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
45
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
"Whatdoesthemiddlemandobutaddtothepriceofgoodsintheshops?"Suchremarksareaimedattheintermediateoperationsb
6.______pollutioncontrolmeasuresareexpensive,manylocalgovernmentshesitatetoadoptthem.
Modernindustrialsocietygrantslittlestatustooldpeople.Infact,suchasocietyhasasystemofbuilt-inobsolescence.The
AnIndiananthropologist,ChandraThapar,madeastudyofforeigncultures,whichhadcustomssimilarto【C1】______ofhisnative
Losingajobornotbeingabletofindonealmostalwaysbringsunwelcomechanges.Ifyou’velostajob,thefirstfeelingisof
Givingthechildproblemshecannotsolvewillonlyfrustratehim.
Moreandmorevehiclesusingcheapfuel,declaredscientistsattheconference,haveleftBangkok’schildrenwithbodyleadleve
旅游是一项集观光、娱乐、健身为一体的愉快而美好的活动。旅游业随着时代进步而不断进步。从20世纪中期起,现代旅游业在全世界迅速发展。游客人数不断增长,旅游业规模持续扩大,旅游经济地位显著提升,旅游活动愈益成为各国人民交流文化、增进友谊、扩大交往的重
中国已经明确了本世纪头20年的奋斗目标,这就是紧紧抓住重要战略机遇期,全面建设惠及十几亿人口的更高水平的小康社会,到2020年实现国内生产总值比2000年翻两番,达到4万亿美元左右,人均国内生产总值达到3000美元左右,使经济更加发展、民主更加健全、科教更
A、Consciousdestruction.B、Tourismindustry.C、Theft.D、Carelessness.D
随机试题
IDS狂犬病
A.右雷佐生B.奥美拉唑C.雷尼替丁D.维生素B6E.维生素K1由华法林导致的高危出血倾向,可选用()。
[2000年第041题]山西应县辽代佛宫寺释迦木塔经过多次地震仍安然无恙,这是因为塔身构造采用了哪些手法?
下列关于合规文化的特点,说法错误的有()。
坚持“二为"方向()。
汉字对于()相当于()对于网络
针:刺绣
根据公文的写作要求,该公文的正确文种应该是()。
在模块化程序设计中,按功能划分模块的原则是
苏绣(Suzhouembroidery)是苏州地区刺绣产品的总称,其具体发源地在苏州吴县一带。早在两千多年前的春秋时期,吴国已将刺绣用于服饰。到了明代,绘画艺术的发展推动了刺绣的发展。刺绣艺人结合绘画作品进行再制作,所绣佳作栩栩如生,有“以针作画”之称。
最新回复
(
0
)