Listening – Gap Filling – Bài Thực Hành Số 10

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

• This paper pertains to one major concern about water for people everywhere – that is a 31 source of water.
• Australia is a dry continent and thus water is very 32
• We utilise the most water for 33
• We discover the purest water in rivers, creeks, 34
• Rainfall is a useful source of water unless there is significant 35
• People in the West wish the water to be 36
• Water is highly prone to 37
• In the home, one of the most important uses of water is for 38

Good morning and welcome to yet another 1 in Environmental Science. I don’t think I am telling you a 2 when I mention that water is a big worry here in Australia. The stuff is 3 . Perhaps that’s why we drink so much beer, eh?

Seriously, though, a safe and 4 source of water is one of the great 5 of people everywhere . Moreover, as the world 6 grows, the pressure on existing water 7 grows greater and greater. Think about it. Our economic system 8 that there be more and more consumers. The growing number of people has been tied to climate change, including 9 . So more people means less water. But our economic system demands a high birth rate. For­get about 10 . Soon enough you will see wars for water. Mark my words.

But today, I’m going to confine my 11 to Australia. As noted already, here down under the water supply is extremely scarce. The only drier continent is Antarctica – and remember, no one really lives there anyway. Moreover, in recent years, the wind patterns have 12 . Rain that used to fall on the country now falls out to sea hundreds of 13 to the south.

Now, when I speak of people needing water, most of you probably think of drinking. Certainly everyone needs water for drinking. But surprising as it may sound, drinking is not anywhere near being the main use for water. Most water is actually used for washing. When you take a 14 , you probably use well over a hundred litres of water. Every time you 15 your toilet, that’s about eight litres. But most people drink no more than two litres or so per day.

So, where to get water? It could be 16 from rainwater, but often rainfall consists of other harmful 17 that 18 with the water. In fact, acid rain, an intense example of this, causes harmful effects on the wildlife of the habitat on which it falls. Water from 19 could also be used, though it is more difficult to con­tain and often must go through an extensive cleansing process. The purest water is found in rivers, creeks, lakes, and 20 . And, sad today, Australia has precious few of these. Really, how many of your home towns have rivers? Year-round rivers, I mean. The soil tends to be sandy, so water 21 into the ground. Many places are rocky too, so 87% of the rainfall is lost to 22 . That’s almost twice the evaporation rate in my native Canada!

Speaking of rain, we already heard how rainfall is 23 here in Oceania. The quantity itself isn’t the only problem, either. Going back to the problems with obtaining rainwater, a further problem is that rain is a useful source of water only if air pollution is fairly mild. Again, you’re in a 24 where you can’t win. You need water where most people live. People tend to build cities where rain­fall is 25 . But then modern cities tend to feature 26 air which renders the rain far less easily usable. OK, let’s take a look at the table here, you’ll see it showing the 27 pollution of rainfall in the world’s cities. The more people, the dirtier the rain.

This is becoming a huge concern for people in the West, who want their water to be 28 and safe. Though reliable drinking water is important everywhere, the concern in the West is 29 in all the government regulations and political 30 aimed at solving this problem. In contrast, there are not as many demands made on the governments in Asian and African cultures to improve the water, as their focus is on other 31 .

Now, whatever the source of water, we can never afford to forget that all water is highly 32 to 33 . Whether we’re getting it from the ground, from bodies of water, or rainfall, it is 34 to a variety of toxins. In fact, that’s why we clean it before using it: water 35 with it filth and dirt. This problem shows up in a number of different ways.

As humans and all other animals need water to survive, it’s no sur­prise to us that one of the most important 36 uses of water is for drinking. Yet if you have old-fashioned lead pipes, you may slowly be 37 yourself by drinking that nice clear water. The industrial pollution, farm 38 , and leaky landfills are well-known sources of contaminants as well.