By March 2018, Cape Town’s biggest reservoir (储水库) had dropped to just 11 percent of its capacity. The city was close to turning off the taps. “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Samantha Reinders. Like everyone else here, Reinders learned to wash, cook and drink using just the official daily limit—50 liters. Posters were put up everywhere, telling 400,000 people in Cape Town how far the reservoirs had dropped. They also showed the countdown until “Day Zero”. Finally, in June, the rains returned. People ran outside to feel the water flow on their faces. Cape Town’s water shortage was over, at least temporarily. “Day Zero” had never quite arrived.
Afterward, an international group of scientists analyzed Cape Town’s drought and water shortage. They studied computer models and rainfall records. Finally, they came to a conclusion: Climate change wasn’t the culprit (罪魁祸首) of the drought. It hadn’t begotten the drought. But it had tripled (使成三倍) the chance that a drought would occur.
Friederike Otto is a climate scientist at Oxford University in England and lead author of that study. The risk of drought could triple again by the end of the 21st century, she said. That’s when global temperatures are predicted to rise another 1 degree Celsius.
Co-author Piotr Wolski said that better planning could help in the future. The area could manage its water reservoirs more carefully. People could fix leaky dams and make use of a variety of water sources instead of only reservoirs. “Drought may or may not translate into a crisis (危机),” he pointed out.
In many ways, said Reinders, the water crisis made a change to the city. Most people, across race, gender, religion and class, did their best to save water and help their neighbors out. And most were sticking to the water-saving habits they had learned. “I think this is the new normal. And that is pretty much the word on the street,” said Reinders.
【小题1】What does Paragraph 1 show about Cape Town?| A．It experienced a severe drought. |
| B．It was carrying out a water-saving campaign. |
| C．It needed one more reservoir urgently. |
| D．It was repairing its water-supply lines. |
| A．Caused | B．Stopped | C．Expanded | D．Worsened |
| A．Never too late to mend. | B．Be aware of the potential leaky dams. |
| C．Save for a rainy day. | D．Make full use of the water reservoirs. |
| A．To call on people to show kindness to others. |
| B．To stress people’s efforts to save water. |
| C．To encourage people to stick to their good habits. |
| D．To show the beneficial sides of the water crisis. |
