Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water —— drink recycled sewage(污水) or die.
With the drought(干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified waste water for drinking, even if there is great opposition to the measure
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier.
“I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water,” said former Premier Peter Beattie. “These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There’s no choice. It's liquid gold; it a matter of life and death.”
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking．
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel．
But Australians have never liked the idea．
To try to change the way Australians think, John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have Supported Queensland’s move.
“I am very strongly for recycling and Mr Beattie is right and I agree with him completely,” Howard said．
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water,” added Turnbull. “All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall.”
小题1:What is the passage mainly about?
A．Australians face the choice of life and death．
B．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage．
C．Mr Beattie is worried about his people’s health．
D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy．小题2:According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history．
B．Australia’s largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy．
C．No other countries but Australia decides to drink recycled water．
D．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water．小题3:It can be inferred from what Peter Beattie said that_________.
A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water.
B．if the decision is made, people won't survive the drought
C．it is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage
D．it's up to you to make a life or death decision