Unit Five For Want of a Drink

Period 5-6: Text comprehension

1. Theme:

The text mainly talks aboutwater problems. Three aspects are listed to analyze the causes of watershortage. 1) It is very hard to satisfy human water demands. 2) As a naturalresource, water has its specific characteristics. Human beings should neverignore the value of water. 3) Difficulty in using the resource sensibly,however, still widely exists.

 

This essay hassounded the alarm that a terrible water crisis is looming because our waterresources are under tremendous pressure. It explains the reasons why it shouldhave been such a serious problem and why it is becoming worse and worse.

 2. Structure:

I. Introduction:A warning about a watercrisis (para. 1-2)

II. Causalanalysis of water shortage (para. 3-5)

  A. Population explosion since the second halfof the last century (para. 3)

B. Soaringagricultural demands for better tasting food (para. 4)

C. Growingindustrial and domestic demands consuming 30% of the withdrawal (para.5)

III.Difficulty in satisfying these demands (para. 6-8)

A. The supply ofwater being finite (para. 6)

B. 97% of theworld's water being salty (para. 7)

C. Fresh wateravailable for living things being scarce (para. 8)

IV.Characteristics of water as natural resource (para. 9-15)

A. Water being notevenly distributed (para. 9- 10)

B. Water beinglocal and heavy to move (para. 11- 12)

C. Undergroundwater being almost used as a free resource (para. 13- 15)

V.Reiteration of the value of water (para. 16- 17)

VI. Conclusion: Difficulty in using the resource sensibly(para. 18- 19)

A. The belief thatwater is a free resource (para. 18)

B. The holy qualitywater is invested with (para. 19)

 

3. Comprehension questions

Part I(paras. 1–2): Introduction

1)    Why iswater said to be the new oil?

2)    What arethe signs of water scarcity in this part?

3)    Why doyou think “Bringing supply and demand into equilibrium will be painful”? 

4)    Do youagree with the arguments in this part?

Part II(paras. 3–5): Causal analysis of watershortage

1) Whatare the causes of water shortage?

    Populationgrowth

    Higherwater demand in agriculture

    Greaterindustrial and domestic consumption of water

2) Whatis the green revolution?

   A seriesof research, development, and technology transfer initiatives to increaseagriculture production around the world.

Part III(paras. 6–8J Difficulty in satisfying thesedemands

1) Whyis meeting the increasing demand of water a difficult task?

    Thesupply of water is finite;

    Desalinationof salty water is expensive;

    Freshwater is not readily available.

2) Whatis the law of conservation of mass?

 Part IV(paras. 9–15):Characteristics of water resources

1) Whatare the characteristics of water resources?

    Waterbeing not evenly distributed

    Waterbeing local and heavy to move

    Undergroundwater being excessively used as a free resource

Part V(paras. 16–17): Reiteration of thevalue of water

1)   How doyou understand that the value of water depends on the use of water?

2)   Whichuse of water means the highest value of water? Industrial or domestic use? Whyso?

3)   How doyou understand that water is a human right?

 Part VI (paras. 18–19): Conclusion—difficulty in using the resource sensibly

1)   What arethe consequences? Do you agree?

2)   How doyou understand “Water is… in his soul”?

3)   Why iswater difficult to organize?

4. Genre —— How to Use Numbers Correctly When Writing

1) Using AP-Style(Associated Press Style)

 Spellout numbers one through nine. Use figures for numbers 10 and higher.

 Begin asentence with a spelled out number, never a figure. Forexample, "Twenty of our classmates are going on the trip.“

 Use ahyphen only for compound numbers ending in "y" to connect them to thenext words. For example, twenty-two or one hundred thirty-four.

 Keepproper names as they are commonly written. For example, 20thCentury Fox. Always spell out numbers in catch phrases or expressions. Forexample, "Thanks a million."

2) Using CMS(Chicago Manual of Style)

 Typenumbers 0-99 as spelled out words, then use figures for 100 and up in theCMS style of writing.

 Startwith a spelled out number if it is the first word in the sentence, justlike in AP style. For example, "One hundred fruit flies swarmed around therotten strawberries."

 Avoidmixing numbers and figures when talking about the same thing.Example: "I have 2 cats and Mary has 22 cats." Since the sentence istalking about cats only, use the figure "2" to match with "22."When you refer to different things, it is OK to mix figures with words. Forexample, "She gave me seven dollars, but I still owe her 20 cookies."

 Addhyphens to compound numbers ranging from twenty-one to ninety-nine.

 Refer tocenturies by writing out the time period before it. For example,"He lived in the seventeenth century, but she lived in the twentiethcentury."

3) General Rules

 Beconsistent. To avoid confusion, follow the same rules every timeyou write numbers.

 Usefigures to express dates. "We will meet on the 2nd of November,even though the meeting was originally scheduled for November 6."

 Choosefrom several methods for writing decades. You may spell themout completely (forties, sixties) or use figures (1990s, 2000s). Never use anapostrophe after the year; however, you can abbreviate a decade by putting anapostrophe before the year ('70s, '20s).

 Writeout fractions as full words if they stand alone. Use figures if itis a number plus a fraction. Example: "I'll give you one-half the chocolatebar if you give me one-third of the popcorn." Or, "She got an 8 1/2percent raise yesterday."

 Simplifylarge numbers by keeping them consistent. You can spell themout or use a figure, but don't do both. Example: "In a savings account,you can earn from one million to five million dollars." Or, "Thestocks can rise from $1,000 to $1,000,000."