The world is not only hungry but also thirsty for water. This may seem strange to you, since nearly 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. But about 97% of that is sea water or salt water. Man can only drink and use the other 3% of fresh water from rivers, lakes, underground and so on. And we can not even use all of that because some of it has been made dirty.

Earth Day is April 22. But on all other days, we must also remember how important water is. The water that we use is the most important natural resource on the earth. Today we face serious water problems. One of them is water pollution. All kinds of things from cars, factories, farms and homes make our rivers, lakes and oceans dirty. Polluted water is very bad for people to drink. And dirty water is bad for fish, too.

How do cars and factories make our water dirty? First they pollute the air. Then when it rains, the rain water makes our drinking water dirty. Dirty rain, called acid rain is also bad for plants, animals and buildings. Scientists say that in 30 years, more than half of the people in the world won’t have enough clean water. We have to learn how to stop wasting water. One of the first steps is to develop ways of reusing it. Today in most large cities, water is used only once and then sent out into a sewer system (下水道). From there it returns to the sea or goes underground.

But even though every large city reused its water, we would still not have enough. So we should make use of sea water by removing the salt in it. If we can take these steps, fresh water won’t be used up.

1.The world is thirsty for water because _______.

A. we don’t have enough fresh water      B. a lot of water goes into sewer systems

C. only 70% of the earth’s surface is water                  D. sea water is widely used rather than fresh water

2.From this passage, we know acid rain _______.

A. is only bad for living things       B. is not bad for buildings and factories

C. can be produced in factories        D. is bad for people, animals, plants and buildings

3.One difficult way we can solve the problem is to _______.

A. use the water with salt in it           B. remove the salt from sea water

C. get water from underground              D. reuse the water in cities

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Fresh water and sea water               B. A thirsty country

C. The importance of water  D. The world’s water problem

Katie Spotz is a 22-year-old girl form America. She wants to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat. If she succeeds, she’ll be the youngest and the first American to finish the 2500-mile trip.

Spotz began sailing when she was at university, but she has never tried to sail such a long way before. It will be a great challenge for her. In recent years, she has swum all the way down the 325-mile Allegheny River and traveled by bike form Seattle to Washington.

Spotz knows that she may see some dangerous things during the trip. It will be very dangerous if she meets very bad weather in the middle of the sea. But she believes that she can deal with all the difficulties.

“I never thought I could run 26 miles,” she said. “But once I finished it, I realized that maybe I could do something even more difficult.”

Spotz wants to collect money by going on this trip. She wants to collect money for an organization called “Blue Planet run”. The organization offers free, safe drinking water to people who need it.

It’ll take her about three months to finish this trip. Good luck to this brave girl and best wishes to her!

Welcome to the Blue Moon Beach land!

Check out the COOL things you can enjoy here in the HEAT of August, 2011!

Take Bus 201, 306 or take a taxi. Call 203-2228888 or surf http://www.blue moon. com for more information.

1.What can we do on the Blue Moon Beach land in the first week of August?

A. Enjoy the welcome party.

B.Go bike riding.

C. Have cold drinks.

2.When will we enjoy the music shows on the Blue Moon Beach land? '

A. In the morning.          B. In the afternoon.        C. In the evening.

3.Where can we have fresh seafood on the Blue Moon Beach land?

A. In Sand Garden.

b. At Fishermen’s Market.

C. In Gold Street.

4.How can we get to the Blue Moon Beach land?

A. By bus.          B. On foot.        C. By subway.

5.How can we get more information the Blue Moon Beach land?

A. Send an email.

b. Write a letter.

C. Call the phone or surf the Internet.