But the water which comes to our houses is almost always hard water.

但是流到我们屋子里的水, 差不多总是硬水。

Then you may begin to wonder: Do I have hard water?

那么你可能会开始怀疑：我（家也）有硬水吗？

So what exactly is “hard” water, and how does it actually differ from “soft” water?

那么到底什么是“硬”水，它与“软”水有什么不同呢？

Hard water is safe to drink and may even be beneficial to someone who is mineral-deficient.

硬水可以安全饮用，甚至可能对缺乏的人有益。

I dove, kicking the water as hard as I could.

我入水，用尽全身力气踢水。

If your water picks up calcium and magnesium in large amounts en route to your tap, it's considered hard water.

如果你的水在通往水龙头的途大量吸收钙和镁，那就被认为是硬水。

The limestone that elsewhere gives Iowa its hard mineralized water was obliterated and replaced by the shocked basement rocks that so puzzled the water driller in 1912.

今天，灰岩为艾奥瓦州的其他地方提供硬泉水；而这里的灰岩却被砸得一干二净，由受到猛烈震动的基底岩石取而代之。正是这种岩石，1912年令那位钻井工人感到迷惑不解。

It goes through a course of hard water and Chicago dirt and comes up looking like a rose leaf with the morning dew on it.

它经过一段硬水和芝加哥的泥土， 看起来像一片玫瑰叶， 上面有晨露。

You don't force him, don't beat him, don't give him orders, because you know that 'soft' is stronger than 'hard', Water stronger than rocks, love stronger than force.

你不逼他，不打他，不吩咐他，因为你知道软比硬强，水比石强，情比力强。

He slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feetfirst toward the surface of the lake; the drop was greater than he had estimated and he hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into a freezing, green, reed-filled world.

他从巨龙的一边滑了下去，脚先触水笔直地掉了进去，入水的冲击比他预料要强烈一些，像块石头一样掉进这个冰冷、长满芦苇的绿色世界。