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(行动的) 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.

Can you infer where this passage is from?

    A. newspaper    B. TV programme    C. Radio broadcast    D. Internet 

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

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.

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.

THIS was the year the Earth struck back.

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.

Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird(古怪的) year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.

Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable(脆弱的) buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.

Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."

The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.

In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.

Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.

In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.

Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.

What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

A.Natrual disasters.       B.Terrorist attacks.

    C.Poor buildings.      D.Too rapid developrnent.

According to Andreas Schraft,             .

A.earthquakes are happening more often because of human beings

B.earthquakes are causing more damage because of human beings

C.stronger houses should be built to limit storm damage

D.Port—au—Prince is now overpopulated

The main point of the article is to           

A.list the natural disasters that occurred in 2010

B.give the details of some natural disasters of 2010

C.warn that more natural disasters are to strike

D.blame humanity for not helping those affected by the disasters

THIS was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird(古怪的) year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable(脆弱的) buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.
Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.
Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.
【小题1】What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

A.Natrual disasters.B.Terrorist attacks.
C.Poor buildings.D.Too rapid developrnent.
【小题2】According to Andreas Schraft,             .
A.earthquakes are happening more often because of human beings
B.earthquakes are causing more damage because of human beings
C.stronger houses should be built to limit storm damage
D.Port—au—Prince is now overpopulated
【小题3】The main point of the article is to           
A.list the natural disasters that occurred in 2010
B.give the details of some natural disasters of 2010
C.warn that more natural disasters are to strike
D.blame humanity for not helping those affected by the disasters

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(行动的) 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.

  1. 1.

    Can you infer where this passage is from?

    1. A.
      newspaper
    2. B.
      TV programme
    3. C.
      Radio broadcast
    4. D.
      Internet
  2. 2.

    What can we do to save water?

    1. A.
      find more water resources
    2. B.
      use less water everywhere, every time
    3. C.
      realize the importance of saving water
    4. D.
      unlock economic benefits of being water efficient
  3. 3.

    What is not the reason to save water?

    1. A.
      There are more and more people in the world.
    2. B.
      The water resources are limited.
    3. C.
      Agriculture needs more water.
    4. D.
      The water is very important for us.
  4. 4.

    What is the main idea of this passage?

    1. A.
      Water is very important for the human.
    2. B.
      Everybody has a responsibility to save water.
    3. C.
      It's time to be water efficient.
    4. D.
      Let’s save water for our future generations.

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