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问题详情：

As a little boy I reed a book with a picture showing a man reading while floating in the Dead Sea. What a miracle! How would it feel to lie back in water so thick with salt that it was impossible to sink?

Fed by the Jordan River and smaller streams, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the earth’s surface, and its water is ten times saltier than the Mediterranean. As evaporation(蒸发)is its only outlet, salt and other minerals become super-concentrated.

Earlier this year, I drove down the long, steep hill to realize my dream. The shoreline was a broad area of bare salt-mud, but the water edge was out of sight. It seemed as if somebody had pulled the Dead Sea’s plug(*头)? Eli Dior, an Israeli official, explained the problem: “ The Dead Sea is drying up. Every year, the surface falls about one meter, and as the water level falls, shadow areas are left high and dry.”

Over the last half-century, the five neighboring countries have used up almost all the water flowing into the Dead Sea to meet human and agriculture needs. Result: the Dead Sea is being emptied.

With population in the neighboring countries to double at least in the next 50 years, there is little hope of restoring the water being used in this area. No country has a drop to spare for the Dead Sea, where they know it will just evaporate. To dream of opening the dams and restoring natural balance is unrealistic.

Yet one ambitious high-tech dream may turn out to be not only the salvation to the Dead Sea but also a ticket to peace around its shores. The “ Red-Dead” is a proposed $5 billion project to bring sea water some 240 kilometers by pipeline and canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The Red-Dead may be the only solution, but even if the project is carried out successfully, the Dead Sea will be 10 to 20 meters lower than now and two thirds of its current size.

Whatever the future holds, the Dead Sea’s magical mix of sun, mud, sea and salt will surely survive. Many might complain that the Dead Sea is half empty—but for me the Dead sea will always be half full.

25. According to the passage, the Dead Sea is drying up mainly because______.

A. nearly no water flows into the Dead Sea

B. the water is evaporated in the Dead Sea area

C. much water is drawn from the Dead Sea

D. there is low annual rainfall in the Dead Sea area

26. It can be inferred from the passage that_____

A. the countries around the Dead Sea will join hands to spare water for the Sea

B. as a result of the project “Red-Dead”, the Dead Sea will be two thirds larger

C. water crisis is a potential threat to the peace of the area around the Dead Sea

D. If the Dead Sea dried up, great natural disasters would happen in the region

27. What is the writer’s attitude towards the future of the Dead Sea?

A. reserved    B. pessimistic   C. doubtful  D. optimistic

【回答】

ACD

知识点：人生百味类阅读

题型：阅读理解