You probably haven't taken the time to think of all the work that went into creating the shirt on your back. I mean, how hard it could be to create fabric and 26_________ it into a shirt shape. Don't machines do all that? Well, creating fabric from cotton, which is the most 27_________ clothing material, is actually a process that involves a lot of water, 2,700 liters per shirt to be 28_________. Take a look at the video below from National Geographic for some more mind-blowing 29_________ about cotton clothing production.
Clean water is 30_________ becoming one of the most sought-after resources in the world. Given how large the 31_________ and cotton industries are, they take up a lot of our fresh water demands across the world, according to The Huffington Post. The video from National Geographic was created to spread 32_________ of how environmentally harmful cotton is. But the situation can be made better. through better water management and farming practices, water usage in cotton production can be cut down by 33_________ 40 percent.
Called “Better Cotton”, this environmentally conscious product will save millions of liters of water a year simply from 34_________ the demands of cotton production. Cotton doesn’t have to go, since it is, after all, one of the most useful cash crops across the globe. However, as water supplies 35_________, farmers and consumers need to be more conscious of the effect that these products have on the environment as a whole.
A) abstracts I) nearly
B) abundant J) reckoning
C) awareness K) reducing
D) conscience L) sew
E) exact M) shrink
F) increasingly N) statistics
G) intense O) textile
H) mend
答案解析：
26. L根据句子 "...how hard it could be to create fabric and _________ it into a shirt shape."，空格处需要填入一个动词，与 create fabric (制作面料) 构成并列关系，共同描述制作衬衫的过程。将面料做成衬衫形状”，这个动作最贴切的词是 sew (缝制)。所以选 L。
27. B根据句子 "...cotton, which is the most _________ clothing material..."，空格处需要填入一个形容词来修饰 clothing material (服装材料)。空格所在句提到，棉花是最...的服装材料，在所有选项中，abundant 充裕的，丰富的，最符合题意，所以选B。
28. E根据句子 "...is actually a process that involves a lot of water, 2,700 liters per shirt to be _________."，空格处需要填入一个词，来修饰 2,700 liters per shirt (每件衬衫2700升水) 这个具体数字。这里需要一个形容词，表示精确的，准确的”。exact 符合语境，表示这是一个精确的数字。所以选 E。
29. N根据句子 "...for some more mind-blowing _________ about cotton clothing production."，空格处需要填入一个名词，与 mind-blowing (令人震惊的) 搭配，并指代前文提到的 2,700 liters per shirt”这类具体数据。statistics (统计数据) 最符合语境，指一些令人震惊的数据。所以选 N。
30. F根据句子 "Clean water is _________ becoming one of the most sought-after resources in the world."，空格处需要填入一个副词来修饰动词 becoming (正在成为)，表示一种趋势。increasingly (越来越，日益) 符合句意，表示清洁水正日益成为...”。所以选 F。
31. O根据句子 "Given how large the _________ and cotton industries are..."，空格处需要填入一个形容词，与 cotton industries (棉花产业) 并列，共同描述其规模大”，而“textile”可以做形容词，表示“纺织的”，所以选O。
32. C 根据句子 "...was created to spread _________ of how environmentally harmful cotton is."，空格处需要填入一个名词，作 spread (传播) 的宾语。视频的目的是传播人们对棉花危害环境的认识”。awareness (意识，认识) 符合句意，spread awareness 是常用搭配。所以选 C。
33. I根据句子 "...water usage in cotton production can be cut down by _________ 40 percent."，空格处需要填入一个词来修饰 40 percent，表示一个大约的数量。nearly (将近，几乎) 符合语境，表示可以减少将近40%。所以选 I。
34. K根据句子 "...simply from _________ the demands of cotton production."，空格处需要填入一个动名词，作介词 from 的宾语。这种环保产品通过减少棉花生产的需求”来节水。reducing (减少) 符合句意。所以选 K。
35. M根据句子 "However, as water supplies _________, farmers and consumers need to be more conscious..."，空格处需要填入一个动词，描述水资源的变化。根据后文农民和消费者需要更有环保意识”可以推断，水资源是在减少。shrink (收缩，减少) 符合句意，表示随着水资源的缩减”。所以选 M。
