15 Marks

. Listening - Marks . Speaking - Marks . Reading - Marks (Any passage) Time – minutes Practicals PASSAGE - Water scarcity is a major threat in many parts of the world, including India.

In the world, over two billion people are dying because of it. The situation would worsen in the future with increased demand for fresh water. The earth is per cent water, as are our bodies. We can last for about two to three weeks without food, but we would be dead within three days without water.

What we do to our water, we do to ourselves. Humans are increasingly putting this essential resource in serious danger. We poison our ground and surface water. We burn fossil fuels that cause acid rain and global warming.

We dam our rivers, interrupting the water flow and destroyed delicate ecosystems downstream. We clear vegetation and pave massive land areas, decreasing the groundwater level and increasing flood and soil erosion. On top of all this, those with access to the most water are wasting vast amounts of it.