Everyone needs safe drinking water, but about 1.1 billion people have no access to clean water. Most of the world's water is salty ocean water or frozen polar ice. By 2050, the world's population could grow from 6.7 billion to more than 9 billion. All of those people will need water to drink. But the bad news is that some areas of the world are growing drier because of climate change. The total area of the Earth's surface classified  as very dry has doubled since the 1970s. Sadly, the precious resource is still misused in industry, in farming and at homes.  Therefore, the world is facing a crisis over water. "You do the math, and it gets a little scary," says Stuart Minchin, a water expert in Australia. "We're waking up," he says. "But not fast enough."  In southern Australia, farmers have been hit hard. They can't irrigate  their fields well enough. The Australian government has launched a $1.3 billion project to improve Australia's irrigation system to stop the crop production dropping further.  Australians have serious water worries, but it could be worse. They don't have to fear that when they turn on the tap, nothing will come out. That's the case in India. Many people in New Delhi, the capital, go without clean water for days.  City leaders have taken stricter measures to save water. Users pay a very high but affordable price for it. Homeowners who waste water are given large fines. There are 1.9 million people who live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now it has grown by more than 300,000 people since 2002. But it uses less water today than it did seven years ago. What do people in Las Vegas think of the water-saving measures in their city? A) They have reduced the water usage. B) They are strongly against the measures. C) They feel they can't afford the high price. D) They doubt the effects of the measures.
A


Two men dressed as police officers stole about $200 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum early this morning. The two burglars knocked on a side door of the museum at about 1:15 am. They told the two security guards on duty that there was a disturbance in the area. The guards then made the very serious mistake of allowing the two men to go into the building. After they went in, the two burglars tied the guards up with tape. The two men stole 11 paintings and an ancient Chinese vase. The stolen works included three paintings by Rembrandt. A maintenance worker discovered the two guards at about 7 am and called police. One of the greatest losses was Rembrandt's works, "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee." It was a very popular attraction at the museum and was one of the most valuable works stolen. Museum officials said that the value of the stolen art is at least 200 million dollars, and may in fact be much more. The true value of the paintings is unknown, because they have not been on the market for nearly a century. This is considered to be the biggest theft ever in the United States. Officials are waiting to see whether the burglars will or try to sell them to a private collector. Museum officials and police are not sure why the burglars chose certain works and not others. There are other paintings in the museum that are even more valuable than the ones that were stolen. Special investigators are looking into the theft and the museum's security system. They believe that this is a "professional job," because the people involved were well prepared and knew what they wanted. Which of the following best explains "demand a ransom for the paintings"? A) Ask for money to give the paintings back. B) Send the paintings to some foreign country. C) Hide the paintings in a secret place. D) Change them into more valuable things
A


Q: Goals can help you do, be and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen. Successful and happy people have an idea of how their life should be and they set lots of goals to help them succeed. By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It's like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which is laid out for her on a map. She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goal or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives without an aim around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas and oil. Which driver do you want to be? Winners in life set goals and follow through on them. Winners decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren't difficult to set--and they aren't difficult to reach. It's up to you to find out what your goals and ideals really are. Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve. Written goals can be reviewed regularly,and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself be continuously alert to situations that will further your goals. According to the passage, successful people are different from unsuccessful ones because  _  . A) the successful people set goals for everything and can get help from others B) the unsuccessful people always set unrealistic plans for themselves C) the successful people set goals in their lives and make plans to carry it out D) the unsuccessful people make plans for everything but can not work hard
A: C


Q: If you've ever seen a James Bond movie,you'll know that the hero gets around in a smart Aston Martin car. Even if you know full well that you could never afford such an expensive vehicle, you don't forget the name, or the car. Why? You have been affected by product placement. Companies pay a film to place their products in the movie. Product placement took off in the West in the 1980s and is now catching on in China. Two Hunan Satellite TV dramas are recent examples:Ugly Wudi and Let's Go Watch the Meteor Shower (<<>> ). Shampoo, mobile phones, cars and fitness centers-anything can be product-placed. Advertisers value the mass appeal of the movies, knowing that a successful film can showcase their goods to hundreds of thousands of viewers. But when product placement takes over, artistic considerations can take a back seat. Cai Zhiyong has been product-placing for years. The Beijing-based advertiser admits there is a conflict between art and business. He explains the way one ad works. In If You are the One (<<>> ), the actress Shu Qi plays a flight attendant. The movie contains product placement for airline companies.  _ filmmakers often have to give less consideration to the quality of their work because they need money from advertisers. In the original story for Meteor Shower, the heroine's mother owned an ice cream shop. But no ice cream company wanted to sponsor   the film. For this reason, the story was changed. In the film the man drinks 20 cups of milk tea instead of eating ice cream. So you may see the power of business over the movies, since the script   was perhaps written so that a product could be placed-whether it was ice cream or milk tea. Product placement can have a bad effect on the  _   of a movie. A) atmosphere B) mass appeal C) box-office success D) artistic value

A: D