Unit Five For Want of a Drink

Period 5-6: Text comprehension

1. Theme:

The text mainly talks about water problems. Three aspects are listed to analyze the causes of water shortage. 1) It is very hard to satisfy human water demands. 2) As a natural resource, water has its specific characteristics. Human beings should never ignore the value of water. 3) Difficulty in using the resource sensibly, however, still widely exists.

 

This essay has sounded the alarm that a terrible water crisis is looming because our water resources are under tremendous pressure. It explains the reasons why it should have been such a serious problem and why it is becoming worse and worse.

 2. Structure:

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

II. Causal analysis of water shortage (para. 3-5)

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

B. Soaring agricultural demands for better tasting food (para. 4)

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

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

A. The supply of water being finite (para. 6)

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

C. Fresh water available 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. Underground water 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 that water is a free resource (para. 18)

B. The holy quality water is invested with (para. 19)

 

3. Comprehension questions

Part I(paras. 1–2): Introduction

1)    Why is water said to be the new oil?

2)    What are the signs of water scarcity in this part?

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

4)    Do you agree with the arguments in this part?

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

1) What are the causes of water shortage?

    Population growth

    Higher water demand in agriculture

    Greater industrial and domestic consumption of water

2) What is the green revolution?

   A series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives to increase agriculture production around the world.

Part III (paras. 6–8): Difficulty in satisfying these demands

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

    The supply of water is finite;

    Desalination of salty water is expensive;

    Fresh water is not readily available.

2) What is the law of conservation of mass?

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

1) What are the characteristics of water resources?

    Water being not evenly distributed

    Water being local and heavy to move

    Underground water being excessively used as a free resource

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

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

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

3)   How do you understand that water is a human right?

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

1)   What are the consequences? Do you agree?

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

3)   Why is water difficult to organize?

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

1) Using AP-Style(Associated Press Style)

 Spell out numbers one through nine. Use figures for numbers 10 and higher.

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

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

 Keep proper names as they are commonly written. For example, 20th Century Fox. Always spell out numbers in catch phrases or expressions. For example, "Thanks a million."

2) Using CMS(Chicago Manual of Style)

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

 Start with a spelled out number if it is the first word in the sentence, just like in AP style. For example, "One hundred fruit flies swarmed around the rotten strawberries."

 Avoid mixing numbers and figures when talking about the same thing. Example: "I have 2 cats and Mary has 22 cats." Since the sentence is talking 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. For example, "She gave me seven dollars, but I still owe her 20 cookies."

 Add hyphens 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 twentieth century."

3) General Rules

 Be consistent. To avoid confusion, follow the same rules every time you write numbers.

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

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

 Write out fractions as full words if they stand alone. Use figures if it is 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."

 Simplify large numbers by keeping them consistent. You can spell them out 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."