If the Europeans thought a drought—a long period of dry weather-—was something that happened only in Africa, they know better no

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问题     If the Europeans thought a drought—a long period of dry weather-—was something that happened only in Africa, they know better now. After four years of below-normal rainfall (in some cases only 10 percent of the annual average), vast areas of France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Britain and Ireland are dry and barren (贫瘠). Water is so low in the canals of northern France that waterway traffic is forbidden except on weekends. Oyster (牡蛎) grows in Brittany report a 30 percent drop in production because of the loss of fresh water in local rivers necessary for oyster breeding. In southeastern England, the rolling green hills of Kent have turned so brown that officials have been weighing plans to pipe in water from Wales. In Portugal, farmers in the southern Alentejo region have held prayer meeting for rain—so far, in vain.
    Governments in drought-spread countries are taking severe measures. Authorities in hard-hit areas of France have banned washing cars and watering lawns. In Britain, water will soon be metered, like gas and electricity. "The English have always taken water for granted," says Graham Warren, a spokesman of Britain’s National Rivers Authority. "Now they’re putting a price on it. " Even a sudden end to the drought would not end the misery in some areas. It will take several years of unusually heavy winter rain, the experts say, just to bring existing water reserves up to their normal levels.
The drought in Europe has brought about all the following problems EXCEPT_____.

选项 A、below-normal rainfall
B、difficult navigation
C、a sharp drop in oyster harvest
D、bone-dry hills

答案A

解析 本题主要考查考生对第一段整体意思的把握。答案在第一段,从第三句到本段结束可看出欧洲的干旱引起了以下问题:船只航行困难,牡蛎产量下降,山丘干旱。低于平均水平的降雨量不属于干旱引起的问题,而应当是由于降雨量少引起干旱。因此A为正确答案。
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