早上看了今年的國中英語會考題目，看到以下這篇文章，覺得棒極了！讓孩子透過文章關懷國際，也讓孩子了解水資源取得的難易度會影響一個地區小孩的就學率，而無力就學又如何影響著這些孩子的未來。這篇文章讓我想起英文繪本《A Thirst for Home: A Story of Water across the World》，也是在談非洲衣索比亞鄉間水資源取得不易、居民生活貧困、大人迫於情勢得將小孩送予他人領養的問題，值得和學生們分享、討論。

【104會考文章】

The idea may hit you once or twice a year.  You come home on a hot summer day, hoping to have a cool bath, and find out there is no water.  Then you see how important water is in your everyday life.  However, in many parts of the world, water is not just about one’s everyday needs.

In countries like Tanzania, water is hard to get, and the job of collecting water falls on women’s shoulders.  Girls are often kept home from school to collect water while their brothers stay at school studying.  Studies show Tanzanian girls who live 15 minutes from clean water spend 12% more time at school than those who live an hour away.  More time spent collecting water means less time for learning.  For these girls, “Knowledge is power” is not just words; it is a sad fact in real life.  With less time spent at school, their chances of getting well-paid jobs are small, and they often have no voice in important matters, like who to marry.  These girls are often married into poor families.  They have little money or knowledge to take care of their children, who often end up dying young.  For the baby girls who are lucky enough to live, their life may still center around “water,” just like it did for their mothers.