Passage

 

Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worlide.Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts(干旱) are causing famine and distress in some areas,and industrial and agriculturalbyproducts are polluting water supplies.Since the world's population is expected to double in the next 50 years,many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.

 

But that doesn't have to be the outcome.Water shortages don't have to trouble the world—if we start valuing water more than we have in the past.Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises,today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective.We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much aswe like in any way we want.

 

Instead,for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor,governments should price water to reflect its actual value.This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.

 

Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound ways.For example,often the cheapest way to provide irrigation(灌溉) water in the dry tropics is through smallscale projects,such as gathering rainfall in depressions(洼地) and pumping it to nearby crop land。

 

No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently,they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use.Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local,regional and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use,countries should set up central authorities to coordinate water supply.

 

1.What is the real cause of the potential water crisis?

 

A.Only half of the world's water can be used.

 

B.The world population is increasing faster and faster.

 

C.Half of the world's water resources have been seriously polluted.

 

D.Humanity has not placed sufficient value on water resources.

 

2.As indicated in the passage,the water problem——

 

A.is already serious in certain parts of the world

 

B.has been exaggerated by some experts in the field

 

C.poses a challenge to the technology of building reservoirs

 

D.is understated by government organiations at different level

 

3.According to the author,the water price should——

 

A.be reduced to the minimumB.stimulate domestic demand

 

C.correspond to its real valueD.take into account the occurrences ofdroughts

 

4.The author says that in some hot and dry areas it is advisable to ——.

 

A.build big lakes to store water?

 

B.construct big pumping stations

 

C.build small and cheap irrigation systems?

 

D.channel water from nearby rivers to cropland

 

5.In order to raise the efficiency of the water supply,measures should be taken to ————

 

A.guarantee full protection of the environment

 

B.centralie the management of water resources

 

C.increase the sense of responsibility of agencies at all levels

 

D.encourage local and regional control of water resources

 

Passage

 

People in Shanghai can quench their thirst(解渴) with high quality water if the Shanghai Water Authority (SWA) is able to make good on its word.It has vowed(发誓) to make the city's water match its status as a worldclass city。

 

“The current tap water quality meets national standards,but,compared with that of the European Union and the United States,it still needs to be improved,”said the SWA's director general,hang Jiayi.

 

The Shanghai Special Water Supply Layout calls for residents to be able to drinkthe tap water without boiling it,in less than a decade.

 

In other developed countries,water fountains can be found almost everywhere—people do not bother with bottled drinking water.

 

By 2020,the water of the Huangpu River will be treated to reduce the amount of organic(有机物的) waste in it.This initiative(倡议) is to be completed in the first half of this year,hang said.

 

Major water works that draw water from the Huangpu will need more treatment facilities to improve the color,texture(结构),ammonia(氨)and nitrogen(氮) content before 2010.

 

These treatment facilities are expected to cost 4 billion yuan,something that could affect the price of water,according to Chen Yin,SWA's deputy director general.

 

Chen said that replacing water pipes was also a key project.The city's aged pipes are mostly to blame for the bad water quality.

 

The SWA has started the water facilities renovation(整修) work,including the more than 14,000 kilometers of indoor piping,107,000 tanks on top of the buildings,and more than 6,000 underground facilities.

 

World Water Day came on March 22,and this year's theme is“water for the future”.Beijing is also drawing up plans during China's Water Week,which runs until March 28.

 

By 2008,the water for the Olympic Games is to above World Health Organiation standards.And,the people of Beijing will be able to drink their tap water as well.

 

(From 21st CenturyMarch 27,2003)

 

1.What does the italicied word“it”mean in the second paragraph?

 

A.The current tap water.?

 

B.The quality of current tap water.

 

C.National standards.?

 

D.The tap water of the European Union and the US.

 

2.People in Shanghai can drink their tap water.————

 

A.By 2020 B.in the first half of this year

 

C.before 2010 D.by 2008

 

3.What step need not be taken in order to improve the tap water?

 

A.The water of the Huangpu River will be treated.

 

B.Aged water pipes will be treated.

 

C.Water facilities must be renovated.

 

D.Water fountains must be found.

 

4.Which is the correct order of the following events?

 

a.People of Shanghai can quench their thirst with high quality water.

 

b.The tap water quality meets national standards.

 

c.The water of Shanghai reaches the standards of developed countries.

 

d.The people of Beijing drink their tap water.?

 

e.The treatment of the water of Huangpu River has been finished.

 

A.e,d,a,b,c B.b,d,e,a,c

 

C.e,d,b,c,a D.b,e,d,c,a

 

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

 

A.The cost of treating the tap water.

 

B.How to reach the water standards of developed countries.

 

C.The project for making tap water drinkable in Shanghai and Beijing.

 

D.The progress of treating the water of Huangpu River.?