1．Water runs downhill from mountaintops to streams to rivers to oceans．But downhill running isn't the only way that water moves．A new study measures how water travels from country to country for human consumption．This flow isn't the type we usually think about．These scientists looked at the water used to grow and make the products which get shipped from nation to nation as imports or exports．They call this a flow of"virtual water"．
We typically think of water as the liquid that flows from a tap．However，nearly all---92percent---of the water used by people goes into growing crops，according to water researcher Arjen Hoekstra at the university to Twente in the Netherlands．He and his team recently studied the hidden travels of virtual water used in products made from things like crops and meats．These products are shipped around the world．
Virtue water is immense．For example，consider a sugary soft drink．Hoekstra and his team estimated that to produce one half-liter of the drink requires between 170and 310liters of water．Only a tiny amount of that-about 1percent-is the water actually used in the soda．The vast majority of the water-about 95%-is used to grow and process the ingredients（原料）．Another 4percent goes into the packaging and labeling，said the scientists．In Hoekstra's calculation，when one country produces a half-liter of soda and sells it abroad，it exports as much virtual water as would make a large refrigerator full of water．
According to Heokstra's new report，dry countries like Israel and Kuwait，both in the Middle East，get the majority of their virtual water from other countries，through imported products．More surprisingly，a few wetter countries，like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom，also get the majority of their virtual water from other places．That means that most of the water used to grow or produce the products and food consumed in those countries came from other countries．
In the United States，most of the virtual water used comes from American sources； only about 20percent of the virtual water comes from outside national boundaries．In China，even less of the water associated with its products-about 10percent-comes from foreign countries．
Tracing the water trade，Hoekstra and his team turned up other surprising relationships．For instance，often a dry region sends virtual water to a wetter region．Dry areas in northern China，for example，send virtual water to the southern part of that country，which is wetter．
Title：Virtual water
| General introduction | ●Water flows downhill，and also travels （66）worldwide by means of import-export trade．
●The water used in all the processes （67）involved in producing goods and food is called virtual water． |
| An example | ●Producing one half-liter of a sugary soft drink requires much water，（68）ranging from 170to 310liters．
●About 1percent of the water is used in the soda，while about 95percent is used for the （69）growth and processing of the ingredients．
●Another 4percent is used to （70）package and label the drink．
●The water used to produce and export a half-liter of soda could （71）fill a large refrigerator． |
| The（72）Content（s ） of Hoekstra's new report | ●Dry countries as well as some wet countries get most of their virtual water from foreign countries by （73）importing products．
●China and the U．S．get virtual water （74）mostly/mainly from their own sources．
●Dry regions surprisingly （75）tend to send virtual water to wetter regions． |
