The Source
Where so contaminants come from? In developing countries, people dump raw sewage into the same streams and rivers from which they draw water for drinking and cooking; about 250 million people a year get sick from water borne diseases.
In developed countries, manufacturers use 100,000 chemical compounds to make a wide range of products. Toxic chemicals pollute water when released untreated into rivers and lakes. (Certain compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, have been banned in the United States.)
But almost everyone contributes to water pollution. People often pour household cleaners, car antifreeze, and paint thinners down the drain; All of these contain hazardous chemicals. Scientists studying water in the San Francisco Bay reported in 1996 that 70 percent of the pollutants could be traced to household waste.
Farmers have been criticized for overusing herbicides and pesticides, chemicals that kill weeds and insects but that pollutes water as well. Farmers also use nitrates, nitrogenrich fertilizer that helps plants grow but that can wreak havoc on the environment. Nitrates are swept away by surface runoff to lakes and seas. Too many nitrates “over enrich” these bodies of water, encouraging the buildup of algae, or microscopic plants that live on the surface of the water. Algae deprive the water of oxygen that fish need to survive, at times choking off life in an entire body of water.
What’s the Solution?
Water expert Gleick advocates conservation and local solutions to waterrelated problems; governments, for instance, would be better off building smallscale dams rather than huge and disruptive projects like the one that ruined the Aral Sea.
“More than 1 billion people worldwide don’t have access to basic clean drinking water,” says Gleick. “There has to be a strong push on the part of everyonegovernments and ordinary people—to make sure we have a resource so fundamental to life.”
1. That the huge water projects have diverted the rivers causes the Aral Sea to shrink.
2. The construction of massive dams and irrigation projects does more good than harm.
3. The chief causes of water shortage are population growth and water pollution.
4. The problems Americans face concerning water are ground water shrinkage and tap water pollution.
5. According to the passage all water pollutants come from household waste.
6. The people living in the United States will not be faced with water shortages.
7. Water expert Gleick has come up with the best solution to waterrelated problems.
1.[Y][N][NG]2.[Y][N][NG]3.[Y][N][NG]4.[Y][N][NG]
5.[Y][N][NG]6.[Y][N][NG]7.[Y][N][NG]
8. According to Peter H. Gleick, by the year 2025, as many as of the world’s people will suffer from water shortages.
9.Two thirds of the freshwater on Earth is locked in.
10.In developed countries, before toxic chemicals are released into rivers and lakes, they should be treated in order to avoid.
Part IIIListening Comprehension(35 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked [A],[B],[C] and[D], and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
11.[A]Wait for the sale to start.
[B]Get further information about the sale.
[C]Call the TV station to be sure if the ad is true.
[D]Buy a new suit.
12.[A]He doesn’t think that John is ill.
[B]He thinks that perhaps John is not in very good health.
[C]He is aware that John is ill.
[D]He doesn’t think that John has a very good knowledge of physics.
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