【题目】 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 dont reduce each individuals 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.

Its all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation –“if 70% of water is used for agriculture then thats what we should target but its 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】Can you infer where this passage is from?

A. newspaper

B. TV programme

C. Radio broadcast

D. Internet

【2】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

【3】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.

【4】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. Lets save water for our future generations.

【题目】 In his 1930 essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, John Keynes, a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs, which are independent of what others have, and relative needs, which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable(无止境的), this is not true of absolute needs.

Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.

Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demand for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.

There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demands for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sports car on the market. Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.

By placing the desire/span> to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.

【1】According to the passage, John Keynes believed that .

A. desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs

B. absolute needs come from our sense of superiority

C. relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands

D. absolute needs are stronger than relative needs

【2】What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?

A. They want to show their superiority.

B. They find specialty important to meals.

C. Their demands for food are not easily satisfied.

D. Their choice of dinner is related to ideas of quality

【3】 What does the underlined word escalation in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Understanding B. Increase

C. Difference D. Study

【4】The author of the passage mainly argues that .

A. absolute needs have no limits

B. demands for quality are not insatiable

C. human desires influence ideas of quality

D. relative needs decide most of our spending

【题目】A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had ___ a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well ___it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day___, the young man awaited ___ that his father had purchased the car. ___, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. He handed his son a ___ wrapped gift box.

Curious,and somewhat ___, the young man opened the pretty box and found a lovely,leatherbound book,with the young man’s name embossed(凸印)in gold.

Angrily,he raised his ___ at his father and said, “With all your money ,you give me a used book?”He then ___ out of the house.

Many years passed and the young man was very ___ in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but ___ his father was very old, he thought perhaps he ___ go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make ___, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and ___ all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.He began to ___ through his father’s important papers and saw the gift—a ___ wrapped book ,just as he had ___ it years ago.With tears,he open the book and began to turn the ___. His father underlined a verse,”...know how to give good gifts to your children...”

As he read those words,a car key ___ from the back of the book.He picked it up. It had a tag(标牌) with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had wanted. On the tag was the date of his ___, and the words PAID IN FULL.

【1】 A.designed B.possessed C.admired D.booked

【2】 A.afford B.support C.offer D.manage

【3】A.arrived B.approached C.ended D.closed

【4】 A.signals B.signs C.promises D.agreements

【5】 A.Gradually B.Hopefully C.Luckily D.Finally

【6】 A.beautifully B.strangely C.commonly D.fairly

【7】 A.amazed B.annoyed C.surprised D.disappointed

【8】 A.head B.hands C.voice D.eyes

【9】 A.slipped B.stormed C.broke D.stepped

【10】 A.interested B.generous C.successfully D.professional

【11】 A.remembered B.reminded C.refused D.realized

【12】A.would B.could C.should D.might

【13】 A.arrangements B.choices C.decisions D.achievements

【14】A.restricted B.abandoned C.willed D.donated

【15】 A.get B.pass C.follow D.research

【16】 A.still B.already C.even D.ever

【17】 A.deivered B.left C. imagined D.found

【18】A.pages B.passages C.words D.pictures

【19】 A.occurred B.turned C.dropped D.extended

【20】 A.wedding B.graduation C.return D.birthday

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