A
Some years ago, a 28yearold Californian wife and mother of three children died from drinking too much water. Her body was found in her home shortly after she took part in a waterdrinking contest that was held by a local radio show. Called “Hold Your Wee For A Wii”， the contest organizers promised a free Wii video game machine to those who drank the most water without going to the bathroom. The woman who died drank about 2 gallons of water during the contest. When she and other participants complained of discomfort and showed signs of pains, they were laughed at by the organizers.
This tragic news story shows the importance of understanding why drinking too much water can be dangerous to your health.
Consuming more water than you need can increase your total blood volume (容量). And since your blood volume exists within a closed system, increasing your blood volume puts unnecessary stress on your heart and blood vessels (血管). Your kidneys (肾) must work overtime to get rid of extra water out of your system. Your kidneys are not a pair of pipes. Flushing more water through your kidneys doesn't necessarily help it become cleaner. Rather, your kidneys can get damaged by unnecessary wear and tear over time. And drowning your system with large amounts of water is one of many potential causes of kidney damage.
Putting unnecessary stress on your system and your kidneys by consuming unnecessary water is an unnoticeable process. For the average person, it is usually impossible to know that this stress exists, as there are usually no obvious symptoms on a momenttomoment basis. But make no mistake about it：this stress is real and can hurt your health over the long term.
21．Why is the Californian woman mentioned?
A．To lead to the topic of the text.
B．To tell us a tragic news story about a mother.
C．To tell us it can be dangerous to take part in contests.
D．To tell us how much water we can drink at most one time.
解析：选A 推理判断题。本文主要是讲过量饮水对身体有害，而提到那个加州女人的故事是为了引出这个话题。
22．When the participants showed signs of pains, the organizers ________.
A．became very concerned
B．were laughed at by others
C．tried to reduce their pains
D．didn't pay much attention to them
解析：选D 推理判断题。由第一段“When she and other participants complained ... by the organizers.”可知，那些组织者并没怎么在意他们。
23．What's the main idea of Paragraph 3?
A．How water is consumed in our body.
B．The importance of water to our health.
C．Why drinking too much water is dangerous.
D．The function of kidneys in consuming water.
解析：选C 段落大意题。本段主要讲过量饮水为什么对身体有害。
24．The stress caused by consuming unnecessary water ________.
A．isn't that dangerous
B．can never be found out
C．is really harmful in the long run
D．leads to some obvious symptoms
解析：选C 细节理解题。由最后一段“But make no ... health over the long term.”可知，过量饮水从长远来看对健康非常有害。
