题目内容
In Yemen, you always see one type of vehicle on the road: the water truck．They travel mountain roads and cross deserts to bring Yemanis a good more valuable than oil．It is one that only the rich can afford, with the supply regularly being cut off．Others must rely on scarce rain or charity to fight thirst．
Experts say Yemen is gong to be the first country in the world to run out of water．The capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025, says a report by the World Bank．
Hannan, an 18 – year – old from Lashej, said that only the rich could prepare for cuts in supply．“In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week but then the following week there will be water only for a day or two,” she said．
She and her husband, a factory worker, pay 3000 riyals （99yuan） for a week’s supply of water from a touring water truck when the taps run dry．With an income of only 20,000 riyals （660 yuan） a month, this means the family often spend half their money on water．
“There are a lot of people who can’t afford it and they have to rely on their neighbors to help,” she said．
The average person in Yemen survives on one –fifth of what the World Health Organization considers to be enough water．
In Taiz, in the south, tap water is available only once every 45days．In the mountainous Malhan district in the north, women and children climb a 1,500 – m mountain to collect water from a spring, often in the small hours to avoid long queues．
Yemen is located in South – west Asia, bordering the Arabian and the Red seas．Yemeni people have lived on scarce water supplies for thousands of years but that problem has been made serious by conflict in the area, the fast – growing population and the use of water to grow a drug called qat．With one of the world’s highest rates of population growth – 3．46 percent, Yemen is the poorest Arab country．
The government is considering desalinating （淡化） seawater, but this would be expensive and it may now be too late．The only other solution is to cut down on farming, but that means importing even more food．
1．The passage aims to ．
A．analyze the reasons why Yemen lacks water
B．suggest some solutions to the water issue in Yemen
C．present how serious the water problem is in Yemen
D．encourage the world to help Yemenis who are suffering from water shortage
2．When Hannan said that only the rich could prepare for cuts in supply, she meant that ．
A．rich people drank more water than the poor
B．rich people could buy water from the water trucks if there was a water supply cut
C．she had a rich neighbor who often helped her during water supply cut
D．the rich were not affected by water supply cut
3．Which of the following may be a reason why Yemen is short of water?
A．The country has had no rain for a long time．
B．The population of Yemen is growing fast．
C．The government has failed to reduce farming．
D．People can’t afford the water from government water trucks．
4．The best title for the passage is ．
A．Never take water for granted
B．The water truck – the commonest sight in Yemen
C．The first country to run out of water in the world
D．No water for Yemen
CBBD
Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?
Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.
Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”
Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.
“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.
The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.
The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.
【小题1】The purpose of the text is to _______.
| A．tell us what life is like in Yemen |
| B．draw our attention to water shortage |
| C．remind us how important water is |
| D．show us ways of solving problems |
| A．buying water from shops |
| B．drinking dirty water |
| C．suffering from water shortage |
| D．washing clothes with used water |
| A．what her life is like |
| B．how beautiful Lahej is |
| C．how people use water fully |
| D．how heavy the traffic in Lahej is |
| A．has found a practical solution |
| B．only cares about rich people |
| C．may try to make use of seawater |
| D．can do nothing about the water supply |
| A．Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years |
| B．Hannan is a teenager from a rich family |
| C．the capital of Yemen is developing fast |
| D．private companies make a lot of money |