control measuring materials unified state exam

in ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2017

Explanations to the demo version of the oral part

control measuring materialsunified state exam 2017 in English language

When familiarizing yourself with the demo version of the oral part of the USE 2017 control measuring materials in English, it should be borne in mind that the tasks included in it do not reflect all the content issues that will be checked using the KIM options. A complete list of questions that can be controlled at the unified state exam is given in the codifier of content elements and requirements for the level of graduates' preparation. educational organizations for the unified state exam in 2017 in English.

The purpose of the demonstration option is to enable any USE participant and the general public to get an idea of ​​the structure of future KIM, the number of tasks, their form and level of complexity. The given criteria for evaluating the performance of tasks with a detailed answer, included in this option, give an idea of ​​the requirements for the completeness and correctness of a detailed answer in oral form. This information will allow graduates to develop a strategy for preparing for the exam.

Instructions for completing tasks

The oral part of the KIM USE in English includes 4 tasks.

Exercise 1- reading aloud a short text of a popular science nature.

IN task 2 are invited to read the advertisement and ask five questions based on keywords.

Preparation time - 1.5 minutes.

IN task 3 it is proposed to choose one of three photographs and describe it on the basis of the plan.

Preparation time - 1.5 minutes.

IN task 4 the task is to compare two photographs based on the proposed plan.

Preparation time - 1.5 minutes.

Total response time one examiner (including preparation time) – 15 minutes.

Each subsequent task is issued after the completion of the previous task. All responses are audio and video recorded.

Try to fully complete the tasks, try to speak clearly and clearly, do not deviate from the topic and follow the proposed response plan. This way you can get the most points.

English language. Grade 11 Demo 2017

© 2017 federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Speaking part

Task 1

Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.

The first maps were drawn by explorers to help them find their way home and show people where they had been. The maps showed the shape of the land, distances between places and special features such as caves and old trees. Nowadays, maps show the towns and villages, and the roads, railways, rivers and mountains. Symbols are used to show all the different things on a map and there is a key to explain what the symbols stand for.

Over the centuries, people explored most of the Earth and put together the map of the world we use today. Maps of the world or large areas are often either “political” or “physical”. The political map shows territorial borders. The purpose of the physical map is to show features of geography such as mountains, soil type or land use including roads, railroads and buildings.

Listen to the audio file

Audio: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or higher) is required to play this audio. Download the latest version. Also, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser.

Mind your pronunciation!

–k ey,tr ee, betw ee n,f ea ture

[ɜː] – f ir st, w er e, w or ld,p ur posture, Ear th

[ θ ] – ear th , th ings

[ð] – th ey, th em, ei th er, toge th er,

[f]–ph ysical, geogra ph y

Vocabulary

area /ˈeəriə/ - district, place, region

shape - shape

cave - cave

feature /ˈfiːtʃə/ – feature, characteristic feature

century /ˈsentʃəri/ - century, century

territorial borders - territorial borders

to draw /drɔː/ (drew /druː/, drawn /drɔːn/)

to stand for - decipher, designate

to explore /iks ˈplɔː/ - explore, study

explorer /ɪkˈsplɔːrə/ - explorer, traveler

either … or /ˈaɪðə/(UK) /ˈiːðə/(US) – or … or

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Task 2

Study the advertisement.

Make your life easier with our new kitchen unit!

You are considering buying the appliance and now you'd like to get more information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask five direct questions to find out about the following:

2) if one can buy it online

3) number of functions

4) guarantee period

5) recipe book to go with the unit

You have 20 seconds to ask each question.

Sample answers

• How much is this kitchen unit? / How much does this kitchen unit cost? / What is the price of this kitchen unit?
• Can I buy this kitchen blender online? / Is there any possibility to buy this unit online? / Is online purchase of this unit available? / Is this kitchen unit available for online purchase?
• How many functions does this kitchen tool have?
• How long is the guarantee period of this appliance? / How long is the warranty of this kitchen blender? / How many months is the guarantee period of this kitchen unit? / How many months is the blender guarantee period?
• Does a recipe book go with the unit? / Is there any recipe book to go with the blender?

Enjoy watching!

Pay attention to the updated version of the wording of Task 3, which appeared in 2017!

Task 3

These are photos from your photo album. Choose one photo to describe to your friend.

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3

You will have to start speaking in 1.5 minutes and will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). In your talk remember to speak about:

• where and when the photo was taken
• what/who is in the photo
• what is happening
• why do you keep the photo in your album
• why did you decide to show the picture to your friend

You have to talk continuously, starting with: “I’ve chosen photo number …”

Enjoy watching!

sample answer

I've chosen photo number 1.(Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number.)

well, recently I have decided to start a blog about a healthy lifestyle. I write short stories about healthy food. Also, I often take pictures of my friends and relatives to show to my followers (readers) which exercises they do to keep fit. (intro) 3

So, this picture was taken a week ago when my sister and I went jogging in our park near the river. 1

In the foreground of the photo you can see my elder sister Stacy. She is running in the park at the moment. The morning is sunny and quite warm, so Stacy is wearing a nice T-shirt. (I should say that coral is her favorite colour.) She looks pretty slim because she does her regular exercises and keeps on a healthy diet (maintains a balanced diet). She says it always helps her to be in a good mood and shape. (6)

in the background of the picture there are lots of green trees. The air is usually fresh in the morning. And I think it's the best time for doing sports. (3)

I keep this photo in my album because I am going to use it on my blog. (1)

I know that you are trying to lose some weight. So, I show you the photo of my sister to encourage you to take up jogging. Also, to gain the best results, you can follow her eating habits advice. (3)

That's all I wanted to say. (phrase For examiner)

Task 4

Study the two photographs. In 1.5 minutes be ready to compare and contrast the photographs:

• give a brief description of the photos (action, location)
• say what the pictures have in common
• say in what way the pictures are different
• say which of the ways of reading a book presented in the pictures you'd prefer
• explain why

You will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). You have to talk continuously.

sample answer

Now I will compare and contrast these two photos.

I'd like to stress out right from the beginning that hobby as reading gives you an excellent opportunity to learn new things wherever you are: at home, on the bus, at the sunny beach and even in the queue (in the line). And these two photos prove that. (introductory phrase) (2)

So the theme which relates these photos is a reading activity. (1)

Let me start with the first picture which shows a young girl who is sitting on the sofa. She might be in her flat at the moment. She is absorbed in reading. I cannot say for sure but it seems to me she is holding an e-book in her hands. (4)

As for the second picture you can see a young girl who is traveling by underground (metro). She is standing near the window and is reading a book, too. I really like her clothes. This checkered short-sleeved shirt makes her look pretty stylish. (4)

English can rightly be called the most popular of the list of languages ​​that can be taken in the category of selective exams. A foreign language is an indispensable exam for those who wish to enter the linguist, translator or plan to make a career in the diplomatic field. It is worth noting that this exam cannot be called simple, especially after speaking was added to the written part of the exam.

Not surprisingly, the exam in English will require many hours of laborious preparation and, quite possibly, additional classes in courses or with a tutor. Another important point concerns the structure of the ticket and changes in it. We offer you to take a closer look at this issue so as not to encounter unpleasant surprises during the 2017 exam.

The written part of the USE-2017 in English will be held on June 15, and the oral part on June 16-17

Demo version of the USE-2017

USE dates in English

The National English Examination will be held on the following dates:

• Early period. early exam it will be possible to pass on 03/18/2017 and 03/22/2017, and the days of 05/03/2017 and 05/05/2017 are defined as reserve;
• Main stage. The main exam will be held on 06/15/2017 ( written part), for the oral part are reserved 16-17.06.2017.
• Backup date. The reserve date for the written part will be 06/21/2017, and for the oral part - 06/22/2017.

Please note that only certain categories of students can take the exam ahead of schedule. For example, these include:

• graduates of previous years;
• evening school students;
• schoolchildren who go to serve in;
• athletes who will be absent due to national or international competitions or training camps;
• participants of olympiads or competitions of federal or international importance;
• eleventh-graders who go to live or study abroad;
• students who were ordered by the medical board to undergo treatment, rehabilitation or prevention, which coincide with the dates of the main exam.

You need to write a statement that you want to take the exam ahead of schedule in advance - before 03/01/2017.

Statistical information

The popularity of this exam is confirmed by statistics. English as a selective Unified State Examination is annually passed by about 9% of students in grade 11. On average, graduates manage to score about 64.8 points in this exam, which is a good result. At the same time, the percentage of those who could not pass English even with a satisfactory grade has fluctuated in recent years in the range from 1.8 to 3.3% - a very benign figure in comparison with other USE.

Changes in the USE-2017 in English

Experts did not announce significant changes in the procedure or scheme for conducting the exam. The only thing that can be mentioned is the clarification of the wording in task No. 3 in the oral part: the word “imagine” was removed from the wording.

KIM structure in English

The exam consists of two parts:

• written, which takes 180 minutes;
• oral, which passes within 15 minutes.

What is included in the written part of the exam?

There are several main sections in the ticket structure.

• Listening. This part of the exam takes 30 minutes and consists of the following questions:
  • No. 1, in which the student is asked to identify the correspondence between sounding statements and statements. You need to evaluate 6 statements and bring them into line with 7 answers (one of them is incorrect). The correct answer is worth 1 point, in total for the exercise you can score 6 points. The listening technique assumes that the student has 20 seconds to read the answer options, then listens to the recording 2 times and fills in the answers on the form;
  • No. 2 - listening to a small dialogue. Next, you should familiarize yourself with the judgments and evaluate their fidelity with the words correct - true, incorrect - false, did not sound - not stated. The ticket contains seven judgments, each of which can bring 1 point, the maximum score for this exercise is 7;
  • No. 3-9 - a high school student must listen to a short interview and choose one correct answer from the three offered on the ticket. This is usually a question that needs to be answered, or a sentence that needs to be completed. A correct answer earns 1 point, for a total of 7 points.
• Assessment of reading skills. To complete the tasks, the student receives half an hour, during which he needs to have time to do the following exercises:
  • No. 10, in which you need to read 7 short texts and identify their correspondence with 8 proposed headings (one of the options will be incorrect). For the correct answer, 1 point is awarded, the maximum points for this exercise is 7;
  • No. 11 - the student will have to work with a text with six missing parts. There are 7 fragments to choose the answer option. A correct answer adds 1 point. Thus, here you can earn 6 points;
  • No. 12-18 - you need to familiarize yourself with a fragment of an artistic or journalistic text and work with it. Questions are asked for each of the texts or unfinished sentences are given, to which it is necessary to choose answers from four offered to choose from. Each of the tasks can bring 1 point, which in total gives 7 maximum points.
• Lexis and grammar. This part is considered the most difficult, so it is here that graduates make the maximum number of mistakes in comparison with other parts of KIM in English. You have 40 minutes to complete the work. The section includes the following tasks:
  • No. 19-25 - the student needs to familiarize himself with small texts with missing parts. Words should not just be inserted, but subjected to the correct transformation and the correct answer written down. In total, you can earn 1 point per answer, which gives a maximum of 7 points in total;
  • No. 26-31 - tasks related to the problems of word formation. They need to familiarize themselves with the text in which omissions were made, and identify which parts of speech were omitted. Students must convert one part of speech to another - for example, a noun to an adjective - and write the changed word on the form. The principle of evaluation is the same as in the previous exercises - 1 point per answer, total score - 6;
  • No. 32-38 - tasks that test knowledge of vocabulary. Here again you have to work with the texts in which the gaps are made. Usually it is a word or a preposition. The correct answer can be selected from the options provided. A correct answer earns you 1 point, for a total of 7 points.
• Assessment of writing skills. You have 80 minutes to complete the tasks. In this part, you need to do the following exercises:
  • No. 39 is writing a personal letter from 100 to 140 words. You will have to meet about 20 minutes (the time is recommended, but, as practice shows, it depends on the competent distribution of the time resource whether you manage to cope with all the tasks from the ticket). In total, you can get 6 points for a letter;
  • No. 40 - task in which you need to write an essay from 200 to 250 words according to the proposed plan and topic. The essay plan is standard and includes an introductory part, a statement of one's own opinion, supported by arguments, a counter-opinion and counterarguments, and a final part. It is proposed to cope with this task in an hour. You can get 14 points for it.

What is included in the oral part of the exam?

Remember that a separate day and time is allotted for the delivery of the oral part. The oral exam takes only 15 minutes, but until you get to the audience, you will have to stand in line. The oral part includes the following tasks:

1. The student is asked to read a short text aloud. You will be given one and a half minutes to familiarize yourself with the passage, and the same amount to voice it. For this you can get 1 point;
2. The student needs to read a short text (usually of an advertising nature) for one and a half minutes, and then formulate 5 questions on it. The question is given no more than 20 seconds. The task is estimated at 5 maximum points;
3. The senior student is offered three photographs, from which he chooses one. The task is to describe the photo according to the proposed plan. Rhinestones make a reservation: you should not think that here you can turn on your imagination and weave whatever your heart desires. Members of the commission do not welcome when something that is not indicated in the figure is described, and they really do not like assumptions. One and a half minutes are allotted for preparation, two more are given for the story. Here you can earn 7 points;
4. The student is offered to compare two photos, describing their similar features and pointing out the differences, as well as expressing his own opinion. Preparation takes the standard one and a half minutes, and the answer - no more than 2 minutes. The maximum you can get is 7 points.

EGE assessment in English

The latest news suggests that the exam score is going to be transferred to the usual five-point system, and the results will be taken into account when setting a mark in the final certificate. Thus, it will be possible to pull up your school mark. According to the reference system for transferring points, in past years they were distributed as follows.

• 0-21 points mean unsatisfactory knowledge, that is, a mark of "2";
• 22-58 points are translated into the mark "3" - you speak English satisfactorily;
• 59-83 points mean that your level foreign language not bad, and the rating is "4";
• from 84 points and above earn those who know English perfectly (score "5").

To pass the exam, you need to try to score 22 points or more. You can get 100 points in total. We also remind you that the procedure for conducting a foreign language exam does not provide for the presence of any additional materials - dictionaries, audio equipment, smartphones and other items that may cause you to be removed from the audience.

Preparation for the exam in English

For high-quality preparation for the exam, it is worth working through demo versions of tickets for 2017 (they can be downloaded directly on our website - see the beginning of the article). This will help to better understand the structure and content of real KIMs, as well as prepare mentally for the exam, so as not to waste precious time in the classroom. Almost all the wording that is contained in the description of the task is given in English, so it is worth translating in advance in order to prevent fatal errors in the exam itself.

Remember to spend enough time listening. Not all schools teach students the ability to perceive information by ear. Regularly listening to audiobooks read by native speakers will help you cope with this difficult task. It is also good practice to watch movies or TV shows in their original voice acting.

Another problem is speaking. Among graduates, there are often those who do an excellent job with grammar, but gain little points for the oral part. To practice this skill, experts recommend describing everything that you see on the way to school, as well as collecting a large number of various pictures and describing one a day.

English is the most popular of those foreign languages ​​that graduates take as part of the Unified State Exam. The next USE in this subject will not differ much from the last test of the current year in 2017, with the exception of some minor changes. Before we talk about what news awaits students in 2017, we will introduce you to the history, norms and structure of the Unified State Examination in English.

A bit of history

In 2017, the concept of conducting the exam in English will absolutely not differ from other subjects in foreign languages.

The test part is divided into 2 days, on the first day of the examination, the graduate submits everything in writing, the specified part consists of:

• test audition;
• test reading;
• vocabulary and grammar tasks will also take place in the form of a test;
• a letter consisting of two stages.

The written part of the exam in 2017 includes 40 tasks, for which students are allocated 3 hours. If the student wants, he can come on the second day to take an oral exam, here the future graduate will be tested for speaking skills. The oral part consists of only 4 tasks, and 15 minutes of time are allotted for it.

It is worth saying that the first part of the English exam is given a maximum of 80 points, if the student needs to increase the score, then he must come on the second day to pass the oral part.

There are no special changes in the testing conditions in the USE in 2017, we will study general information about the exam.

In 2017, the structure of passing the exam remains unchanged compared to the current year. So, in order to pass the exam, you need to solve 17 tasks from the 3rd or 2nd sections. The minimum threshold for passing the specified exam is 22 points, this is the amount the student receives, with the correct answer to 17 tasks.

Everyone knows that this year the written part consisted of 4 sections, which included:

1. Test-auditing, the answers to these tasks are the digital designation of the correct item. This 30-minute marathon demonstrates listening comprehension of the language. This part includes three sections. With the help of listening, the future student must understand spoken words and phrases by ear. Many consider this stage the most difficult in this exam.
2. Test reading, the answers are also numbers. The meaning of this task is not speed, the main thing is to understand the essence of what you read and compare the contents of the text. Half an hour is also allotted for this part, if the graduate has a sufficient vocabulary, then he will quickly cope with the section. But you should not rely on intuition. Answer points are words or phrases that are written with spaces and without any punctuation marks. This section consists of two stages: an oral stage and a test.
3. The final letter includes two sections: a personal letter and a statement with elements of reasoning.

As you know, on the second day, the student can pass the speaking part of the exam. It is possible to get the required number of points thanks to this stage. It is worth remembering that it is in this section that the main criterion is the ability to speak beautifully and understand the speech of another.

In the conversational part, the future student is invited to enter into a dialogue and read his own monologue. In the process of dialogue, the graduate can fully demonstrate mastery of a foreign language.

How to prepare?

The process of preparing for the USE in a foreign language must begin long before the main exam. A future student needs to understand a whole layer of information and learn how to apply their knowledge in practice. The exam is conducted at three levels of complexity: basic, complex and advanced complexity. The news is disappointing, you need to know that in 2017 it is unlikely that you will be able to enter a good university with a basic level of passing an exam in English. Yes, and exam tasks have changed, now they include not only the school curriculum, but several sections from the first year of the university. Therefore, it is so important to prepare in advance for the upcoming Unified State Exam.

To prepare for the upcoming test, you need to carefully solve similar tasks. There are a huge number of different online services on the Internet, with the help of which any future graduate can test their knowledge of the English language.

Also, demo versions in all subjects are posted annually on the official website of FIPI. Of course, the tasks that are presented here are unlikely to be caught on the exam, but the demo version is not replaceable when preparing for the test.

Now let's talk about what changes in the USE await students in 2017? What news should we expect?

What to expect?

Everyone knows that the Minister of Education has changed in our country, now large-scale changes are coming in the field of education, and the Unified State Examination will not be an exception.

From the very beginning, it is worth saying that the first news was that another mandatory exam will be introduced in 2017, some experts say that perhaps this will become history. Unfortunately, the level of knowledge of the past of our country has dropped to an unprecedented level. According to polls by sociologists, a quarter of young people do not know in what year the Second World War began and ended. World War, and also they absolutely do not know against whom the Soviet soldiers fought.

Not to mention the one who generally participated in the world military conflict.

Also, legislators want to remove the test part in order to exclude simple guessing of the correct answers, in addition, they want to expand the number of tasks in the Russian language, they will be supplemented with an oral block. Legislators thus want to exert their influence on the communication skills of young people.

For mathematics, the basic and profile levels will remain unchanged next year. So, those who want to enter a technical university choose the profile level of the subject, and the humanities leave the basic level.

Among other things, starting from 2017, the points scored in the Unified State Exam will affect the final grades in the final certificate.

What is the future of a foreign language?

Many schoolchildren who graduate from school next year are especially concerned about the question: will changes be introduced, and a foreign language will become compulsory already in 2017? The Ministry of Education has not yet given an exact answer.

However, the latest news is that from 2020, English, like the other three languages, will definitely become mandatory when passing the Unified State Exam. At the moment, they want to conduct an experiment and test all ninth-graders for knowledge of this foreign language. Now 9th grade graduates, like 11th graders, take only two mandatory exams: Russian language and mathematics, and they take two more subjects at will. The Ministry of Education reports that it is considering introducing 6 exams for 9th grade students.

Let's draw some conclusions. The USE 2017 is still very far away, and, perhaps, future graduates will have a lot of news regarding changes in exams. First of all, is it worth waiting for the introduction of the third mandatory as early as next year? And which of the many items will take its place in the top three?

However, regardless of those innovations that happen sooner or later, it is necessary to prepare for the Unified State Exam now. Every future graduate must solve tasks maximum amount time, use all possible resources for this, do not rely solely on the gadget, but try to solve tests in the old written format. The final results and future admission to a prestigious university depend only on careful preparation.

USE 2017 English language 10 training options Muzlanov

M.: 20 1 6. - 160 p.

The purpose of the manual is to help students in grades 10-11 and applicants to prepare as soon as possible for the final certification in English in the form of a unified state exam. The collection contains options for examination papers that can be used as practical material to prepare for the exam. Each option is provided with keys and texts for listening.

Format: pdf

Size: 8.7 MB

Watch, download:drive.google

CONTENT
Preface 4
Option 1 5
Section 1. Listening 5
Section 2 Reading 6
Section 3. Grammar and vocabulary 10
Section 4 Letter 12
Answer sheets 13
Option 2 15
Unit 1: Listening 15
Section 2 Reading 16
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 20
Section 4 Letter 22
Answer sheets 23
Option 3 25
Unit 1: Listening 25
Section 2 Reading 26
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 30
Section 4. Letter 32
Answer sheets 33
Option 4 35
Unit 1: Listening 35
Section 2 Reading 36
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 40
Section 4. Letter 42
Answer sheets 43
Option 5 45
Unit 1: Listening 45
Section 2 Reading 46
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 50
Section 4. Letter 52
Answer sheets 53
Option 6 55
Section 1. Listening 55
Section 2 Reading 56
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 60
Section 4. Letter 62
Answer sheets 63
Option 7 65
Section 1. Listening 65
Section 2 Reading 66
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 70
Section 4 Letter 72
Answer sheets 73
Option 8 75
Section 1. Listening 75
Section 2 Reading 76
Section 3 Grammar and Vocabulary 80
Section 4 Letter 82
Answer sheets 83
Option 9 85
Section 1. Listening 85
Section 2 Reading 86
Section 3 Grammar and Vocabulary 90
Section 4 Letter 92
Answer sheets 93
Option 10 95
Section 1. Listening 95
Section 2 Reading 96
Section 3. Grammar and Vocabulary 100
Section 4 Letter 102
Answer sheets 103
Appendix 1. Section "Speaking" 105
Appendix 2. Texts for listening. 107
Appendix 3. Answers to tasks 139
Appendix 4. What is KIM USE:
structure and content 153
Appendix 5. Criteria and schemes for assessing the performance of tasks in the "Writing" section 154
Appendix 6. The order of counting words in the tasks of the section "Letter" 157
Annex 7. The procedure for determining the percentage of textual matches in the task 40 157
Literature 158

The purpose of this manual is to help students in grades 10-11 and applicants to prepare as soon as possible for the final certification in English in the form of a unified state exam (USE). It may also be useful to teachers who will find in it necessary material to work in the classroom.
The collection contains training options the written part of the examination paper, which can be used as practical material for preparing for the exam. The manual is focused on adaptation to test control technologies, taking into account their new format and content.
The test work options are identical to the KIM (control and measurement options) USE in English and consist of four sections (“Listening”, “Reading”, “Grammar and Vocabulary”, “Writing”), which include 40 tasks.
Section 1 (“Listening”) contains 9 tasks, of which the first one is for establishing correspondence and 8 tasks with the choice of one correct answer out of three proposed. The recommended time to complete the section is 30 minutes.
Section 2 (“Reading”) contains 9 tasks, of which 2 are tasks for establishing correspondence and 7 tasks with the choice of one correct answer from four proposed. The recommended time to complete the section is 30 minutes.
Section 3 (“Grammar and Vocabulary”) contains 20 tasks, of which 13 are short-answer tasks and 7 are tasks with a choice of one correct answer out of four proposed. The recommended time to complete the section is 40 minutes.
Section 4 ("Writing") consists of two tasks and is a short written work (writing a personal letter and a written statement with elements of reasoning). The recommended time to complete the section is 80 minutes.
The total time for the written part of the exam is 180 minutes.

Have you ever tasted saltwater? I guess you have and if so, you will agree with me that it's not very refreshing. In fact, drinking more than a few cups is worth killing you.

according to the United States Geological Survey, whose mission is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information that is needed to understand the nation’s water resources, about ninety-seven percent of the water on our planet is saltwater; the rest is stored in lakes, rivers, glaciers and aquifers underground. Moreover, only about one-third of the world's potential fresh water can be used for human needs. As pollution increases, the amount of usable water decreases.

Water is the most precious and taken-for-granted resource we have on Earth. It is also one of the most threatened resources. Increased population and possible climate change will put more and more strain on supplies of this vital resource as time goes on. What could we do in this situation? Though it may seem like science fiction, the solution could lie in outer space.

I’m not saying we’re going to be teleporting to a spring on the other side of the galaxy or colonizing another planet just to have longer showers - it’s much more mundane than that. What we could achieve realistically in this century is the successful use of the solar system’s rare metals and water, barring the invention of the matrix.

You may be surprised to learn that the metal in your keys, coins, cell phone, computer, car and everywhere else, originally came to this planet from space. When Earth formed, the heavy metals sank to the center and formed a solid core. The lighter elements formed the mantle and the crust we live on. Asteroids and comets that struck the Earth brought water and metals to the surface.

There are thousands of asteroids orbiting near Earth. Most asteroids are made of rock, but some are composed of metal, mostly nickel and iron. Probes could be sent out to these to identify useful ones. Then larger probes could push them towards the Earth where they can be handled in orbit.

In order to fuel ships and probes, we simply need to find a source of water, such as a comet or the surface of the moon. We collect the water and pass an electric current through it from a solar panel. The water separates into oxygen and hydrogen, which in liquid form is a powerful rocket fuel.

Is this really possible? We may soon find out. Private company SpaceX has already started delivering equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).

The ISS is proof that countries once at each other’s throats, like America and Russia, can work together and pull off multi-billion dollar projects.

Recently, a company called Planetary Resources Inc. made the news for getting big names like Google and Microsoft to invest in exploring asteroids for material gain. Although it will take many decades, it is wise to put the gears in motion now.

We've already landed probes on the surface of asteroids and taken samples from them. We can put something as large as the ISS, which weighs just short of 500 tons, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in orbit.

We can make a half-million-mile round-trip to get rocks from the moon. We can do all of these things already. They just need to be applied and developed in a smart way.