Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.
Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem.
It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.
One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.
However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.
Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.
小题1:Lake Victoria is __________.
| A．an important lake in Africa |
| B．the largest lake in the world |
| C．the source of water, food and power for America |
| D．the only source for the Nile River |
小题2:What does “
It is shrinking” most probably mean?
| A．It is becoming larger. |
| B．It is becoming more beautiful. |
| C．It is becoming smaller. |
| D．It is becoming more useful. |
小题3:The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.
| A．2.5 meters | B．11.9 meters | C．14.4 meters | D．9.4 meters |
小题4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.
B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.
C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.
D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.
小题5:According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?
| A．People must build more power plants. |
| B．More sources of water must be found. |
| C．Every country should offer some money to Africa. |
| D．All the people living in the area should move to another place. |
A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in the house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child’s bed while he is sleeping so he will see them at once when he wakes up.
India
The birthday child wears new clothes to mark the special time. Certain birthdays are more important than others. These are the third and seventh for girls and fifth for boys.
The birthday child receives an especially large present. The family also puts flowers on the birthday child’s chair to make it beautiful.