It's time to be water efficient!

  As populations increase across Australia and the rest of the world,demand for water will also increase. If we don't reduce each individual's demand for water (both directly and through embodied water) ,the water situation will become dire.

  It is obvious that we cannot increase demands for water much more without detrimental (有害的) effects to the environment,society and the economy.

  It's all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation―"if 70% of water is used for agriculture then that's what we should target"―but it's not that easy. We all depend on the food and resources that agriculture provides,and while there are definitely opportunities to increase water efficiency on the farm,the solution will take more than that.

  We each share responsibility for the sustainable management of our water resources,which means using less water at home,in the workplace,at school,on holidays,on the farm... everyone,everywhere,every time.

  It's time to become water efficient!This involves reassessing our relationship with water,and learning to use it more sparingly. On the most basic level,it requires a behavioural change,and assigning a value to water that truly reflects its worth.

  We can also unlock economic benefits of being water efficient. There are many real world examples given in the case studies on this site.

  Everybody has a responsibility to save water,if future generations are to enjoy a similar standard of living to the one we enjoy now. In fact,many of the impacts associated with water use are likely to have an effect on our own lives!

  Www. savewater. com. au has been designed to help you respond to the challenge to become water efficient. It acts as a central repository for relevant information and further advice,so that you can actually achieve significant savings. It also showcases those companies with products that will assist you in your goal.

(   ) 5. You will probably find the article in         .

   A. a newspaper   B. a TV programme

   C. radio broadcast   D. Internet

(   ) 6. What can we do to save water?

   A. Find more water resources.

   B. Use less water everywhere,every time.

   C. Realize the importance of saving water.

   D. Unlock economic benefits of being water efficient.

(   ) 7. What is NOT the reason to save water?

   A. There are more and more people in the world.

   B. The water resources are limited.

   C. Agriculture needs more water.

   D. The water is very important for us.

(   ) 8. What is the main idea of this passage?

   A. Water is very important for the human.

   B. Everybody has a responsibility to save water.

   C. It's time to be water efficient.

   D. Let's save water for our future generations.

Once there were two brothers,John and Tom,whose father died. They divided the land in half. Over time,the older brother John married and had six children,while the younger brother Tom never married.

One night,Tom lay awake. "It's not fair that each of us has half the land to farm," he thought. "My brother has six children to feed and I have none. He should have more grain than I do."

So that night Tom went to his silo,gathered a large bag of wheat,and climbed the hill that separated the two farms and over to his brother's farm. Leaving the wheat in John's silo,he re?turned home,pleased.

Earlier that very same night,John was also thinking , " In my old age my wife and I will have our grown children to take care of us,while my brother will probably have none. He should at least sell more grain from the fields now so he can provide for himself with dignity in his old age."

So that night,too,he did the same as Tom..

The next morning,Tom was surprised to see the amount of grain in his silo unchanged. "I can not have taken as much wheat as I thought," he said,confused. "Tonight I'll be sure to take more."So it was the same with John.

After night fell,each brother did the same thing as last night. The next morning,the brothers were again puzzled at the unchanged silo. But they decided to do it again.

The third night,each brother gathered a large pile of wheat,and went to his brother's silo. At the top of the hill,under the shadow of the moon,each brother noticed a figure in the dis?tance.

Who could it be?

(   ) 5. Why did Tom think it's unfair for him to have half the land?

   A. Because his brother had a big family to support on half the land.

   B. Because he wanted to get more land,for he was younger.

   C. Because his parents loved his brother more than him.

   D. Because his brother had six children to help farm the land.

(   ) 6. What call we learn from the passage?

   A. Tom stole a large bag of wheat from John's.

   B. Both of the two brothers did the same thing that night.

   C. Tom was disappointed to see the grain stolen.

   D. The brothers decided to sell their grains in their own way.

(   ) 7. When the two brothers found the unchanged grain,they felt         .

   A. disappointed   B. frightened

   C. confused   D. pleased

(   ) 8. The author writes this passage in order to         .

   A. tell us a story about the two brothers

   B. introduce the two brothers' wisdom

   C. bring out an interesting topic

   D. present the brotherhood between them

 It started in kindergarten. I made a resolution.

  I was always curious about the globe and the World Book Encyclopedia in our house.   I'd climb up to reach them and take them off the shelves. I learned a new big word continent.

  "We live in a Melting Pot , ”I remember hearing that. I noticed maps of oceans,countries and people. I began drawing pictures of the many different people who had come from all over the world to live in the United States. I wanted to see the world!

  Through travel,education,and amazing opportunities that came my way,I began my jour?ney.

  In South America,I walked through rainforests with mountains,wild life,and ...it really rained!However,I heard a talk that rainforests are disappearing ...There're lots of languages in?cluding English in Africa and also lots of poor people who live in the disadvantaged communities hardly feeding themselves... In Europe,I found out that Big Ben is not a giant person. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower,and riding on a gondola (a kind of boat) in Venice were exciting... Sitting in a plane,I had a chance to have a glance at one of Australia's most beautiful natural gifts,the Great Barrier Reef... Asia was special when I first saw pandas. And then,in Thai?land,it was the elephants. Seeing them made me realize that animals,big and small,need the help of people like you and me...

  Antarctica is not an easy place to get to!I boarded a small plane with a scientist. While in route,depending on the weather,the pilot wasn't sure if we could land. And... we did!The scientist explained she had prepared twenty times before her first landing in Antarctica. It was like a foreign land―the land of penguins. They were all so busy but happy. My heart went out to them when I remembered the penguin movies I'd seen and the stories of sadness ...

  "Think green". I began hearing scientists predict that global warming is underway. My resolution began to evolve:I need to not just hear the words,but to learn more about " going green."I used to hear, "You can't protect what you don't know. " The one thing I've learned in all my travels is that the planet needs our help right now. We all need to find a way to help in "going green".

(   ) 5. How many continents has the author been to?

   A. Four. B. Five. C. Six. D. Seven.

(   ) 6. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   A. The author got to know the world by means of different ways.

   B. The author had difficulty in communicating with the Africans.

   C. When traveling,the author always had companies or guides.

   D. Before the author went to Europe,he thought the Europeans were all tall.

(   ) 7. Compared with the scientist visiting Antarctica,the author was more         .

   A. fortunate   B. careful   C. energetic   D. excited

(   ) 8. What is the author's further resolution?

   A. To learn more about the diverse cultures in the world.

   B. To try to make his childhood dream come true.

   C. To help thirdworld people get out of poverty and hunger.

   D. To contribute himself to protecting and bettering the environment.

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