四级阅读真题8

Humanityusesalittlelessthanhalfthewateravailableworldwide.Yetoccurrencesofshortagesanddroughts（干旱）arecausingfamineanddistressinsomeareas,andindustrialandagriculturalby-productsarepollutingwatersupplies.Sincetheworld’populationisexpectedtodoubleinthenext50years,manyexpertsthinkweareontheedgeofawidespreadwatercrisis.Butthatdoesn’thavetobetheoutcome.Watershortagesdonothavetotroubletheworld—ifwestartvaluingwatermorethanwehaveinthepast.Justaswebegantoappreciatepetroleummoreafterthe1970soilcrises,todaywemuststartlookingatwaterfromafresheconomicperspective.Wecannolongeraffordtoconsiderwateravirtuallyfreeresourceofwhichwecanuseasmuchaswelikeinanywaywewant.Instead,forallusesexceptthedomesticdemandofthepoor,governmentsshouldpricewatertoreflectitsactualvalue.Thismeanschargingafeeforthewateritselfaswellasforthesupplycosts.Governmentsshouldalsoprotectthisresourcebyprovidingwaterinmoreeconomicallyandenvironmentallysoundways.Forexample.oftenthecheapestwaytoprovideirrigation（灌溉）waterinthedrytropicsisthroughsmall-scaleprojects,suchasgatheringrainfallindepressions（凹地）andpumpingittonearbycropland.Nomatterwhatstepsgovernmentstaketoprovidewatermoreefficiently,theymustchangetheirinstitutionalandlegalapproachestowatersue.Ratherthanspreadcontrolamonghundredsoreventhousandsoflocal,regional,andnationalagenciesthatwatchvariousaspectsofwateruse,countriesshouldsetupcentralauthoritiestocoordinatewaterpolicy.21.Whatistherealcauseofthepotentialwatercrisis?A)Theworldpopulationisincreasingfasterandfaster.B)Halfoftheworld’swaterresourceshavebeenseriouslypolluted.C)Humanityhasnotplacedsufficientvalueonwaterresources.D)Onlyhalfoftheworld’swatercanbeused.22.Asindicatedinthepassage,thewaterproblem__________.A)hasbeenexaggeratedbysomeexpertsinthefieldB)isunderestimatedbygovernmentorganizationsatdifferentlevelsC)posesachallengetothetechnologyofbuildingreservoirsD)isalreadyseriousincertainpartsoftheworld23.Accordingtotheauthor,thewaterpriceshould___________.A)correspondtoitsrealvalueB)bereducedtotheminimumC)stimulatedomesticdemandD)takeintoaccounttheoccurrencesofdroughts24.Theauthorsaysthatinsomehotanddryareasitisadvisableto__________.A)buildbiglakestostorewaterB)constructbigpumpingstationsC)channelwaterfromnearbyriverstocroplandD)buildsmallandcheapirrigationsystems25.Inordertoraisetheefficiencyofthewatersupply,measuresshouldbetakento_______.A)centralizethemanagementofwaterresourcesB)increasethesenseofresponsibilityofagenciesatalllevelsC)guaranteefullprotectionoftheenvironmentD)encouragelocalandregionalcontrolofwaterresourcesWecanseehowtheproductlifecycleworksbylookingattheintroductionofinstantcoffee.Whenitwasintroduced,mostpeopledidnotlikeitaswellas“regular”coffee,andittookseveralyearstogaingeneralacceptance(introductionstage).Atonepoint,though,instantcoffeegrewrapidlyinpopularity,andmanybrandswereintroduced(stageofrapidgrowth).Afterawhile,peoplebecameattachedtoonebrandandsalesleveledoff(stageofmaturity).Saleswentintoaslightdecline（衰退）whenfreeze-driedcoffeeswereintroduced(stageofdecline).Theimportanceoftheproductlifecycletomarketersisthis:Differentstagesintheproductlifecyclecallfordifferentstrategies.Thegoalistoextendproductlifesothatsalesandprofitsdonotdecline.Onestrategyiscalledmarketmodification.Itmeansthatmarketingmanagerslookfornewusersandmarketsections.Didyouknow,forexample,thatthebackpacksthatsomanystudentscarrytodaywereoriginallydesignedforthemilitary?Marketmodificationalsomeanssearchingforincreasedusageamongpresentcustomersorgoingforadifferentmarket,suchasseniorcitizens.Amarketermayre-positiontheproducttoappealtonewmarketsections.Anotherproductextensionstrategyiscalledproductmodification.Itinvolveschangingproductquality,features,orstyletoattractnewusersormoreusagefrompresentusers.Americanautomanufacturersareusingqualityimprovementasonewaytorecaptureworldmarkets.Note,also,howautomanufacturersoncechangedstylesdramaticallyfromyeartoyeartokeepdemandfromfalling.26.Accordingtothepassage,whenpeoplegrowfondofoneparticularbrandofaproduct,itssaleswill_________________.A)decreasegraduallyB)remainatthesamelevelC)becomeunstableD)improveenormously27.Thefirstparagraphtellsusthatanewproductis__________________.A)noteasilyacceptedbythepublicB)ofteninferiortooldonesatfirstC)oftenmoreexpensivethanoldonesD)usuallyintroducedtosatisfydifferenttastes28.Marketersneedtoknowwhichofthefourstagesaproductisinsoasto____________.A)promoteitsproductionB)workoutmarketingpoliciesC)speedupitslifecycleD)increaseitspopularity29.Theauthormentionstheexampleof“backpacks”(Line4,Para.2)toshowtheimportanceof_______________.A)pleasingtheyoungaswellastheoldB)increasingusageamongstudentsC)exploringnewmarketsectionsD)servingbothmilitaryandcivilneeds30.Inordertorecovertheirshareoftheworldmarket,U.S.automakersare____________.A)improvingproductqualityB)increasingproductfeaturesC)modernizingproductstyleD)re-positioningtheirproductinthemarket21.C22.D23.A24.D25.A26.B27.A28.B29.C30.A