2.I saw her on the point of tears when she got the result of the exam. I don’t know whether we should go to comfort her or just leave her alone.
3.It’s not clear whether she still wants to go to the lake or has changed her mind. 4.Many young married couples are wondering whether they should buy or just rent an apartment.
4. Comprehensive Practice
1. A:Why will oil cease to be the No. 1 problem of our time? B:The dawn of a new energy era is just around the corner. Oil prices are going down because solar power is becoming cheaper. Besides, improvements in energy efficiency, while helping to create a clean environment, are reducing waste and the demand for oil. 2. A:Why isn’t it easy to solve the water problem? B:Because water is far more complicated than energy. No other resource can replace water, so it is impossible to find an alternative to it. Besides, water demand is rising, but water supply is fluctuating as a result of climate change. 3. A:Why is it important for us to conserve water? B:Water is going to be the most contentious resource of the 21st century. It will trigger geopolitical conflicts. That’s why water conservation is not only in the interest of our economy but also a task of strategic importance. Reading & Comprehending
Reading 1
1. Comprehension Check for Reading 1
? ? ?
1) T 2) F 3) T
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? ? ? ? ? ? ?
4) F 5) T 6) T 7) T 8) T 9) F 10) T 2. Translation
1.地球的水只有不到3%是淡水，并且大部分都被堵在雪地和冰川中，不容易获取。 2.……但不幸的是，许多因素严重扰乱了淡水的流动和使用，使地球的许多地区出现大面积的危机。
3.这意味着如果我们在保护水和明智用水方面无所作为，所有地区迟早都将遭遇水危机及随之而来的影响。
4.绝不要以为你所处的社会先进，不至于会出现缺水问题。 Reading 2
Comprehension Check for Reading 2 1.Pollution and scarcity.
2.The sources of pollution include manufacturing emissions, poorly treated sewage, industrial spills and agricultural runoff.
3.It means that the water problem did not happen overnight; instead it resulted from our age-old practice of polluting water or wasting water in addition to natural contamination and natural disasters.
4.A sustainable, long-term solution. Integrated Skills Practicing
I. Viewing & Listening 1)Segment 1
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Consider the Aral Sea, for example, located in central Asia. The name Aral Sea is actually translated into “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,534 islands that once existed. Today the Aral Sea is down to 10% of its original size. The same thing is happening in other areas that were once flourishing (but) are now turning into desert.
2)Segment 2
In the U.S., the world’s largest body of freshwater, the Ogallala Aquifer, an underground lake that extends from the Colorado Rockies to South Dakota going all the way down to the Texas Panhandle with a range of 50 to 300 feet of depth. This water resource is what has made America’s plains the “bread basket” of the world. Unfortunately, like an oil well, this won’t last forever. The Ogallala used to have an average depth of 240 feet. Today its average depth is just 80 feet.
3)Segment 3
What once was a booming town that relied on the Ogallala Aquifer, has now seen its depths of underground water fall between 0-50 feet. Many wells are completely dry and farmers have been forced to hand over their land to the government’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in exchange for grants.
4)Segment 4
Consider the Colorado river as well, a river that used to run into the Pacific. Not anymore. By the time the water fills the pools of Vegas and irrigates and provides drinking water throughout the west, not a drop of water makes it to the ocean.
Transcript:
Today, according to UNICEF, at least 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation, while 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water period. Water is the key component in all of our daily lives no matter where we live, not only for human use, but for energy, industry, agriculture, and livestock. Now if you look at the earth, you’ll notice that over 75% of our blue planet is water. The problem is only 3% of that water is fresh water. Over 260 river basins are shared by two or
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more countries and most of these rivers are without defined legal or institutional arrangements. Consider the Aral Sea, for example, located in central Asia. The name Aral Sea is actually translated into “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,534 islands that once existed. Today the Aral Sea is down to 10% of its original size. The same thing is happening in other areas that were once flourishing (but) are now turning into desert. A report titled “Avoiding Water Wars: Water Scarcity and Central Asia’s Growing Importance for Stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan” was recently done by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In it, it focused on rising water tensions that could destabilize central and south Asia. The implications of a water shortage has already caused aggravated demand for agriculture and power generation according to the report. Water, without a doubt, is going to be a huge issue along with oil throughout this century. In the U.S., the world’s largest body of freshwater, the Ogallala Aquifer, an underground lake that extends from the Colorado Rockies to South Dakota going all the way down to the Texas Panhandle with a range of 50 to 300 feet of depth. This water resource is what has made America’s plains the “bread basket” of the world. Unfortunately, like an oil well, this won’t last forever. The Ogallala used to have an average depth of 240 feet. Today its average depth is just 80 feet. Recently a story done in Texas, about a town named Happy, who has simply run out of water for its farms. What once was a booming town that relied on the Ogallala Aquifer, has now seen its depths of underground water fall between 0-50 feet. Many wells are completely dry and farmers have been forced to hand over their land to the government’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in exchange for grants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently stated, “The supply is going to run out and the plains will become uneconomical to farm.” 60 years is what the U.S. Department of Agriculture gives it. This is a scary thought when you think about the way we have built cities, towns, and homes around something that is simply unsustainable. Consider the Colorado river as well, a river that used to run into the Pacific. Not anymore. By the time the water fills the pools of Vegas and irrigates and provides drinking water throughout the west, not a drop of water makes it to the ocean. Of course we can’t help but comment on how it is the government who has centrally planned people to live in the middle of nowhere, to live in deserts. If a free market would have reigned, we would see a much more practical living condition with very little “middle of the desert living,” not only relying on cheap oil, but the relocation of precious water. While researching the water crisis, FutureMoneyTrends.com came across studies
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about how in some places in Africa so much water has been pulled out of the ecosystem in order to bottle it and send it around the world, some towns have become deserts. As the world population grows, the water crisis will become front page news. According to the consulting company McKinsey & Company, by 2030 global water demand will be 40% greater than today’s “accessible, reliable, environmentally sustainable supply.” FutureMoneyTrends.com members should have no doubt that this is 100% tied into agriculture and rising food price inflation. 71% of global water withdrawals today go to irrigating our food. The U.S. government has screwed us with subsidies that are handed out to farmers who plant in areas that need an excessive amount of water. Subsidies are also handed out in misguided attempts to turn food into fuel, something that in our opinion is not only driving food costs up, but is wasting precious water resources. Like oil, it takes water for many goods. A cotton T-Shirt, 400 gallons; denim jeans, 1,800 gallons; a car, 39,000 gallons; a board of lumber, 5.4 gallons; a barrel of beer, 1,500 gallons; a gallon of paint, 12 gallons; one ton of steel, 62,000 gallons; a piece of paper, 2.6 gallons. Consider how much water it takes to grow our food, feed our animals, and ourselves.
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进阶大学英语第五单元课后练习答案
