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
考研
Most people may drink only two liters of water a day, but they consume about 3 000 if the water that goes into their food is tak
Most people may drink only two liters of water a day, but they consume about 3 000 if the water that goes into their food is tak
admin
2017-07-09
19
问题
Most people may drink only two liters of water a day, but they consume about 3 000 if the water that goes into their food is taken into account. The rich gulp down far more, since they tend to eat more meat, which takes far more water to produce than grains. So as the world’s population grows and incomes rise, farmers will need a great deal more water to keep everyone fed; 2 000 more cubic kilometers a year by 2030, according to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Yet in many farming regions, water is scarce and likely to get scarcer as global warming worsens. The world is facing not so much a food crisis as a water crisis, argues Colin Chartres, IWMI’s director-general.
The solution, Mr. Chartres and others contend, is more efficient use of water or, as the sloganeers put it, " more crop per drop". Some 1.2 billion people live in places that are short of water. Farming accounts for roughly 70% of human water consumption. So when water starts to run out, farming tends to offer the best potential for thrift. But governments rarely charge farmers a market price for water. So they are usually more wasteful than other consumers—even though the value they create from the water is often less than households or industry would be willing to pay for it.
The pressing need is to make water go further. Antoine Frerot, the head of the water division of Veolia Environment, promotes recycling of city wastewater to be used in industry or agriculture. This costs less and cuts pollution.
Yet as Mr. Frerot himself concedes, there are many even cheaper ways to save water. As much as 70% of water used by farmers never gets to crops, perhaps lost through leaky irrigation channels or by draining into rivers or groundwater. Investment in drip irrigation, or simply repairing the worst leaks, could bring huge savings.
Farmers in poor countries can usually afford such things only if they are growing cash crops, says David Molden of IWMI. Even basic kit such as small rainwater tanks can be lacking. Ethiopia, for example, has only 38 cubic meters of storage capacity per inhabitant, compared to almost 5 000 in Australia. Yet modest water storage can hugely improve yields in rain-fed agriculture, by smoothing over short dry spells. Likewise, pumping water into natural aquifers for seasonal storage tends to be much cheaper than building a big dam, and prevents the great waste of water through evaporation.
Agronomists are beginning to devise tools to help monitor the efficiency of water use. Some have designed algorithms that use satellite data on surface temperatures to calculate the rate at which plants are absorbing and transpiring water. That allows governments and development agencies to concentrate their efforts on the most prodigal areas.
Raising yields does not always involve greater water consumption, especially when farms are inefficient. It would take little extra water to double cereal output in many parts of Africa, Mr. Molden argues. IWMI reckons that some three-quarters of the extra food the world needs could be provided simply by bringing yields in poor countries closer to those of rich ones. That is more realistic than the absolute alternative: giving up meat and other thirsty products altogether.
[A] cultivating cash crops
[B] leaking irrigation system
[C] expenses and efficiency
[D] surface temperature data
[E] low water price
[F] water shortage
[G] food crisis
Farmers waste more water due to
选项
答案
E
解析
题目对应信息在第二段第四、五句:But governments rarely charge farmers a market price for water.So they are usually more wasteful than other consumers...大意是,政府很少按市场价向农民收水费,所以农民通常比其他消费者更浪费水。所以水价低造成了农民浪费水多。干扰项B中leaking irrigation system“漏水的灌溉系统”只是表象,根本原因是水价低。如果水价高,农民为了省钱也会想办法解决这些水浪费问题的。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IjbZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Finally,otherpeoplemaygiveusinstrumentalsupport—financialaid,materialresources,andneededservices—thatreducesstres
Thequickadoptionoftheschememayhaveindicatedlessaboutthestatelawmakers’respectforworkingpeoplethanaboutafear
Researchershaveestablishedthatwhenpeoplearementallyengaged,biochemicalchangesoccurinthebrainthatallowittoact
【F1】Mostpeopleknowthatawkwardfeelingwhenyoushuffleintoanelevatorwithotherpeopleandtrynottomakeeyecontact.【
【F1】Mostpeopleknowthatawkwardfeelingwhenyoushuffleintoanelevatorwithotherpeopleandtrynottomakeeyecontact.【
Manyphilosophershavearguedthatpeoplemakedecisionsaboutwhat’srightandwrongbasedonmoralprinciplesandrationaltho
Manyphilosophershavearguedthatpeoplemakedecisionsaboutwhat’srightandwrongbasedonmoralprinciplesandrationaltho
随机试题
follow-upcalls
功能平肝潜阳,软坚散结,收敛固涩的药是功能滋阴潜阳,软坚散结,善治阴虚风动的药是
A.卡马西平与香豆素类抗凝药合用B.卡马西平与对乙酰氨基酚合用C.卡马西平与雌激素合用D.卡马西平与单胺氧化酶抑制剂合用E.卡马西平与环孢素合用单次超量或长期大量,肝脏中毒的危险增加的是()。
企业销售商品、提供劳务等主营业务的成本通过“主营业务成本”账户核算,该账户期末余额在借方。()
中国人民银行向一级交易商购买有价证券,并约定在未来特定日期将有价证券卖给原一级交易商的交易行为称为()。
某生产企业位于某省会城市,2004年5月转让一座旧办公楼,取得转让收入500000元,并收到转账支票一张。已知该办公楼的原价为2000000元,已提折旧1600000元,转让过程中发生清理费用和印花税10000元,款项以银行存款支付。根据上述资料,回答下列
GDP是衡量一个国家或地区经济发展水平的重要标志,但如果以牺牲环境,资源为代价来换取GDP的增长,那就不是绿色GDP,而是“带血GDP”。促进绿色GDP曾长,必须()。
负面新闻并不是永远都制造_________,从商业角度看,负面宣传在某种情况下可以_________销售,尤其在公司和产品不知名的情况下。曾有研究者发现,如果某些书籍的作者让读者感觉_________,书被评为劣作却能起到相反的效果——它们的销量增加了45
使用语句(43)可在HTML表单中添加默认选中的单选框,语句(44)可添加提交表单。(43)
Thefollowingdatasufficiencyproblemsconsistofaquestionandtwostatements,labeled(1)and(2),inwhichcertaindataare
最新回复
(
0
)