國中英語基測出現過 hot 的考題。

The idea may hit you once or twice a year. You come home on a hot summer day, hoping to have a cool bath, and find out there is no water. Then you see how important water is in your everyday life. However, in many parts of the world, water is not just about one’s everyday needs.

In countries like Tanzania, water is hard to get, and the job of collecting water falls on women’s shoulders. Girls are often kept home from school to collect water while their brothers stay at school studying. Studies show Tanzanian girls who live 15 minutes from clean water spend 12% more time at school than those who live an hour away. More time spent collecting water means less time for learning. For these girls, “Knowledge is poweris not just words; it is a sad fact in real life. With less time spent at school, their chances of getting well-paid jobs are small, and they often have no voice in important matters, like who to marry. These girls are often married into poor families. They have little money or knowledge to take care of their children, who often end up dying young. For the baby girls who are lucky enough to live, their life may still center aroundwater,” just like it did for their mothers.

1.
What does The idea mean in the reading?
Water is not just about one’s everyday needs.
Water is important in one’s everyday life.
We should not take a bath when there is little water.
It is nice to have a cool bath on a hot summer day.
2.
What is the reading mostly about?
Why it is hard to get water in poor countries.
How water may play a part in one’s future.
Why it is important to save water.
How water may give a country power.
3.
What do we know from the reading?
Girls who spend little time at school have a harder life when they grow up.
Children from poor families are often kept from school to take care of younger children.
Children in poor countries die from drinking dirty water every day.
Girls in countries like Tanzania are often paid less for the same job than the boys are.
4.
Families in the countries of Benin, Ghana, Guinea and Madagascar deal with the job of water-collecting the same way Tanzanian families do. From the reading, which chart best shows the fact?
chart 圖表