Like other nations around the world， fast-paced growth and market competition increase Spain's anxieties over its most precious natural resource-water
Winter rains refused to fall， shriveling reserves to severe drought levels and prompting a water shipment from France. A month-long downpour rescued Spain a couple months later， ending the drought， but anxieties over water and market pressures now bedevil its most development-hungry regions.
Spain has fallen into a funk familiar to many communities in the world. It relies on fresh water from a stable and increasingly in-demand source， the vst Ebro River. Tensions are high over access to and the cost of drinkable water-and what jurisdictions or interests have the right to tap into it.
Spain has always known turbulent periods of water shortages， but its predicament these days is built on modern-day ambitions. Agricultural grouth and large-scale irrigation， [as well as] golf course and hotel development have soared in the last decade.
Economic tensions seep into every conversation about water. Regions throughout Spain are bound to local growers， the indisputable heaviest users of water. And every region， intent on 21st-century growth， is just as keen to diversify its economy and capture the fast profits of Mediterranean tourism.
Last spring， Aragon and Catalan authorities， regional neighbors in Spain， were sniping at each other to lay claim to the rushing waters of the Ebro. Barcelona， a tourism dynamo， wanted the river siphoned to help meet its needs.
Zaragoza， which the river runs through， balked at a forced sharing from its river basin. Only the rains stopped the turmoil.
Aragon authorities water to keep the Ebro waters at home to encourage development such as theme parks. It is the kink of change that environmentalists deride but government officials see as an economic reality；。 Catalan had its era of development. Now， they say it is Aragon's turn.
Word
Drought （n） a long period when there is little or no rain in a region
Bedevil （n） to annoy or otherwise cause problems
Funk （n） a very unhappy and hopeless state
Jurisdiction （n） the authority of an organization to enforce legal decisions within a specified region or area of responsibility
Predicament （n） an unpleasant situation which is difficult to get out of
Irrigation （n） a man-make method of supplying land with water so that plants， especially crops， will grow
Indisputable （adj） true， and impossible to deny
Snipe （v） to criticize someone unpleasantly
Siphon （v） to transfer liquid through a tube from one source into another on a lower level by the force of suction
Deride （v） to laugh at someone or something in a way which shows you think they are ridiculous or of no value.
Winter rains refused to fall， shriveling reserves to severe drought levels and prompting a water shipment from France. A month-long downpour rescued Spain a couple months later， ending the drought， but anxieties over water and market pressures now bedevil its most development-hungry regions.
Spain has fallen into a funk familiar to many communities in the world. It relies on fresh water from a stable and increasingly in-demand source， the vst Ebro River. Tensions are high over access to and the cost of drinkable water-and what jurisdictions or interests have the right to tap into it.
Spain has always known turbulent periods of water shortages， but its predicament these days is built on modern-day ambitions. Agricultural grouth and large-scale irrigation， [as well as] golf course and hotel development have soared in the last decade.
Economic tensions seep into every conversation about water. Regions throughout Spain are bound to local growers， the indisputable heaviest users of water. And every region， intent on 21st-century growth， is just as keen to diversify its economy and capture the fast profits of Mediterranean tourism.
Last spring， Aragon and Catalan authorities， regional neighbors in Spain， were sniping at each other to lay claim to the rushing waters of the Ebro. Barcelona， a tourism dynamo， wanted the river siphoned to help meet its needs.
Zaragoza， which the river runs through， balked at a forced sharing from its river basin. Only the rains stopped the turmoil.
Aragon authorities water to keep the Ebro waters at home to encourage development such as theme parks. It is the kink of change that environmentalists deride but government officials see as an economic reality；。 Catalan had its era of development. Now， they say it is Aragon's turn.
Word
Drought （n） a long period when there is little or no rain in a region
Bedevil （n） to annoy or otherwise cause problems
Funk （n） a very unhappy and hopeless state
Jurisdiction （n） the authority of an organization to enforce legal decisions within a specified region or area of responsibility
Predicament （n） an unpleasant situation which is difficult to get out of
Irrigation （n） a man-make method of supplying land with water so that plants， especially crops， will grow
Indisputable （adj） true， and impossible to deny
Snipe （v） to criticize someone unpleasantly
Siphon （v） to transfer liquid through a tube from one source into another on a lower level by the force of suction
Deride （v） to laugh at someone or something in a way which shows you think they are ridiculous or of no value.