2 . About 5,000 children die each day because of preventable diseases such as cholera (霍乱) and dysentery (痢疾), which spread when people use unclean water for drinking or cooking. A lack of water for personal health leads to the spread of totally preventable diseases like trachoma (沙眼), which has blinded some six million people.

Water troubles also trap many low­income families in a cycle of poverty and poor education and the poorest suffer most from lack of access to water. People who spend much of their time on ill health, caring for sick children, or collecting water at a distance averaging 3.75 miles a day don’t have educational and economic chances to better their lives.

Agriculture is called the lion’s share of clean water worldwide, using some 70 percent, and industrial use needs another 22 percent. Water areas have no political borders and nations don’t always work together to share common resources, so water can be a frequent source of international problems as well.

Day­by­day demand keeps growing, further draining water sources, from great rivers to groundwater. “We’re going deeper into debt on our groundwater use,” Postel said, “and that has great effects on global water safety. The rate of groundwater use has doubled since 1960.”

Some of Earth’s groundwater is fossil water created when Earth’s climate was far different. Today such water is as limited as petrol. “But we’re pumping much of them out faster than ever,” Postel explained. “Man’s growing thirst also causes a major problem about water and our ecosystems. And that also creates a cost to us, to our sons and to our grandsons, not just to nature.”

1. What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?

A．Water shortage has been a most serious challenge.

B．So many children die of polluted water every day.

C．Diseases should be properly controlled and treated.

D．Wasting water leads to the unrest of the world.

2. Why is agriculture called the lion’s share of clean water?

A．Because nations don’t always work together to save water.

B．Because agriculture uses about two ­thirds of clean water.

C．Because more people live on the agricultural produce.

D．Because agriculture is much stronger than industry.

3. According to what Postel said we can know ________.

A．groundwater is rich for us to use	B．there is no need to dig deep for groundwater
C．we are using our next generation’ water	D．we should use river water instead of groundwater

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Water should be distributed equally.	B．Laws should be passed from groundwater.
C．We shouldn’t use water from rivers.	D．We should protect our ecosystems.

3 . Birth order plays a vital role in deciding the characteristics of a child. And when it comes to the middle child, it certainly plays a huge role. The middle children go through some things only they can understand.     1    

Mostly, middle children have to share a room.     2     They need to share a room with an elder one because they're too young to sleep alone. And just when they think they'll finally have a room of their own, a voice is heard saying, “Dear, please share the room with your younger one, as he's too small to sleep alone.”

Middle children tend to share clothes with their siblings (兄弟姐妹). Their cupboard is full of hand­me­downs from their older sibling, and they need to wear his clothes.     3     They can always show off their elder sibling's clothes and things at school. Also, they get to pass their own clothes to their younger sibling.

    4     They're liked by both, because they can relate well to both generations. On one hand they can recall how much fun it was watching Garfield and Friends, and on the other hand they can talk about the latest video game released in the market.

Siblings' talking is one interesting thing about a middle child. They are not as boring as they appear.    5     Also, thanks to the divided attention at home, middle children are independent and need not rely on anyone.

A．Instead, they are very artistic and creative.

B．But this comes with its own advantage too.

C．Here are some things a middle child can relate to.

D．They rarely enjoy the experience of having their own room.

E．And the dream of having their own room is completely destroyed.

F．They're the problem solvers between their older and younger siblings.

G．As a middle kid, they are the bridge between their younger and older siblings.

4 . Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment. “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.

But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many， many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first. According to US government reports, emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place. A kind of “Green thinking” has become part of practices.

Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs; today in 1995 there are about 6,600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.

Twenty –five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it’s hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program. “Until we do that, nothing else will change!” says Bruce Anderson.

1. According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___.

A．the social movement	B．recycling techniques
C．environmental problems	D．the importance of Earth Day

2. Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?

A．The grass –roots level.	B．The business circle.
C．Government officials.	D．University professors.

3. What have Americans achieved in environmental protection?

A．They have cut car emissions to the lowest.

B．They have settled their environmental problems.

C．They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.

D．They have reduced pollution through effective measures.

4. What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph?

A．Education.	B．Planning
C．Green living	D．CO reduction