1. They are numerous and among them are the population growth, rapid urbanization, the expansion of business activity etc.
2. Yes, by 2050 it will have grown by 50%.
3. Such branches of economy as entertainment and tourism will grow rapidly.
4. Yes, unless well treated they will pose significant risk.
5. Yes, climate change and water supply are closely connected.
6. It will also mean an increase in demand of water for farm irrigation.
7. No, the mechanism of the water quality changes is not well understood.
8. Because the world’s aquifers may become depleted.
9. These cities are Mexico City, Bangkok, Madras and others.
Task 8 Translate the following words and word combinations into English
Рост населения, истощение водоносных слоев, развивающиеся страны, напряженность водного режима, недостаток воды, оздоровление, городские районы с высокой плотностью населения, засухи и наводнения, круговорот воды (влагооборот).
Task 9. Read the extract and fill in the gaps with an appropriate word
Water ______and water scarcity occur when demand for water exceeds the available amount during certain period or when poor _____restricts its use. Scarcity can be absolute, such as in environments with low _________and large evaporation rates. It can also, however, be induced by economic or political constraints, which do not permit the adequate development of water________. Critical conditions often arise for economically poor and politically weak ________ living in already dry environments.
Quality, communities, stress, precipitation, resources.
Constraint – принуждение, давление
Task 10. Translate the following text in written form
WATER DEFICITS GROWING IN MANY COUNTRIES
Water Shortages May Cause Food Shortages
Part 1
The world is incurring a vast water deficit. It is largely invisible, historically recent, and growing fast. Because this impending crisis typically takes the form of aquifer over-pumping and falling water tables, it is not visible. Unlike burning forests or invading sand dunes, falling water tables cannot be readily photographed. They are often discovered only when wells go dry.
The world water deficit is recent--a product of the tripling of water demand over the last half-century and the rapid worldwide spread of powerful diesel and electrically driven pumps. The drilling of millions of wells has pushed water withdrawals beyond the recharge of many aquifers. The failure of governments to limit pumping to the sustainable yield of aquifers means that water tables are now falling in scores of countries.
Part 2
We are consuming water that belongs to future generations. In some countries, the fall of water tables is dramatic. In Yemen, a country of 19 million, the water table under most of the country is falling by roughly 2 meters a year as water use far exceeds the sustainable yield of aquifers. World Bank official Christopher Ward observes that "groundwater is being mined at such a rate that parts of the rural economy could disappear within a generation."
Iran, a country of 70 million people, is facing an acute shortage of water. Under the agriculturally rich Chenaran Plain in northeastern Iran, the water table was falling by 2.8 meters a year in the late 1990s. But in 2001 the cumulative effect of a three-year drought and the new wells being drilled both for irrigation and to supply the nearby city of Mashad dropped the aquifer by an extraordinary 8 meters. Villages in eastern Iran are being abandoned as wells go dry, generating a swelling flow of water refugees.
Shortages of water in Egypt, which is entirely dependent on the Nile River, are well known. With the Nile now reduced to a trickle as it enters the Mediterranean, the three principal countries of the Nile River Basin--Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan--can each increase its take from the river only at the expense of the other two. With the combined population of these countries projected to climb from 167 million today to 264 million in 2025, all three are facing growing grain deficits as a result of water shortages.
Part 3
Historically, water shortages were local, but in an increasingly integrated world economy, the shortfalls can cross national boundaries via the international grain trade. Water-scarce countries often satisfy the growing needs of cities and industry by diverting water from irrigation and importing grain to offset the resulting loss of production. Since a ton of grain equals 1,000 tons of water, importing grain is the most efficient way to import water. World grain futures will soon in effect become world water futures.
Although military conflicts over water are always a possibility, future competition for water seems more likely to take place in world grain markets. This can be seen with Iran and Egypt, both of which now import more wheat than Japan, traditionally the world's leading importer. Imports supply 40 percent or more of the total consumption of grain. Numerous other water-short countries also import much of their grain. Morocco brings in half of its grain. For Algeria and Saudi Arabia, the figure is over 70 percent.
Module 2
