1 . In 2018, Pakistan promised to plant ten billion trees in an effort to slow climate change and to save a land that has been destroyed.
That program, whose name is 10 Billion Trees Tsunami, has been taking effect slowly for the past two years, but it recently has received unexpected help from the coronavirus(新冠病毒). Many Pakistanis are suddenly unemployed, so the government has given them jobs as tree-planters. Unemployed day laborers have been turned into "jungle workers", planting trees for 500 rupees a day($3). It's not much, but it can help the unemployed get by.
As the coronavirus struck Pakistan, the 10 Billion Trees campaign was halted as part of social distancing orders put in place to slow the spread of the virus. But earlier this month, the government allowed the forestry agency to restart the program and create more than 63, 600 jobs.
The program is employing three times the number of planters as it normally does, and the planting season has been extended from May(its usual end)throughout June, in order to keep workers employed. All workers are being told to wear masks and keep two meters of distance from others.
Shahid Rashid Awan, project director for Punjab province, said the project hopes to reach 50 million trees this year. “We can absorb all the unemployed laborers and workers who have fled the cities and returned to their villages in the past few weeks.”
A study declared tree planting to be an effective way to store carbon, and if planted in large quantities around the globe, a powerful solution to climate change. While it won’t fix every climate-related problem we have, it can go a long way if done widely, which is exactly what Pakistan is trying to do with such impressive determination.
And the workers will benefit greatly, too. Not only are they able to earn money and support their families at a difficult time, but they’re outside in the fresh air, away from the potential health risks from more tightly-packed urban environments. It’s a brilliant idea that all country leaders should consider copying.
1. How does the coronavirus influence Pakistan?| A．A lot of animals are starving. | B．Many people are out of work. |
| C．Much land is left unmanaged. | D．The government has lost power. |
| A．Agreed. | B．Discussed. | C．Stopped. | D．Doubted. |
| A．It has helped with employment. |
| B．It has persuaded people to plant trees in big cities. |
| C．Many laborers produce much less carbon dioxide. |
| D．It can contribute to fighting against climate change. |
| A．It serves as a good example. | B．It is not fit for other countries. |
| C．It is a waste of time and money. | D．It brings many economic benefits. |
2 . Darrell Blatchley, a marine biologist and environmentalist based in the Philippine city of Davao, received a call from the Philippines, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (渔业与水产资源局) early Friday morning reporting a death of a young whale.
When the necropsy (尸检) was performed, Blatchley told NPR, he was not prepared for the amount of plastic they found in the whale’s stomach. “It was full of plastic nothing but nonstop plastic.” he said “It was filled to the point that its stomach was as hard as a baseball.” That means that this animal has been suffering not for days or weeks but for months or even a year or more,” Blatchley added.
Blatchley is the founder and owner of the D’Bone Collector Museum, a natural history museum in Davao. In the coming days, the museum will display all the items found in the whale’s system. Blatchley and his team work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other organizations to assist in rescue and recovery of marine animals.
“Within the last 10 years, we have recovered 61 whales and dolphins just within the Davao Gulf,” he said. “Of them, 57 have died due to man whether they took plastic or fishing nets or other waste, or gotten caught in pollution — and four were pregnant.”
Blatchley said he hoped that the latest incident would launch the issue of plastic pollution in the Philippines and across the globe. “If we keep going this way, it will be more uncommon to see an animal die of natural causes than it is to see an animal die of plastic,” he said.
1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?| A．The whale was starved to death. |
| B．Blatchley was shocked at what he found. |
| C．The dead whale must have swallowed a baseball. |
| D．Blatchley didn’t make preparations for the necropsy. |
| A．Waste collected from the ocean. |
| B．The whole system of the whale. |
| C．Things found in the whale’s body. |
| D．Many different tools of whaling. |
| A．Uncommon. | B．Worrying. | C．Inspiring. | D．Mild. |
| A．A Whale Found Dead of Plastic |
| B．Stand Up for Protecting Whales |
| C．Plastic Threatening Our Existence |
| D．Natural Death or Merciless Murder |
