BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Human lives have evolved along rivers, long and short, in that a river feeds its water directly to humans and to lands that in turn supply humans indirectly with food.

    Wherever rivers change their courses, humans follow suit with settlements and stories.

����A STORY TOLD AT THE SOURCE OF THE YANGTZE

    To 11-year-old Zhouji Cairen, the Tuotuo River has not only been his lullaby, but also his get-up call.

    The Tibetan boy, who has spent his entire life so far alongside the source and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, has never worried about the water course that has been the natural life-line of his family and other Tibetan herders in Western China.

    But worries have cast their shadows over Zhouji's teacher at school.

    Forty-four-year-old Dongzhu Cairen compares what she has heard about before and what she now sees herself to confirm her worries: dwindled glaciers, dried and drying alpine lakes, lowered ground-water tables.

    Zhouji already knows that it is bad to throw garbage into the river because only a clean Tuotuo beautifies his home place.

    The boy also has another thing in mind: Once he is grown-up, he will learn to swim in the other end of the clean Tuotuo.

    A STORY TOLD AT THE MIDDLE REACHES OF THE RHINE

    To Felix, also 11, the Rhine River is his aquarium. He knows quite a few species in the Rhine by their scientific names, although he keeps forgetting the names of some others.

    The front door of his Cologne home opens to the Rhine River flowing just 100 meters away.

    When it is warm, Felix and his playmates take a dip in the backwaters near Cologne, and when it is cold, they feed the wild birds and ducks and chase them around on the bank.

    Felix believes that the water in the Rhine is clean because it is so clear that one can see through it to the bottom of the river.

    But the German boy argues that even if the Rhine is clean, it is not suitable for drinking because many ships pass through the river.

    A STORY TOLD AT THE LOWER REACHES OF THE NILE

    To 7-year-old Halid, the Nile is both his fishing ground and his food source.

    In the past, the Nile fishermen sold most of their catch to support their families, but they could still save some fish for dinner. But as the river is becoming more polluted, their fishing baskets are becoming emptier.

    "I like angling, and I like swimming," said Halid. "But fish are becoming scarce, and water is becoming bad."

    Garbage is seen floating along the embankment where the boat Halid's family lives on is moored to.

    Even though Halid knows that the river water is not good, he still has to drink from the Nile.

    He does not have a choice.

    A STORY TOLD AT THE ESTUARY OF THE AMAZON

    To Lucas, the Amazon River is a river to catch fish in, but not a river to get drinking water from.

    From an early age, the 11-year-old Brazilian boy has known that drinking water has to be bought in a nearby town, because the Amazon's water at the estuary is not drinkable.

    Only Lucas' father knows the reason: pollution.

    Industrial and human activities along the Amazon basin and drainage area have polluted the river so much that inhabitants of this area have to get their drinking water from elsewhere.

    Lucas often helps his father to catch fish in the river. The family then freezes the fish before trading it for goods such as drinking water.