Severe Water Crisis Looms for Cape Town

Severe Water Crisis Looms for Cape Town

After three years of relentlessdrought, taps in Cape Town are facing the threat of running dry.

byTheodore Pigott, special correspondent

Just three years ago, the problems that Cape Town, South Africa, is now facing would have been unthinkable. Back in 2014, the city had a stable water supply, and its dams were full of water. In fact, Cape Town won an environmental award for its water management the following year. Unfortunately, the situation hasbeenreversedcompletely this year, and Cape Town is facing the worst water crisis in centuries.

From February 1, the water consumption limit for residents in Cape Town is 50 liters a day. The government has cautioned that “Day Zero” will be coming to Cape Town in April. On this day, the water supply to homes and businesses will be shut off. Water will still be available to the city’s hospitals and schools, but many of Cape Town’s four million residents will be affected by this action. People will have to queue up for water every day, and some have predicted that this will spark offunrest and even riots or violence.

What has led to this severe crisis? The water reservoir is almost depleted after a three-year drought, and the dam that supplies half of Cape Town’s water is only at 13% capacity. Some say that this highlights the dangers of global climate change. Experts expressed that droughts like this may soon become common in many other parts of the world.

Local officials have urged residents to conserve water. Deputymayor, Ian Neilson, emphasized that “Day Zero” can still be averted, and if people cut down on water consumption, the tap will be more likely to stay open to the rainy season in May.

Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. What is this passage mainly about?

(A)A series of droughts that has hit cities across Africa since 2014.

(B) A severe drought that may cause Cape Town to cut off the water supply.

(C)A new program of the Cape Town government to conserve water.

(D) An environmental award that Cape Town won for its water management.

( ) 2. According to the passage, what caused the water crisis in Cape Town to arise?

(A) Rapid population growth in Cape Town since 2014.

(B)An unstablewater supply system that was built recently.

(D) Industrial development and water pollution.

( ) 3. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

(A) On Day Zero, water supply across South Africa will be shut off.

(B) The water consumption limit for residents in Cape Town is 70 liters a day.

(D) Day Zero can still be avoided if water consumption is reduced.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1.droughtn.[C][U]旱災
2.tapn.[C]水龍頭
3.unthinkableadj.難以想像的
4.stable adj.穩定的
5.dam n.[C]水壩
6.reverse vt.徹底改變
7.spark offphr.觸發
8.unrestn.[U]動亂，動盪 / 9.riot n.[C]暴亂，騷亂
10.violencen.[U]暴力
11.reservoirn.[C] 水庫
12.capacity n.[U]容量
13.deputyn.[C]副手
14.avertvt.防止，避免
15.consumptionn.[U] 消耗量

Words for Recognition

1.loomvi.逼近
2.Cape Townn.開普敦，南非立法首都
3.relentlessadj.持續不斷的 / 4.South African.南非共和國
5.depletevt.消耗，耗盡
6.queuevi.排隊

Travel Frog Sweeps Taiwan and China

A new game featuring a traveling frog makes the players’ heart leap with joy with its snapshots andsouvenirs.

byTheodore Pigott, special correspondent

Have you started keeping your very own pet frog? The game Tabikaeru, also known as “Travel Frog,” has been all the rage in Taiwan and China. The game was developed by a Japanese company called Hit-Point. When it was first released in December 2017, the game was not that successful in Japan. However, in 2018, it began to gain popularity __1__ gamers in China and Taiwan. In fact, it has already been downloaded more than 3.9 million times by users in Apple App Store in China alone.

The game features an adorable frog that goes ona journey at whim, and players have very little control __2__ the frog. The only task players__3__ to is collectingclover from the garden, which can be used to afford food, supplies or lucky charms for the frog. When the frog roams the country, it sends postcards or brings back souvenirsand local specialties. When it’s at home, players see it eating, writing or dozing over a book.

Why is this game so popular among players in China and Taiwan? A Taiwanese psychologist said it __4__ to young people who are very busy at work, since the game requires little effort or attention. What’s more, players can get a sense of security and satisfaction from the frog because no matter where the frog goes, it will always come home.

If you are looking for a game that doesn’t put __5__burden on you, allow the traveling frog to show you its journeys and the wonders of Japan.

Fill in the Blanks

(A)over / (B)attend / (C) appeals / (D) among / (E) excessive
(1)______/ (2)______/ (3)______/ (4)______/ (5)______

Vocabulary and Phrases

1.sweepvt.; vi.風行，風靡
2.featurevt.以…為特色
3.be(all) the ragephr.風靡一時
4.adorableadj.可愛的
5.whim n.[C]突然的念頭
6.clovern.[U]三葉草 / 7.charmn.[C]護身符
8.roamvi.;vt.閒逛，漫遊
9.dozevi.打瞌睡
10.psychologistn.[C]心理學家
11.securityn.[U]安全感
12.satisfactionn.[U]滿足，滿意

Words for Recognition

1.snapshot n.[C]照片，快照 / 2. Tabikaerun.(遊戲名)旅行青蛙

Movie Insider

Adapted from the best-selling spy fiction novel by Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow tells the story of DominikaEgorova, a ballerina who was trained to become a Russian spy in Sparrow School. After enduring the torturing training process, she became the most dangerous sparrow the program has ever produced, seducing and manipulating the enemy. When she was assigned to seduce a CIA agent in her first mission, the forbidden passion between the two threatens not just their lives but also the security of their nations. Visit or scan the photo with COCOAR2 for trailer.

閱讀測驗解答：1.B 2. C 3.D

文意選填解答：1.D 2. A 3. B 4. C 5.E

Translation

開普敦面臨嚴重缺水危機

經過三年持續的乾旱，開普敦的水龍頭正面臨乾涸的威脅。

南非開普敦現在面臨的問題是三年前所無法想像的。2014年，該市供水穩定，水壩裡蓄滿了水。事實上，開普敦隔年還因水資源管理贏得環境保育獎。不幸的是，今年情況完全逆轉，開普敦面臨數世紀以來最嚴重的缺水危機。

自2月1日起，開普敦居民的用水量上限是每天50公升。政府已警告，「零水日」將在4月份降臨開普敦。這一天，家庭和企業的供水將被關閉。該市醫院和學校仍然有水可用，但開普敦400萬居民中將有許多人受到這項措施的影響。民眾將必須每天排隊取水，部分人士預測這將引發動亂不安，甚至暴動或暴力事件。

是什麼原因導致這場嚴重的危機？經過三年的乾旱，水庫幾乎枯竭，而供應開普敦半數用水的水壩蓄水量僅有13％。有人說這凸顯了全球氣候變遷的危險。專家表示，類似的乾旱情形可能很快將在世界許多上其他地方頻繁發生。

開普敦地方官員已敦促居民節約用水。副市長伊恩•尼爾森強調，「零水日」仍然可以避免，如果大家減少用水，水龍頭將有較大的機會保持供水直至5月的雨季。

旅行青蛙橫掃台灣和中國

一款以旅行青蛙為主角的新遊戲，讓玩家的心因為快照和紀念品而雀躍不已。

你開始養自己的寵物青蛙了嗎？這款遊戲《旅かえる》(旅行歸來)，又被稱作「旅行青蛙」，已經風靡台灣和中國。該遊戲由一家名為Hit-Point的日本公司所開發。2017年12月這款遊戲首次推出時，在日本並沒有那麼成功。然而，2018年時它開始在中國和台灣的玩家當中流行起來。事實上，光是在中國的蘋果應用程式商店，用戶下載次數就已經超過390萬次。

遊戲裡有一隻會心血來潮就跑去旅行的可愛青蛙，玩家幾乎無從掌控牠。玩家唯一能做的就是從花園收集三葉草，用來購買給青蛙的食物、補給或幸運符。青蛙在日本各地漫遊時，會寄明信片或帶紀念品和地方特產回來。當牠宅在家裡時，玩家則會看到它正在吃東西、寫信或對著書打盹。

為什麼這款遊戲在中國和台灣玩家之中會如此受歡迎？一位台灣心理學家說，這遊戲對工作繁忙的年輕人很有吸引力，因為它不需要花太多心力。而且，玩家可以從青蛙身上獲得安全感和滿足感，因為無論青蛙跑去哪兒，牠永遠都會回家。

如果你正在找一款不會讓你負擔太重的遊戲，就讓旅行青蛙和你分享牠的旅程和日本的各地風景吧。

三民東大學習網