2 . With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil. Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious. Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material. In the end, it breaks down naturally. There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible. In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean. If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage. Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil. Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on. Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的) — and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year. If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.
1. What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．Oil spills pollution.	B．What oil pollution is.
C．Oil tanker accidents.	D．How to reduce oil pollution.

2. How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A．By giving a description.	B．By making an argument.
C．By giving an example.	D．By drawing a diagram.

3. What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Transportation depending more on oil.	B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.
C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea.	D．More environmental damage being caused.

4. Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A．We should build safer oil tankers in the near future.

B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.

C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.

D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.

3 . Melissa Poe was 9 years old when she began a campaign for a cleaner environment by writing a letter to the then President Bush. Through her own efforts, her letter was reproduced on over 250 donated billboards across the country.

The response to her request for help was so huge that Poe established Kids For A Cleaner Environment (Kids F.A.C.E.) in 1989. There are now 300,000 members of Kids FACE worldwide and is the world's largest youth environmental organization.

Poe has also asked the National Park Service to carry out a "Children's Forest" project in every national park. In 1992, she was invited as one of only six children in the world to speak at the Earth Summit in Brazil as part of the Voices of the Future Program. In 1993, she was given a Caring Award for her efforts by the Caring Institute.

Since the organization started, Kids F.A.C.E. members have distributed and planted over 1 million trees! Ongoing tree-planting projects include Kid's Yards – the creation of backyard wildlife habitats (栖息地) and now Kids F.A.C.E. is involved in the exciting Earth Odyssey, which is a great way to start helping.

"Starting the club turned out to be a way to help people get involved with the environment. Club members started doing things like recycling, picking up litter and planting trees as well as inviting other kids to join their club."

"We try to tell kids that it's not OK to be lazy," she explains. "You need to start being a responsible, environmentally friendly person now, right away, before you become a resource-sucking adult."

1. Kids F.A.C.E is _____.

A．a program to help students with writing

B．a project of litter recycling

C．a campaign launched by President Bush

D．a club of environmental protection

2. What can we learn about Poe?

A．She was awarded a prize in Brazil.

B．She donated billboard across the country.

C．She got positive responses for her efforts

D．She joined the National Park Service.

3. Kid’s Yards is _____.

A．established in a national park.

B．started to protect wildlife

C．a wildlife- raising project

D．an entertainment park for kids.

4. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?

A．Adults are resource-sucking people

B．Poe sought help from a youth organization

C．Kids F.A.C.E members are from the U.S.

D．Kids are urged to save natural resources.