阅读理解。
Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people
lack basic sanitation (卫生设备).
The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate (不充足的) water and sanitation
kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world.
Safe drinking water is a precondition (前提) for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between
men and women, and poverty. Consider these facts:
The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.
Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water, and only 37 percent of children
in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.
Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-born diseases. Here are three ways you
can help:
(1) Write Congress
Current US foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American
citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.
(2) Donate to a project with a faith-based organizations
Many US religious groups already donate to water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations
abroad. Simply a single project by a US organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.
(3) Support nonprofit water organizations
Many US-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects on drinking water and sanitation.
Some organizations are large, others small, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in
Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.
1. The passage is probably written for _____. [ ]
A. Americans
B. people in developing countries
C. religious leaders
D. nonprofit water organizations
2. What is the problem that the facts exposed? [ ]
A. Inequality between men and women.
B. Many people have no access to clean drinking water.
C. Less effort has been made to improve the basic sanitation.
D. Children suffer most from the lack of basic sanitation.
3. The purpose of the passage is to arouse people to _____. [ ]
A. help the developing countries
B. help solve the water shortage and sanitation problem
C. support nonprofit water organizations
D. help get rid of water-related diseases around the world
4. Which is the best title of the passage? [ ]
A. From Water Shortage and Sanitation to Poverty
B. Developing World, A Place Needs Help
C. Water Shortage and Sanitation, What Can We Do?
D. Water Shortage and Sanitation