.
Valuing water
Human beings use a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet shortages and droughts(干旱) are causing starvation and poverty in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world’s population is expected to double in the next 51 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.
But that doesn’t have to be the result. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world—if we start valuing water more than we have in the past. Just as we began to value petrol more after the 1970s oil crisis, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic view. We can no longer afford to consider water a nearly free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.
Instead, for all uses except the demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its real value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.
Governments should also protect this source 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 places is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions(凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.
No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their ways to use water. Rather than control hundreds or even thousands of local, regional agencies that watch water use, countries should set up central authorities to manage water policy.
65. 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 resources have been seriously polluted.
D. Human beings have not placed sufficient value on water resources.
66.We can conclude from the passage that 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 underestimated by government organizations at different levels
67.According to the author, the water price should______.
A. be reduced to the minimum
B. stimulate domestic demand
C. equal its real value
D. take into account the occurrences of droughts.
.
第三部分、阅读理解（共15个小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
The richest country
To reach the world’s richest country, you needn’t set out for the Middle East, but for the South Pacific, to a tiny dot just south of the equator, called Nauru. Only 8.2 square miles in size, the whole of this country can be seen from the air as the plane comes into land. The blue South Pacific reaches for thousands of miles in all directions, the nearest piece of land being Ocean Island 200 miles to the east.
Nauro is so small that the plane lands in what is best regarded as the capital’s main street. The seaward side of the runway has traffic lights at each end to stop cars when planes are landing. The tiny bus station outside the airport is crowded with well-fed and brightly clothed Naurans with their modern cars.
With Naurans now getting an average(平均) of $44,500 a year, the island’s 60,000 people seem to have little to worry about. A trip to the island’s central hump(隆峰) tells a slightly different story.
The hump with a great deal of phosphate(磷酸盐) round is Nauru’s wealth. When Nauru gained freedom from the British government in 1908, about 40 million tons of the earliest 100 million tons of phosphate were left. Since it has taken out another 10 million tons, which leaves enough only for another 20-25 years.
61.The best title of the text should be______.
A. Wealth and population of Nauru
B. The most beautiful country in the world
C. A small island surrounded by the Pacific
D. A small but rich island country
62.It can be inferred from the text that______.
A.Nauru has not built a runway in the airport yet
B.Nauru is not large enough to build the runway of the plane
C.the Naurans are not rich enough to build a runway of the plane
D.no cars run on the main street
63.From the last sentence of the text we can learn that the writer wants to tell us______.
A.why Naurans are so rich
B.something more about Nauru
C.something for Naurans to worry about
D.how the British robbed Nauru of their wealth
64.How many tons of phosphate will probably be taken out in Nauru a year?
A. 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 tons
B. 2,800,000 to 3,500,000 tons
C. 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 tons
D. 400,000 to 500,000 tons
.
As I am not feeling well, I really appreciate __________ to take my place.
|
A．him offer |
B．for him to offer |
C．his offering |
D．him to offer |
.
Why __________ put the meat in the fridge ? It’ll stay fresh for several days.
|
A．not |
B．not you |
C．you |
D．do you |
.
Tom is reading a book __________ his brother is watching TV.
|
A．while |
B．though |
C．however |
D．but |
.
This film was made __________ Comrade LeiFeng.
|
A．instead of |
B．in honour of |
C．in charge of |
D．in search of |
