VOA慢速英语:Bright Idea: Light Bulbs From Plastic Bottles, Water and Bleach

Nearly a billion and a half people, mainly in Asia and Africa, were living without electricity in two thousand nine. That latest count from the International Energy Agency was an improvement. In Asia, three out of four people in developing countries had electricity in rural areas. So did almost everyone in cities. But in Africa the rate was less than seventy percent in cities, and just one-fourth of the people in rural areas.
在2009年，将近15亿人的生活中没有电力，他们主要集中在亚洲和非洲。来自国际能源机构的最新统计数字是一种进步。在亚洲，发展中国家四分之三的农村地区居民和几乎全部的城市居民拥有电力。但在非洲，拥有电力的城市居民比例低于70%，而农村地区只有四分之一。

There are many efforts to find low-cost ways to light homes. One idea is a "water bulb." This system has recently been used to brighten more than one hundred homes in the Korogocho settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. These included the home of Madina Muhsin's family.
有许尝试多寻找低成本照明的方式。有一种方法叫“水灯泡。”这一系统最近被用来照亮肯尼亚首都内罗毕Korogocho定居点的一百多个家庭。这包括Madina Muhsin家里的房子。

MADINA MUHSIN: "I'm very happy. I can see the light. Before it was all dark, dark, dark. Now I am happy -- I am very happy."
MADINA MUHSIN：“我很高兴。我可以看到光明。在此之前，到处是黑暗，黑暗，黑暗。现在我很高兴，非常高兴。”

Members of the youth group Koch Hope installed the water bulb. First, they filled a two-liter plastic bottle with water and a little bleach. Next, they cut a hole in the metal roof. They pressed the bottle halfway into the hole. Then they used silicone caulk to seal around it to prevent rain from coming in.
青年组织Koch Hope的成员们安装了水灯泡。首先，他们把一个两升的塑料瓶装满水和一点点漂白剂。下一步，他们在金属屋顶上钻一个洞，把瓶身的一半按进洞里面，然后，用硅胶填补四周来密封，以防止雨水渗进来。
 
In no time, the home was lit with about fifty to sixty watts' worth of light. The combination of water and bleach refracts light from the sun and a full moon. The bleach keeps the water clear.
在任何时候，房屋里都相当于点亮了约五六十瓦的灯。水和漂白剂的混合物能折射来自太阳和满月的光。漂白剂可以保持水质清澈。

Madina Muhsin, like many of her neighbors, was spending a lot on kerosene to light her home. Now, she says she will save almost half of her weekly income. Her son Abbas can now read a book at home in the middle of the day.
Madina Muhsin，像许多邻居一样，曾经在煤油上花费了许多钱来照亮她的房子。现在，她说她几乎能省下自己每周收入的一半。她儿子阿巴斯现在中午能够在家看书。

Veronica Wanjiru and her two children also have a water bulb in their home. She says her older son had to repeat a grade in school because he could not get his homework done when their home was dark.
Veronica Wanjiru和她的两个孩子也都在他们的家里装上了水灯泡。她说，因为当家里变暗的时候，他无法完成功课，她大儿子不得不留级。

VERONICA WANJIRU (in Swahili with translation): "I've seen a big difference, especially with my children's education. If they're given homework, they can finish it on time. And they don't have to wait for me to come and light the candle or go outside and do their studies outside so that they can finish their homework."
VERONICA WANJIRU（斯瓦希里语翻译）：“我已经看到了一个很大的差异，特别是与孩子们的教育。如果他们被布置了功课，他们可以按时完成。他们不必等待我来点燃蜡烛，或到外面做功课，以便他们能够完成功课。”

In the Philippines, a noNPRofit group called My Shelter Foundation has used a similar low-cost lighting solution in thousands of homes. The project is called "A Liter of Light." The head of the group, Illac Diaz, says the idea is better than candles and kerosene, and offers a great new use for old plastic soda bottles.
在菲律宾，一个名为My Shelter Foundation的非营利性组织在几千个家庭中采用了一种类似的低成本照明解决方案。该项目被称为“一公升的光”。该组织负责人Illac Diaz说，这个创意比蜡烛和煤油灯更好，还为旧塑料饮料瓶提供了一个很好的新用途。

ILLAC DIAZ: "It's safer. It's healthier. It's brighter, and the funny thing is the light bulb actually comes from the place you'd least expect it, which is the trash bin. So it's the cheapest light bulb in the world."
ILLAC DIAZ：“它更安全，更健康，更明亮。有趣的是，这种灯泡实际上来自你最想不到的地方，也就是垃圾桶。因此它是世界上最便宜的灯泡。”