Question

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 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(factories) 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．

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．

2.W hat does the underlined sentence “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．

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

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．

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．

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

5.B

【解析】本文介绍了非洲重要的湖——维多利亚湖正在缩小，水位不断下降。一方面是由于干旱，另一方面是由于周围工厂大量消耗湖里的水。现在周围的动物、植物和人因为湖里缺水，已经面临死亡。

1.A

细节理解题。根据Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa．和It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River．可知维多利亚湖在非洲非常重要，故选A。

2.C

词义猜测题。根据Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2．5 meters．可知这个湖的水位下降了大约2.5米，因此这个湖在变小，故选C。

3.D

推理判断题。根据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．可知维多利亚湖的水位以前是11.9米，现在下降了2.5米，故推断现在是9.4米，故选D。

4.C

推理判断题。根据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．可知乌干达的许多工厂消耗了维多利亚湖的很多水，不是给这个注入水，故选C。

5.B

推理判断题。根据Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die．可知如果维多利亚湖无法充满水，许多人或受苦，死去，故推断这个地区需要寻找新的水源。故选B。

点睛：根据题干要求，在文中寻找答案所在的语句或段落，进行分析理解，词义猜测，推理判断和概括归纳，选出正确的选项。例如小题3，根据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．可知维多利亚湖的水位以前是11.9米，现在下降了2.5米，故推断现在是9.4米，故选D。