Since the beginning of time, water has continued to be an important thing to all living things. Without water nothing could live. We may change our food according to the climate of a place but we find no substitute for water. Man has always looked for pure fresh water to slake his thirst.

Water not only quenches our thirst but it is also a source of food to us. From the sea we catch large quantities of fish and other creatures. We use water to irrigate our lands to produce crops. Many parts of the world are dry and barren because there is no water there. People in such places lead a very hard life. Even the plants and animals find it a real struggle to survive. They can obtain water only by some means of ingenuity. Water also helps to increase the fertility of the land in several parts of the world. The alluvium that is brought down by rivers is very fertile and yields large quantities of crops. Even electricity, which has changed our lives completely, is produced by water-power in many countries.

Further, water is an important means of communication. We use waterways to carry our goods or trade. Water transport is cheaper than land transport and in many remote regions, rivers are the only means of communication. In many countries rivers are used to bring down timber from the hilly regions to the lower regions where the timber mills are. In this way much money is saved.

It is true, however, that water has also caused much destruction to life and property throughout human history. Heavy rainfall, swollen rivers and the angry waves of the sea have killed thousands of people and destroyed homes and crops. Yet, water is indispensable to life, and people everywhere are trying their best to bring water to places where it is scarce, to control its flow in times of floods and to make greater use of it.

NEW WORDS:
1. substitute (n): vật thay thế, người thay thế
2. slake (v): làm nhẹ, làm dịu (đau đớn), làm nguôi
3. quench (v): làm hết khát
4. irrigate (v): tưới, làm ướt đất.
5. barren (adj): cằn cỗi
6. ingenuity (n): tài khéo !éo, tính chất khéo léo
7. fertility (n): tình trạng mầu mỡ
8. alluvium (n): đất phù sa, bồi tích, đất bồi
9. yield (v): mang lại, sinh ra, sản xuất
10. timber mill (n): xưởng gỗ
11. indispensable (adj): tuyệt đối cần thiết, không thế thiếu được