Scientists have developed a water treatment system that they say is a powerful but simple way to save lives. Four grams of chemicals can treat ten liters of dirty water for a low cost, about ten cents.
Experts say infections from dirty water kill several thousand children in developing countries every day. The Procter and Gamble company has been developing the "PUR Purifier of Water" system since 1995. The company has been working with the United States Centers for Disease control and Prevention(C.D.C.).
C.D.C. researchers tested it in Guatemala, Pakistan and Kenya. Procter and Gamble researcher Greg Allgood says cases of diarrhea(腹泻) in those studies fell by about 50 percent. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland tested the system at a refugee camp in Liberia. Mr. Allgood says that study found a reduction of more than 90 percent. Use of the system is being expanded worldwide.
The treatment contains bleach(漂白剂) to kill disease-causing organisms. It also contains something that dirt and other particles stick to. Mr. Allgood says the chemicals can remove lead and other dangerous metals and even agricultural poisons like D.D.T.
Mr. Allgood heads the Children's Safe Drinking Water program at Procter and Gamble. He says about forty million packets of the treatment have been given to countries for free. They have been used in emergencies and in areas with limited supplies of clean water.
Clean water is a limited resource in many parts of the world. Delegates from about 130 nations attended the Fourth World Water Forum last month in Mexico City. Scientists, policy experts and others discussed ways to provide clean water to the world’s poor. Organizers say more than twenty percent of the world population lacks clean drinking water. The final declaration did not go so far as to declare water a human right. But it did say that governments, not private companies, must take the lead in improving the public’s ability to have clean water.
46. What is mainly talked about in this passage?
A. Water pollution around the world.
B. The causes of diarrhea in African countries.
C. A newly developed water treatment system.
D. The Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico City.
47. Which of the following developed the water treatment system?
A. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
B. The Procter and Gamble Company and C.D.C.
C. The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program.
D. Johns Hopkins University.
48. Which of the following about the new water treatment system is NOT true?
A. It is effective but very expensive.
B. It was tested in Guatemala, Pakistan and Kenya.
C. It is being expanded worldwide.
D. It can remove dangerous metals in the water.
49. Which of the following shows that the shortage of clean water is a serious problem?
A. Forty million packets of the treatment have been given to countries for free.
B. Delegates from about 130 nations attended the Fourth World Water Forum.
C. Four grams of chemicals can treat liters of dirty water for a low cost.
D. Infections from dirty water kill several thousand children every day.
50. The best title for this article is ______.
A. A Small Packet of Chemicals, a Big Effect on Dirty Water
B. The Procter and Gamble Company and C.D.C.
C. The Shortage of Clean Water                           
D. How to Cure Diarrhea

    Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation (卫生设备).

     The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate (不充足的) water and sanitation kill between 2高☆考♂资♀源?网 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition (前提) for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.

Consider these facts:

     The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.

     Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water, and only 37 percent of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.

     Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-born diseases.

Here are three ways you can help:

     (1) Write Congress

     Current US foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.

     (2) Donate to a project with a faith-based organizations

     Many US religious groups already donate to water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply a single project by a US organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.

     (3) Support nonprofit water organizations

     Many US-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects on drinking water and sanitation. Some organizations are large, others small, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.

The passage is probably written for         .

A. Americans                B. people in developing countries

C. religious leaders     高☆考♂资♀源?网      D. nonprofit water organizations

What is the problem that the facts exposed?

A. Inequality between men and women.                             

B. Many people have no access to clean drinking water.

C. Less effort has been made to improve the basic sanitation.                              

D. Children suffer most from the lack of basic sanitation.

The purpose of the passage is to arouse people to         .

A. help the developing countries              

B. help solve the water shortage and sanitation problem

C. support nonprofit water organizations     

D. help get rid of water-related diseases around the world

Which is the best title of the passage?

A. From Water Shortage and Sanitation to Poverty             

B. Developing World, A Place Needs Help

C. Water Shortage and Sanitation, What Can We Do?

D. Water Shortage and Sanitation

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.

    The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.

    That no longer happens. But we still get in “hot water”. When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble---serious, and not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother, if he comes into the house with dirty shoes.

    Being in “deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in “deep water”, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who cannot swim being thrown into water over his head.

     You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you do not have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest(投资) in stocks(股票) without knowing anything about the stock market.

     “To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

     “Water over the dam” is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water which has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.

53. 1.The passage mainly tells us _______ .

A. the importance of water in our life    B. some expressions about water   

C. some sad stories about water         D. some lessons about daily life

54. 2. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say “ _______”.

A. You are in hot water                          B. You are in deep water

C. Keep your head above water               D. It is water over the dam

55．3.Two of the phrases “to be in hot water” “to be in deep water” mentioned in the passage have the same meaning of “ _______ ”.

A. to be in debt                          B. to be in difficulty

C. to be useless                           D. to be out of water

56. 4.Which of the following expressions is a bit different from the others in meaning?

A. To be in hot water.                B. To be in deep water.

C. To keep your head above water.      D. Water over the dam.

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself.

The expression to be in hot water is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.

That no longer happens. But we still get in hot water. When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble—serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother, if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.

Being in deep water is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position.

To keep your head above water is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

Water over the dam is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water that has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.

Another common expression to hold water, is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container.; If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes.

Throwing cold water also is an expression that deals with ideas or suggestions. It means to not like an idea. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems. But your wife throws cold water on the idea, because she says a new car costs too much.

1.If Robert says he is in deep water, we may guess_________.

A.he is swimming under the water

B.he is tired of changing shoes

C.he nearly breaks a law

D.he faces a difficult choice

2.What can you say to your friend Jane, who is troubled by a mistake she has made?

A.Keep your head above water.

B.Throw cold water.

C.It is water over the dam.

D.It can hold water.

3.If your argument doesn’t hold water, then it is _________.

A.weak          B. convincing           C. logical              D. disappointing

4.The passage explains the origins of the following expressions EXCEPT_________.

A.to be in hot water

B.to keep your head above water

C.water over the dam

D.to hold water

The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the America from being discovered by the people of Europe.

　　The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000 km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) wide.

　　There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than 2 miles (3.2 km) deep, but in some places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This "deep" measures 30,246 feet --- almost six miles (9.6 km).

　　Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships. We now have such fast ways of travelling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!

1. From the third paragraph, we can learn that ______ .

A. the Atlantic will dry up in 4,000 years' time

B. no river flows into the Atlantic ocean　　　

C. it's hard to imagine how much water there is in the Atlantic ocean

D. the Ocean floor is rather flat

2.Suppose it's February 27th, 2000. You take a steamship to cross the Atlantic to North America, when will you probably get there?

A. On March 2nd　         B. On March 3rd 　　

C. On February 28th 　　　  D. In eight hours' time

3. What can you learn from the last paragraph of the passage ?

A. The Atlantic has grown smaller than it used to be.

B. The Atlantic had grown wider than it used to be.

C. Fast ways of travelling make the ocean grow smaller.

D. Fast ways of travelling make the ocean seem to grow smaller.