Like many other
fast growing cities around the world, Mexico
City is facing severe water shortages. Many of its 20
million inhabitants receive only one hour of piped water per week. Others
receive none at all for weeks on end. Those who can afford the expense build
their own home water system to catch and keep rainwater to supplement the city
water. The situation, according to international experts, is the result of a
combination of factors. First, the system of pipes is old and poorly managed,
with the result that the pipes lose almost 40 percent of the water that they
distribute around the city. Second, the demand for water, which has grown with
the rapid population growth, far exceeds the supply. Furthermore, the water is
consumed not only by residents for household use, but also by thirsty
industries such as beer brewers and soft-drink bottles, and there is little
incentive for them to conserve or recycle water.
The current
water shortages in Mexico City
contrast remarkably with the city’s situation in the past. When the Spanish
arrived at the Aztec capital in 1519, they found stone buildings and gardens
set on an island in the middle of a vast scene of interconnected lakes – an
“enchanted vision,” according to one Spanish soldier. The Spanish destroyed the
buildings and began draining the water from the lakes to build what became Mexico City . For the next
four centuries, the city was able to meet its water needs from springs, shallow
wells, and the remaining lake water. In the mid-nineteenth century, the residents
of the city began taking water from the underlying aquifer. In the twentieth
century, as water needs grew and supplies from the aquifer became inadequate,
city authorities brought water up from two nearby river systems. Twenty-five
years ago, they began piping in water from 80 miles (130 km) away. Because Mexico City is located on
a highland, the water must all be pumped uphill at considerable expense.
Related
to the shortages is another problem: The city is sinking. Other cities around
the world (such as Venice , Italy ) are also experiencing this phenomenon,
but the situation is most dramatic in Mexico
City . Some neighborhoods are going down by as much as
15 inches (40 cm) a year, or a total of about 30 feet (9.1 m) over the last
century. The cause is simply the fact that water is being removed from the
aquifers faster than it can be replaced by rainwater. As water is removed, the
spongy soil dries up and becomes more compact, and the city slowly settles
down. The effects are evident. At the Monument to Independence , which was built at ground level
in 1910, twenty-three more steps were recently added to reach the base from the
current ground level. Buildings and streets have been damaged by the uneven
settling of the city, and so have the water and sewage systems. Since the city
is now 6 feet below the level of nearby Lake Texacoco
These sentences are taken from the above passage.
Circle the best meaning or synonym for the underlined word as it is used in the
sentence.
1. Those who can afford the expense build their own home water system to catch and keep rainwater to supplement the city water.
a. pay for b. remove c. add to
1. Those who can afford the expense build their own home water system to catch and keep rainwater to supplement the city water.
a. pay for b. remove c. add to
2. The situation, according
to international experts, is the result of a combination of factors.
a. causes b. effects c. people
a. causes b. effects c. people
3. First, the system of pipes is old and poorly managed, with the result that the pipes lose almost 40 percent of the water that they distribute around the city.
a. drink b. send c.
use
4. Second, the demand for
water, which has grown with the rapid population groth, far exceeds the supply.
a. goes beyond b. uses up c. adds up
5. Furthermore, the
water is consumed not only by residents for household use, but also by thirsty
industries, such as beer-brewers and soft-drink bottlers, …
a. however b. in addition c. for examples
6. Furthermore, the water is consumed
not only by residents for household use, but also by thirsty industries, such
as beer-brewers and soft-drink bottlers, …
a. paid for b. wasted c. used
7. Furthermore, the water is
consumed not only by residents for household use, but also by thirsty
industries, such as beer-brewers and soft-drink bottlers, and there is little
incentive for them to conserve or recycle water.
a. use again b. catch up c. pipe in
8. The current water
shortages in Mexico City
a. today’s b. past c. future
9. The current water
shortages in Mexico City
a. are different from b. are similar to c. are an example of
10. In the mid-nineteenth
century, the residents of the city began taking water from the underlying
aquifer.
a. beneath b. beside c. above
11. In the twentieth century,
as water needs grew and supplies from the aquifer became inadequate,
city authorities brought water up from two nearby river systems.
a. not enough b. too much c. undrinkable
12. Because Mexico City
a. not far from b. positioned c. far from
13. Because Mexico City
a. heavy b.
ugly c. large
14. Other cities around the
world (such as Venice , Italy ) are also experiencing this phenomenon,
but it is most dramatic in Mexico City
a. fact b. news c.
substance
15. The effects are evident.
a. surprising b. serious c. obvious
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