the lake to replenish itself.

　　Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $900 million deal in an effort to keep the Dead Sea's water levels stable. It includes building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supple water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump water into the Dead Sea.

　　But for now, Küstner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters.

　　The Dead Sea, known as the Salt Sea in the language of Hebrew, is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. And because of what has been happening over the years, the salt is only getting saltier.

　　语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文，根据中东环境问题专家的观察，死海的面积正在以惊人的速度缩小，本文分析了导致这一问题的原因。

　　4．How many reasons for the Dead Sea's shrinking does the author mention in the text?

　　A．One.　　　　　　　　 B．Two.

　　C．Three. D．Four.

　　解析：选C　推理判断题。根据第四段中的"The Dead Sea needs water from ... some of the water sources it relied upon were diverted (使改道)．" 第五段中的"Mineral extraction (开采) industries are another main reason the water levels are falling"及第六段中的"the Middle East's hot, dry climate"可知，死海面积缩小有三个原因：源头减少、矿物开采和中东炎热干燥的气候。

　　5．What can we learn about the Dead Sea's minerals?

　　A．They have practical value.

　　B．They are controlled by Israel.

　　C．They can be extracted very easily.

　　D．They are mainly used in heavy industry.

　　解析：选A　推理判断题。根据第五段最后一句可知，死海中的矿物质可以用作药物，也可以用来制作化妆品和其他消费品，因此说这些矿物质具有实用价值。

　　6．What does the underlined word "replenish" in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

　　A．To clean something.

　　B．To improve something.

　　C．To fill something again.

　　D．To find something again.

解析：选C　词义猜测题。根据第六段语境可知，中东炎热干燥的环境导致死海很难