But almost everyone contributes to water pollution. People often pour household cleaners, car antifreeze, and paint thinners (稀释剂) down the drain; all of these contain hazardous chemicals. Scientists studying water in the San Francisco Bay reported in 1996 that 70 percent of the pollutants could be traced to household waste.
Farmers have been criticized for overusing herbicides and pesticides, chemicals that kill weeds and insects but insects but that pollute water as well. Farmers also use nitrates, nitrogen--rich fertilizer that helps plants grow but that can wreak havoc (大破坏) on the environment. Nitrates are swept away by surface runoff to lakes and seas. Too many nitrates “overenrich” these bodies of water, encouraging the buildup of algae, or microscopic plants that live on the surface of the water. Algae deprive the water of oxygen that fish need to survive, at times choking off life in an entire body of water.
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Water expert Gleick advocates conservation and local solutions to water--related problems; governments, for instance, would be better off building small--scale dams rather than huge and disruptive projects like the one that ruined the Aral Sea.
“More than 1 billion people worldwide don’t have access to basic clean drinking water,” says Gleick. “There has to be a strong push on the part of everyone—governments and ordinary people—to make sure we have a resource so fundamental to life.”
提示:在实考试卷中，8-10题在答题卡1上。
1. That the huge water projects have diverted the rivers causes the Aral Sea to shrink.
2. The construction of massive dams and irrigation projects does more good than harm.
3. The chief causes of water shortage are population growth and water pollution.
4. The problems Americans face concerning water are ground water shrinkage and tap water pollution.
5. According to the passage all water pollutants come from household waste.
6. The people living in the United States will not be faced with water shortages.
7. Water expert Gleick has come up with the best solution to water—related problems.
8. According to Peter H. Gleick, by the year 2025, as many as of the world’s people will suffer from water shortages.
9. Twothirds of the freshwater on Earth is locked in .
10. In developed countries, before toxic chemicals are released into rivers and lakes, they should be treated in order to avoid .
Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension（35 minutes）
Section A
Directions:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations.At the end of each conversation,one or more questions will be asked about what was said.Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once.After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A),B),C) and D),and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
