ increasing concern with health, a growing laziness about filling a water bottle at the tap, or even a fear of tap water contamination.
也许这说明美国人日益关注健康，也可能是人们越来越懒于去水龙头处装满一瓶水，甚至还可能是人们担心自来水被污染了。

However, industry leaders thought that it was more about consumers seeking a healthy lifestyle and greater convenience.
然而，行业领袖认为，这更多的是因为消费者在寻求一种健康的生活方式以及更多的便利。

“If you look at the U.S. beverage market, and I suppose it’s true globally as well, people are moving towards healthier options,” Gary Hemphill of the Beverage Marketing Corporation said.
“如果你研究一下美国饮料市场，人们正趋向更健康的选择，而且我认为全球皆是如此，”饮料营销公司的盖里·亨普希尔说道。