Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts (干旱) are causing famine and distress in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world's population is expected to double in the next 50 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.

　 But that doesn't have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world---if we start valuing water more than we did in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.

　 Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.

　 Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound (健康的) ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions (凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.

　 No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate (调整) water policy.

What is the real cause of the potentials water crisis.

　　A. Only half of the world's water can be used.

　　B. The world population is increasing faster and faster.

　　C. Half of the world's water resources have been seriously polluted.

　　D. Humanity has not placed enough value on water resources.

As is indicated in the passage, the water problem _________ .

A. is already serious in certain parts of the world.

B. has been exaggerated by some experts in the field

　　C. poses a challenge to the technology of building reservoirs(水库)

　　D. is underestimated by government organizations at different levels

According to the author, the water price should _______ .

　　A. be reduced to the minimum        B. stimulate domestic demand

　　C. go with its real value             D. take into account the occurrences of droughts

In order to raise the efficiency of the water supply, measures should be taken to ______ .

　　A. guarantee full protection of the environment

　　B. centralize the management of water resources

　　C. increase the sense of responsibility of agencies at all levels

D. encourage local and regional water resources

Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts (干旱) are causing famine and distress in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world's population is expected to double in the next 50 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.

　 But that doesn't have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world---if we start valuing water more than we did in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.

　 Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.

　 Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound (健康的) ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions (凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.

　 No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate (调整) water policy.

1.What is the real cause of the potentials water crisis.

　　A. Only half of the world's water can be used.

　　B. The world population is increasing faster and faster.

　　C. Half of the world's water resources have been seriously polluted.

　　D. Humanity has not placed enough value on water resources.

2.As is indicated in the passage, the water problem _________ .

A. is already serious in certain parts of the world.

B. has been exaggerated by some experts in the field

　　C. poses a challenge to the technology of building reservoirs(水库)

　　D. is underestimated by government organizations at different levels

3. According to the author, the water price should _______ .

　　A. be reduced to the minimum        B. stimulate domestic demand

　　C. go with its real value             D. take into account the occurrences of droughts

4.In order to raise the efficiency of the water supply, measures should be taken to ______ .

　　A. guarantee full protection of the environment

　　B. centralize the management of water resources

　　C. increase the sense of responsibility of agencies at all levels

D. encourage local and regional water resources

If you have ever gone through a toll booth(收费所), you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent affairs: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off.
　　Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.
　　"What are you doing?" I asked.
　　"I'm having a party," he said.
　　"What about the rest of the people?" I looked at the other toll booths.
　　He said, "What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.
　　"They look like……toll booths. What do they look like to you?"
　　He said, "Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."
　　I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."
He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that. I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here……and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."
【小题1】According to the first paragraph, in most cases, how do you describe the relationship between drivers and toll booth?

Humanity uses a little less than half the water available worldwide. Yet occurrences of shortages and droughts (干旱) are causing famine and distress in some areas, and industrial and agricultural by-products are polluting water supplies. Since the world’s population is expected to double in the next 50 years, many experts think we are on the edge of a widespread water crisis.
　 But that doesn’t have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world---if we start valuing water more than we did in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.
　 Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.
　 Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound (健康的) ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions (凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.
　 No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water use. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate (调整) water policy.
【小题1】What is the real cause of the potentials water crisis.