首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Water, which is essential for life, costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing, cost a lot." U
"Water, which is essential for life, costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing, cost a lot." U
admin
2011-01-10
47
问题
"Water, which is essential for life, costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing, cost a lot." Unfortunately, the world has changed considerably since an 18th century economist made this remark.
What was true over 200 years ago is certainly no longer true now. In a number of countries people pay as much for water in their homes as they do for electricity.
Like health, we ignore water when we have it--unless there are floods, of course. Once there is a threat to our water supply, however, water can quickly become the only thing that matters. We know only too well that, without water, there can be no life.
The situation is now becoming so bad that environmentalists feel it may be necessary to shock the world into saving water in a similar way to the shock caused by the oil crises in the 1970’s.
At that time, the oil crisis became such a serious threat to the lives of everyone in the developed countries that it made people conscious of the importance of saving oil and provided powerful encouragement for governments to look for other forms of energy.
The result undoubtedly was of major benefit to energy conservation.
There is now no longer an unlimited supply of fresh water. About 97 percent of the planet’s water is seawater. Another 2 percent is locked in icecaps and glaciers. There are also reserves of fresh water under the earth’s surface but these are too deep for us to use economically.
Unfortunately, competition is growing fiercely for what little water is available. It may be a matter of time before that competition becomes a conflict.
To make matters worse, the world’s population is increasing so rapidly that it is expected to grow to about 8 billion in 15 years.
Moreover, in many developed countries throughout the world, flush lavatories and washing machines mean the average person now uses 300 litres of water a day compared with 50 at the beginning of last century.
At the other extreme, according to the World Health Organization, one quarter of the world’s present population still lacks safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Most live in the southern hemisphere, where supplies of fresh water are put in jeopardy through dirty industrial practices, poor irrigation and erosion.
The social stability of the world is no longer threatened by global wars, the Cold War. However, the supply of water could soon become the chief threat to such stability. There is already evidence of this happening, especially in Africa.
Recently the Egyptian Government threatened to destroy any dams built on the Nile if they considered the dams would affect their supply of fresh water.
What is required immediately is an awareness of the true value of water and the formation of sensible water conservation strategies.
It is also of vital importance to have a consensus on how best to use shared water resources for the benefit of all the countries in the world as well as an examination of the best methods for the distribution of the world’s water.
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
选项
A、People now pay as much for water as they did 200 years ago.
B、People now pay as little for water as they did 200 years ago.
C、Water now costs as much as it used to.
D、Water now has become more expensive than it was.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/BQcO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI中级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI中级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
Althoughmanymodificationshavebeenmadeinit,thegameknownintheUnitedStatesasfootballcanbetraceddirectlytothe
UncleVernon,quiteunlikeHarryPotterwholookednothingliketherestofthefamily,waslarge,veryfat,and______,withan
OfalltheemployedworkersintheUnitedStates,12.5millionarepartofatemporaryworkforce.TheUnitedStatesBureauofLa
OfalltheemployedworkersintheUnitedStates,12.5millionarepartofatemporaryworkforce.TheUnitedStatesBureauofLa
Inthesecondhalfofeachyear,manypowerfulstormsareborninthetropicalAtlanticandCaribbeanseas.Of【C1】______,onlya
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitudes.Emotionalreactionsaswellaslogicalthought
She’scute,noquestion.Symmetricalfeatures,flawlessskin,lookstobe22yearsold—enteringanymeat-marketbar,awomanluc
BlairAdmitsNeverHavingSentFlowerstoHisWifeBritishPrimeMinisterTonyBlairadmittedonatelevisionprogrammethat
A、China.B、TheUnitedStates.C、Japan.D、SouthAfrica.C根据原文第一段最后一句话,可知赞成核电站建设的国家有中国、南非和(美国的)布什政府,由此可推断,正确的选项只能是日本,因为该国未包括在上述国家中
Whenastudyreleasedearlierthisyearlinkedsleepingpillstoanincreaseincanceranddeathrates,morethanafewinsomnia
随机试题
欲配制0.1mg/mL的铁标准溶液250mL,应称取硫酸亚铁铵Fe(NH4)2(SO4)2.6H2O多少克?(Fe(NH4)2(SO4)2.6H2O的相对分子质量为392.13,Fe的相对分子质量为55.85。)
中国共产党的性质决定了党的宗旨是全心全意为人民服务。检验党的一切执政活动的最高标准是()
慢性肾小球肾炎患者,继发肾性高血压。若患者尿蛋白<1g/24h,理想的血压控制目标是
姜汁炮炙药物的目的是()
除基本医疗保险不予支付的药品外,均按基本医疗保险的规定支付所发生的药品使用费不能纳入基本医疗保险用药范围
某饭馆因使用劣质食用油经人举报,卫生管理机关经过调查,于5月20日决定对其处以200元的罚款。5月25日处罚决定书送达当事人。根据行政处罚法的规定当事人( )。
下列表述中属于施工定额特性的是()。
下列古代皇帝的称谓中不属于庙号的是()。
××县人社局以×社字〔2015〕第15号文件向省委、省政府行文,请求增加预算费用,并抄送财务科。下列说法错误的是()。
下列关于参数传递的说法中,正确的是______。
最新回复
(
0
)