D
Have you ever thought about how much water you use in a day?
Starting from 1 February, each person in Cape Town, South Africa received a daily supply of 13.2 gallons of water, which is only enough for a ten-minute shower!
This restriction (限制) was introduced in preparation for 22 April, also known as Day Zero, on which the city will turn off all municipal (市政的) water taps because of the overuse of fresh water these years.
Over the past three years, Cape Town has suffered from a dangerous drought (干旱). That, along with a growing population of four million people, has caused a sharp drop in the water supply. As of April 2018, the water level in their largest water reservoir (水库) had dropped to 13.5% from 102.9% in 2014. What's worse, the last 10% of the reservoir's levels are not potable (safe to drink) because of the dirt at the bottom.
Firstly, researchers thought the cause of the drought was El Niño. Cape Town could become the first ever major city to run out of water. The government has called on people to
conserve the little water they have left by way of prevention, including stopping car washing and filling up swimming pools. They are asking the public to cut showers to two minutes and reuse bathing water to flush the toilet.
When Cape Town reaches Day Zero, there will be 200 water stations scattered (分散) across the town for people to receive their daily supply of 6.6 gallons. Armed guards will stand by to make sure there is no violence (暴力行为) or theft.
The water shortage has already influenced all parts of Cape Town. People's lives are being affected, with those in the tourism industry and businesses like car washing, seeing no chance to make a living. The relationship between people also becomes worse as neighbours are encouraged to report each other for water waste and the government plans to collect a drought tax as they are losing tax money because of the low water use.
(
) 61. How many gallons of water can people in Cape Town have on 22 April?
A. 13.2.
B. 13.5.
C. 10.
D. 6.6.
(
) 62. Over the past three years, the water shortage in Cape Town has become so serious because of
.
① a dangerous drought
② a growing population
③ overuse of fresh water
④ fewer water reservoirs
A. ①②③
B. ①③④
C. ②③④
D. ①②④
(
) 63. What does the underlined word "conserve" in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Produce.
B. Protect.
C. Promise.
D. Prepare.
(
) 64. What unusual thing will be done on Day Zero?
A. Receiving a daily supply of enough water.
B. Planning to collect a drought tax.
C. Turning off all municipal water taps.
D. Reusing bathing water to flush the toilet.
(
) 65. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The water in the largest water reservoir has already dropped to 10%.
B. Neighbours will learn to help each other when facing the serious problem.
C. Tourism industry and business will not be influenced by the shortage of water.
D. Armed guards will help to keep the water stations in order when Day Zero comes.
第Ⅱ卷(非选择题 共55分)
