原版英语RAZ 教案Groundwater (2).pdf

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1、Visit www.readinga- for thousands of books and materials.GroundwaterA Reading AZ Level V Leveled BookWord Count:1,332WritingWrite an acrostic poem about groundwater.Use the word groundwater as the acrostic.Begin each line of your poem with the letters in the word.Science and Social StudiesWrite a pu

2、blic service announcement persuading members of your community to conserve water.Include why conserving water is important and what can be done to help.Connectionswww.readinga-Written by Sean McCollumGroundwaterwww.readinga-Written by Sean McCollumSVYLEVELED BOOK Vwww.readinga-Why is groundwater imp

3、ortant?Focus QuestionWritten by Sean McCollumGroundwateraquifersclimate changeconservationcrisisdepleteddroughtgroundwaterirrigatemonitorpercolateresourceUnited NationsWords to KnowCorrelationLEVEL VR4040Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAGroundwaterLevel V Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by Sean McC

4、ollumAll rights reserved.www.readinga-Page 3:Ten days after her well dried up in August 2014,a California woman receives 300 gallons(1,136 L)of drinking water.Photo Credits:Front cover:RCarner/iStock/Thinkstock;title page:TREVOR SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images;page 3:Chieko Hara/Porterville Recorder/AP Imag

5、es;page 6:tbgrant/iStock/Thinkstock;page 7(main):modified from McGuire,V.L.,2014,Water-level changes and change in water in storage in the High Plains aquifer,predevelopment to 2013 and 201113:U.S.Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 20145218,14 p.;page 7(windmill icon):iStock/Kathy Ko

6、nkle;page 8:Jupiterimages/PHOTOS.com/Thinkstock;page 10:Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images;page 11:David McNew/Getty Images;page 12:S847/iStock/Thinkstock;page 13:courtesy of UC Irvine/NASA/JPL-Caltech;page 15:ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty ImagesIllustration Credit:Page 4:Laszlo Veres3Table of ContentsWhen the Wat

7、er Runs Out .4What and Where Is Groundwater?.5Too Many Straws .7Water Fights .9Staying Out of Trouble .11Farming Smarter .12Future Focus .14Glossary .16Groundwater Level V4When the Water Runs OutPicture getting up one morning,turning on the faucet,and getting nothing but a gurgle.This happened in 20

8、14 in a part of California famous for its fruits and vegetables.Years of drought there meant little rainfall,so to irrigate their crops,farmers pumped huge amounts of groundwater from under the land.The result?Some two thousand dry wells.Even with rain,experts warn that the shortage of groundwater t

9、here will not end soon.Unfortunately,California isnt the only place with a water crisis.Groundwater fills the spaces and cracks between rocks,sand,and soil underground.Water in the Ground=Groundwater5Surface water 0.3%Ground ice and permafrost 0.7%What and Where Is Groundwater?Many of us glance at a

10、 globe and are fooled into thinking the planet holds plenty of water for all our needs.Most of Earths water is in our oceans,however.Its salt content makes it undrinkable and useless for watering crops.Freshwater keeps us alive,yet less than 3 percent of Earths water is fresh.Of that small percentag

11、e,polar ice caps and glaciers lock up almost 70 percent.The surface water in our rivers,lakes,and ponds makes up just 0.3 percent of our freshwater supply.Scientists estimate that a whopping 99 percent of Earths usable water is groundwater.Groundwater is freshwater that flows slowly underground.Most

12、 of it is stored beneath land in aquifers,underground layers of rock,gravel,and sand that retain groundwater like huge sponges.Rain and melting snow percolate very slowly into the surface soil and rock to feed the aquifers.All water on EarthUsable 1%Groundwater 99%Unusable 99%Water We Can UseSource:

13、U.S.Geological SurveyGroundwater Level V6Aquifers can reach down thousands of feet and extend for thousands of miles.They feed our rivers,lakes,and wetlands.Their freshwater also irrigates the best farming regions in the world.For more than a century,people have been pumping billions of gallons of w

14、ater from underground to drink,grow crops,and meet other needs.Even during droughts,communities and farms located above aquifers can draw groundwater to survive and thrive.This water source keeps much of humanity from going hungry and thirsty.The trouble is groundwater levels are falling fast.Water

15、crises threaten food supplies and peace.People near and far must conserve this life-giving resource.Center-pivot irrigation makes farming possible in many dry regions.7Too Many StrawsResearch now shows people are pumping groundwater faster than nature can replace it.According to experts,water levels

16、 have declined in almost two-thirds of the wells across the United States since 1995.Experts predict that the Ogallala Aquifer,below the Great Plains,could be 70 percent depleted by the year 2060.Wyoming-0.4 ft.(-0.12 m)Nebraska-0.9 ft(-0.27 m)S.Dakota 0 ft.(0 m)New Mexico-15.1 ft.(-4.6 m)1952 1958

17、1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012Ground level 020406080100120140Colorado-13.2 ft.(-4.02 m)Kansas-22.8 ft.(-6.95 m)Texas-36.7 ft.(-11.19 m)Oklahoma-12.3 ft.(-3.75 m)Water-level changes in the aquifer,1950 to 2010Source:U.S.Geological SurveyThe water level in one Texas well has plunged more

18、 than 120 feet(36.6 m).Ups and(Mostly)Downs:The Ogallala AquiferThe Ogallala(a.k.a.High Plains)Aquifer waters the wheat fields of Americabut that water cant last forever.This map shows state-by-state changes in the water level of the Ogallala Aquifer over a span of about sixty years.In some places,w

19、ater levels are largely unchanged today;in others,they have crashed.Feet undergroundGroundwater Level V8Competition for groundwater is causing conflict in some farming areas.In Northern California,for example,winemakers grow acres of grapes,which require large amounts of water.Many of these growers

20、have drilled deep wells to make sure they can get the groundwater they need.Without it,they might go out of business.Many smaller farmers and homeowners nearby,though,blame these vineyards for sucking up too much of the groundwater they all share,while their shallower wells go dry.In many cases,thes

21、e smaller property owners cannot afford to drill deeper wells for themselves.Its as if everyone has their straws in the same drink,but some farms and businesses can pay for more and longer straws.This situation raises big questions:Who owns groundwater?How much usage is fair?Sonoma Valley in Califor

22、nia is famous for its vineyards.9Water FightsHalfway around the world,Pakistans available water has dropped by almost 75 percent in the last sixty years.Many in Pakistan put the blame on India,their neighbor to the south.They accuse India of building dams that block river water that would normally f

23、low to them.They say this has forced farmers in Pakistan to pump more groundwater.Indian officials say Pakistan has only itself to blame.They say Pakistan has managed its water poorly.These two countries have fought four wars in the past.Today,both face water shortages and increasing competition for

24、 freshwater.India China United States Pakistan112 km3 year251 km3/year1,225 million1,341 million310 million174 million 112 km3 year65 km3 yearCompare Chinas population to the United States.Now compare their water use.Per person,which country is using more water?One cubic kilometer(km3)=1,000,000,000

25、,000 liters(264,172,052,358 gal.).That would fill about 400,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.KEYIrrigationDomestic usePopulationIndustrySource:Margat,J.,and J.van der Gun.2013.Groundwater around the World.CRC Press/BalkemaTop Four Global Water UsersGroundwater Level V10The United Nations predicts suc

26、h battles over water will only grow worse.If nothing changes,it estimates the world will fall 40 percent short of its water needs by the year 2030.Nearly two billion people worldwide could face severe water shortages,leading to food shortages and famine.In time,shortages like these can even lead to

27、war,experts warn.In some places,lack of water has already forced large numbers of people to leave their homes.In Syria,for example,drought drove rural people into cities.Evidence suggests that this movement,in turn,helped start a civil war in 2011.As a result,many Syrians have died.In many places,gr

28、oundwater is that importantthe difference between green farms or dusty fields,a matter of life or death.Without water supplies that people can rely on,violence and great suffering threaten to spread as people fight for water resources.A Syrian refugee girl arrives in Jordan in 2013.11Staying Out of

29、TroubleThere is an old saying:“It is easier to stay out of trouble than get out of trouble.”This is true about the worlds supply of groundwater.Dealing with this crisis now will be much easier than dealing with it after aquifers run dry.Addressing the crisis requires us to plan ahead,however.One gro

30、wing threat to the worlds groundwater supply is climate change.Almost all scientists who study the Earth now agree that its getting hotter.Climate change may also mean changes in weather patterns.For example,regions that rely on regular rainy seasons may see those seasons shift.They may see a change

31、 in the amount of moisture those seasons deliver.Freshwater may be harder to come by.Another huge challenge is population growth.More than seven billion people live on our planet now.That figure is expected to reach eleven billion by the year 2100.All of us will need water to drink and grow our food

32、.We must manage our groundwater now,and we can.Ongoing drought in California led to a series of wildfires in 2015.Groundwater Level V12Farming SmarterOur best hope is water conservationfinding ways to use less water and keep more groundwater in the ground.Improving the way we farm is by far the most

33、 important action we can take to conserve groundwater.Experts estimate that about 65 percent of the fresh groundwater Americans pump to the surface is used to irrigate crops,yet many forms of irrigation waste water.They spray and sprinkle water on the surface,where much of it is lost to evaporation.

34、More farmers now accept that they cannot keep pumping so much groundwater.They are using new methods to make sure every drop counts.New meters monitor moisture in the soil and turn the irrigation on and off automatically,wasting less water.Many fruit and nut orchards now bury irrigation pipes.Buried

35、 pipes deliver water closer to the tree roots and waste less water.Almond trees in bloom13Planting different crops can also help conserve groundwater.In states such as Kansas and Iowa,some farms are switching from corn to other crops because corn requires a lot of water.However,corn crops earn more

36、money,so many farmers dont want to change.Farmers need new ways to farm.If they do not conserve water voluntarily,empty aquifers will one day force them to.Since 2002,NASA has been monitoring changes in groundwater from space.Called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE),its two satellit

37、es respond to Earths gravity field.They can measure shifts in water volume on and under the planets surface.NASA data gathered over a ten-year period(20032013)shows trends for Earths largest aquifers.About one-third of these aquifers are dangerously depleted.The View from SpaceOn the scale,deep-red

38、aquifers are those that have been depleted most rapidly;deep-blue aquifers are those gaining the most water,usually by weather events such as floods.ATLANTIC OCEANINDIAN OCEANAFRICAASIAGroundwater Level V14Future FocusRecord drought forced California to conserve water.At one point,cities there could

39、 fine people five hundred dollars a day if they failed to follow restrictions on washing cars or watering lawns.As a result,water use there dropped.In just six months,people in California went from using as much as 140 gallons(530 L)per person to just 67 gallons(254 L)a day,on average.The Trouble wi

40、th ToiletsGallons per household per daytoiletshower,bathfaucetclothes washerdishwasher,leaks,otherDid you know that toilets use more water than anything else in your house?They do,according to a 2016 study of water use inside 23,749 homes spread throughout the United Statesbut not as much as they di

41、d in a similar 1999 study.Newer,more efficient toilets help send less water into the sewer.Some families also practice selective flushing.That means they dont flush the toilet each time they use it.Source:DeOreo,W.B.,P.Mayer,B.Dziegelewski,and J.Kiefer.2016.ResidentialEnd Uses of Water,Version 2.Pro

42、ject#4309A.Denver,Colo:Water ResearchFoundation.2016 Water ResearchFoundation.Reprinted with permission.33.1(125.3 L)31.7(120 L)26.3(99.6 L)22.7(86 L)23.9(90.5 L)15Nationwide,57 percent of American households rely on groundwater.In rural areas,that figure is more than 90 percent.Fortunately,small ch

43、anges in plumbing and water use can save hundreds of gallons in the average American home each week.By installing low-flush toilets and taking shorter showers,we can use less groundwater.In addition,property owners can save water by replacing thirsty grass lawns with yards that need less water.The m

44、otto in California for letting lawns die is pretty catchy:“Brown is the New Green.”Saving our groundwater isnt easy.People need to drink.Farmers need to irrigate crops to grow our food.Still,we can be smarter about how we use this resource,both now and far into the future.In the dry summer of 2014,s

45、ome Los Angeles homeowners swapped grass for plants that can thrive on less water.Groundwater Level V16Glossaryaquifers(n.)underground layers of rock,sand,and other material that can hold and absorb groundwater(p.5)climate change the long-term,lasting changes in (n.)Earths weather patterns or the we

46、ather patterns of a region(p.11)conservation the careful use of resources to (n.)protect them from being wasted,used up,or destroyed (p.12)crisis(n.)a dangerous or unstable time or situation that demands attention(p.4)depleted(adj.)emptied or mostly used up(p.7)drought(n.)a long dry spell with littl

47、e or no rainfall(p.4)groundwater water held underground in soil (n.)or rock,often feeding wells(p.4)irrigate(v.)to supply land with water,especially to help crops grow(p.4)monitor(v.)to observe the progress of something(p.12)percolate(v.)to trickle or spread slowly through something with small holes or openings(p.5)resource(n.)a supply of something valuable or very useful(p.6)United Nations an international organization that (n.)works to promote peace and economic development(p.10)