１日１題リスニング：the great salt lake

03/19/202403/28/2024

Farming practices are polluting the local area.
Less water is coming down from the mountains.
Private landowners are blocking public access to it.
Too much of its salt is being removed.

Birds are causing changes to the ecosystem.
Various pests could increase in number.
Mining activity could damage the lake bed.
People could be exposed to harmful substances.

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The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake – a large US lake known for its high salt content – could disappear within five years, scientists warn. Normally, the lake undergoes some evaporation during summer, but it recovers after being fed by melting snow from nearby mountains. Dramatic population growth in the surrounding area, however, means more water is being diverted away from the rivers that carry this snowmelt to the lake and directed instead toward businesses, residences, and farmland. Rising temperatures due to climate change exacerbate the problem, as the increased heat means more mountain snow turns directly into water vapor rather than melting.

Scientists are worried about the lake’s diminishing water level. For one, the salt content is becoming too concentrated for the lake to support local insects and prey animals. This then endangers the millions of birds that feed on them. Perhaps the greatest concern, however, is that the lake bed contains toxic metals left over from past mining activity. Without water covering the lake bed, dust containing these metals could become airborne and put local residents at risk of respiratory diseases and cancers. According to scientists, drastically reducing local water consumption is vital to avoiding a catastrophe.

Question number 1.　According to the speaker, what is one problem facing the Great Salt Lake?

Farming practices are polluting the local area.
Less water is coming down from the mountains.
Private landowners are blocking public access to it.
Too much of its salt is being removed.

Question number 2.　What is one concern that scientists have with regard to the lake?

Birds are causing changes to the ecosystem.
Various pests could increase in number.
Mining activity could damage the lake bed.
People could be exposed to harmful substances.

語彙チェック

undergo some evaporation：一定の蒸発を経験する

water is being diverted away from the rivers：水が川からそれる

exacerbate the problem：問題を悪化させる

water vapor：水蒸気

salt content：塩分濃度

prey animals：獲物の動物

lake bed：湖底

become airborne：空中に浮遊する・空中に漂う

put A at a risk：A～を危険な状態に置く・危険な目に遭わせる

respiratory diseases：呼吸器疾患

解説：なぜ間違えたのか？

Q1　According to the speaker, what is one problem facing the Great Salt Lake?は、本文２段落にScientists are worried about the lake’s diminishing water level.とあります。なので、正解は…2. Less water is coming down from the mountains.

Q２　What is one concern that scientists have with regard to the lake?

最終文にPerhaps the greatest concern, however, is that the lake bed contains toxic metals left over from past mining activity. Without water covering the lake bed, dust containing these metals could become airborne and put local residents at risk of respiratory diseases and cancers.とあります。なので、正解は…4. People could be exposed to harmful substances.