Water Is Life

 

Water is the natural resource we all know very well. We know its many forms – rain, snow, ice, hail, vapor, fog. Yet, water is the natural resource we least understand.

How does water get into the clouds? What happens when it reaches the Earth? Why is there sometimes too much and other times too little of it? And, most important, is there enough water for all the plants, and all the animals, and all the people?

Water covers nearly three fourth of the Earth, most being sea water. But sea water contains various salts, including those that are harmful to most land plants and animals. Still, it is from the salty seas and oceans that most of our fresh water comes-no longer salty and harmful. Water moves from clouds to land and back to the ocean in a never-ending cycle.

Ocean water evaporates into atmosphere leaving salts behind, and moves across the Earth as water vapor. Water in lakes and rivers also evaporates and rises into the air. Having cooled in the air the water vapor condenses and falls to the Earth as rain, hail or snow, depending on region, climate, season and topography. This part of the cycle is very important because man can use water stored in the atmosphere only when it falls to the land.

Every year about 450,000 cubic kilometers of water evaporates from the oceans and about 61,000 cubic kilometers from land sources.

Water is an unchanging and ever renewing resource, but its distribution on the surface of the globe varies greatly - there is either too little or too much water. Many problems are caused by too much water when we do not need it or too little when we want it.

No natural resource on our planet has so many uses as water. We need water to support our lives, to grow our crops, to water our stock, to power our industries and for many other purposes.

Our water needs are great and they continue to grow. Agriculture requires great quantities of water to provide food and raw materials for industry. Industry consumes not less water than agriculture. Per capita use of water is increasing rapidly in the world.

There is plenty of water on the Earth. Man’s activity accelerating the process of water pollution, the amount of fresh water available to use is decreasing rapidly.

Measures must be taken against waste of water and pollution of water. We have to improve methods of irrigation in order to use water more efficiently.

 

Tasks

 

1. Find in the text the sentence in which it is said that…

1) …вода – это природный ресурс, который мы недостаточно осознаём.

2) …именно из солёных морей и океанов поступает пресная вода – уже не солёная и не вредная.

3) …охлаждаясь в воздухе, водяной пар конденсируется и выпадает на Землю в виде дождя, града или снега.

4) …человек может использовать воду, содержащуюся в атмосфере, только тогда, когда она выпадает на Землю.

5) …промышленность потребляет не меньше воды, чем сельское хозяйство.

6) …количество пресной воды, доступной для пользования, быстро сокращается.