1 . Find out some key words in Activity 2 of the book and guess what they will be talking about.

Ben Drake, an expert on air pollution, is being interviewed on the radio. He said that smog was a severe problem in the early 20th century in Britain. At that time, Britain was experiencing a boom in industry. Factories and homes used lots of coal, which created smog. He also mentioned the heavy smog in London was particularly bad and caused over 4000 deaths in 1952. Later the UK government restricted burning coal   in homes and forced factories to move away from city centers. As smog is harmful to everyone, the expert advised us to replace coal with cleaner forms of energy, use new energy-efficient vehicles and further develop green technology.

1. The expression “    1    ” originated in Britain and means a     2    of “smoke” and “fog”.
2. Smog became a severe problem in Britain because people at that time burnt lots of    3    .
3. The worst smog in British history happened in London in 1942.
4. The Great Smog of London claimed 5,000 lives.
5. Later, the UK government ordered people not to burn     4    in their homes.
    5    

2 . What can individuals do to help protect wildlife?
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3 . Listen to the first part and fill in the blanks.

What on Earth Are We Doing to Our Planet?

Our planet’s     1     is dying out at an alarming rate. Between 150 and 200 species are becoming extinct every day. This mass extinction is caused by hunting, habitat     2    , and pollution. We must make people aware of the problem and help     3     the endangered wildlife before it’s too late!

4 . Think and answer.
1. What are they doing?

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2. What do you think is necessary for bird observation?
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5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are the two most important rivers. Both of     1     run through central China. Not only were these major rivers a great source of fresh water and food in ancient China, they also were the     2     (subject) of Chinese art and literature (文学).

Often, the Yellow River     3     (call) the “cradle of Chinese civilization (中华文明的摇篮)”. It is 3,395 miles long, making it the sixth     4     (long) river in the world. Early Chinese farmers built small villages along the Yellow River. The rich yellow colored earth was good for growing millet (小米). Farmers of this area also raised sheep and other animals.

The Yangtze River is south of the Yellow River and flows (流动) in the same     5     (direct) (west to east). Just     6     the Yellow River, the Yangtze played     7     important role in the development of ancient China.

Ancient Chinese farmers that lived along the Yangtze River     8     (make) full use of the warm and rainy weather to grow rice.     9     (final) the land along the Yangtze became some of the most important and     10     (product) places in all of ancient China. The Yangtze also served as a boundary between northern and southern China. It is very wide and difficult to cross. The famous Battle of Red Cliffs took place along the river.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Chinese scientists have developed a kind of plastic that degrades in sea water and could help slow down the     1    (increase) serious plastic pollution in the ocean.

The new plastic can degrade in sea water over a period ranging from a few days to several hundred days,     2    (leave) small parts that cause no pollution, said Wang Gexia,     3     is a senior engineer. 

For a long time, people focused     4     white pollution on land. Plastic pollution in the sea only caught people’s attention when more and more     5    (report) about marine animals dying from it appeared in recent years.

Scientists combined water dissolution and biodegradation processes     6    (design) and invent     7     new plastic.

The research     8    (select) as one of the winning projects at a contest. The contest encouraged young Chinese scientists to develop groundbreaking technologies and was intended to inspire creativity. 

China has given top attention to     9    (environment) protection, contributing Chinese wisdom to     10    (resolve) global pollution problems.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

17­-year­-old Jackson Hinkle, a surfer, has always been aware of     1     issue of plastic pollution and its effects on ocean ecosystems. This year, however, was a big year when it came to taking action, reports Teen Vogue. He became a Water Ambassador for The Water Effect at The Ecology Center, and     2     (organize) a march against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in Orange County to raise people’s awareness of water rights and support the     3     (create) of a clean future. Besides, he     4     (present) serves as the founder and president of Team Zissou, an     5     (environment) club that has popped up in schools in California, Hawaii, Washington, and Canada. Jackson is also leading a campaign in his town called “Plastic Free SC,”     6     promotes the usage of reusable water bottles. “Our team is urging local restaurants and eateries     7     (join) our movement by transferring from carrying plastic water bottles to selling more sustainable paper water bottles, and is planning to equip our city     8     new water bottle refill stations and water fountains.”     9     (find) out simple ways you can start reducing your carbon footprint today and you’ll make contributions to stopping the earth from getting     10    (pollute).

8 . Complete the online encyclopaedia entry with the correct form of the words in the box.

compete       decline       eat       live       introduce       arrive

Lonesome George

Lonesome George was the last Pinta Island tortoise. He died in 2012. After George’s death, the Pinta Island tortoise was declared extinct.

The extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise is blamed on humans. Before humans     1     on the island, the species     2     in isolation and     3     the plants that naturally grew there. George was discovered many years after their arrival, and by then humans     4     new species that     5     for the food the tortoises ate. After goats in particular had been brought to the island, the Pinta Island tortoise population     6    . Eventually, only George remained.

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

A penguin colony in Antarctica that’s home to over 18,000 pairs of Adélie penguins suffered a massive breeding failure, with all but two of the babies starving to death when their parents     1     (force) to travel further in search of food during this breeding season.

According to CNN, the World Wildlife Fund said unseasonably extensive amounts of sea ice around the colony forced the adult penguins to travel further     2     (hunt) for food. The babies did not survive the parents’ journeys. “This disastrous event contrasts with     3     image that many people might have of penguins,”     4     (say) Rod Downie, Head of Polar Programs at WWF.

Downie continued: “The impact of this event is restricted to this specific colony of Adélie penguins, and predictions are that the Antarctic will get     5     (warm) and this may pose different     6     (challenge) in the longer term.”

Adélie penguins are     7     (general) doing well in East Antarctica and there they mostly eat krill, a small shrimp like crustacean.     8     they are declining in the peninsula,     9     the effects of climate change are already being felt. In addition     10     the climate change, the local penguin population is further threatened because of proposals to open the area to the krill fishing industry.

10 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct.For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other words, use one word the best fits each blank.

Cactuses are a kind of juicy plants     1     leaves are reduced to spines(针刺).There are no different branches, leaves and stem area.Instead, the whole body     2     (cover) with spines which are reduced leaves.

Whole fleshy area of the plant is doing the work of photosynthesis(光合作用), in which green plants take in water and carbon dioxide(CO2) and produce their own food     3     the help of sunlight.Cactuses have spines on their stems, which can stop the water in it from     4     (evaporate使蒸发).It has a very good root system to take in water from the underground.It stores water in its body.

In some times of the year, cactuses have flowers and even fruits.However, their flowers usually last only for a few days to a few weeks.These days cactuses become very popular and are used widely    5     ornamental（装饰的）plants in houses and offices etc for their beauty.They are also main food of animals     6     (live) in deserts as cactuses contain water important for their survival.What’s more, they can also be made into delicious dishes or foods at table.     7     , cactuses have been spread almost everywhere all around the world.

These are more than 4000 different varieties of cactuses     8     (find) all over the world.They are quite different     9     their sizes, colors and shapes.The Asian biggest cactus garden lies in Panchkula, sector 5 in north India.It is a very big cactus garden and there are hundreds of varieties of cactuses over there.In some varieties, leaves are present but in very reduced form.The American biggest cactus garden lies in Mexico,     10     some species can grow up to 15-20 feet tall like big trees.