Aroundtheworld,peoplearesatisfyingtheirthirstwithbottl...

欄目: 練習題 / 發佈於: / 人氣:1.61W

問題詳情：

Around the world, people are satisfying their thirst with bottled water. In the past 10 years, sales in Asia and South America have greatly increased. In 2007, people in the United States drank more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water. The United States now uses up the most bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil. Compared to sugary soft drinks, this seems a healthy choice. But is it a wise one?

A single-serve water bottle offers great convenience. It can be bought almost anywhere, carried around for a while, and then thrown away. The influence of bottled water on the environment, however, is surprising. Around 2.7 million tons of plastic are turned into disposable (用後可拋棄的) bottles each year. This requires large quantities of raw oil and water. It also produces greenhouse gases. Although the bottles can be recycled, only a small part of them are. The United States only recycles about 23 percent. The rest are part of a growing solid waste problem.

Convenience isn’t the only reason for bottled water’s rise in popularity. Words like “pure”, together with images of mountains or glaciers (*川), are used to market bottled water. Many people believe that it must be cleaner and more healthful than tap water from public water systems. But this is a wrong idea. In developed nations such as the United States and in Europe, rules that ensure safe water are often stricter for tap than for bottled water.

It may come as a surprise that as much as 40 percent of the water bottled in the United States starts out as tap water. Before bottling, some companies filter it, and they might add minerals for taste.

Despite its low origins, bottled water can cost anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water. Is the bottle ever better?

Bottled water has spread around the world. While it is an important source of safe drinking water, we should not lose sight of a more environmentally friendly source: the water that comes out of our taps (水龍頭).

21. What’s the author’s purpose in Paragraph one?

A. To correct some wrong views on bottled water.

B. To explain which countries lead in bottled water use.

C. To show that bottled water is growing popular all over the world.

D. To convince readers that bottled water is better than sugary soft drinks.

22. According to the text, what is the main problem with bottled water?

A. The poor quality of the water sources.

B. The waste associated with bottled water.

C. The difficulty in transporting the bottles.

D. The amount of water required to fill the bottles.

23. Why are words like “pure” used for selling bottled water?

A. To meet government’s laws. B. To show values of the buyers.