1 . Trees, some of the tallest in the world, towered above Hannah Griffiths and her colleagues each morning as they walked deep into the rainforest in the Maliau Basin in Borneo, where they had set up a set of experiments to look at the ecological effects of small creatures: termites (白蚁).

Termites get a bum rap. They make headlines for chewing up billions of dollars of property each year in the U. S. And they are responsible for something like two percent of global carbon emissions, simply as a result of their huge populations and preference for chewing through carbonrich materials. A whole industry is aiming at killing them.

But they play a key role in many natural ecosystems. Scientists have known for years that in tropical (热带的) forests, termites chew up fallen leaves and dead wood, keeping the fallen material under control and letting nutrients from the dead material back into the system to be used by other plants, insects, and animals. But they didn’t know exactly how important the insects were in keeping the forest healthy and functional, so they removed termites from a particular spot in the forest and saw how it responded.

As luck would have it, Hannah Griffiths and her colleagues started their experiment when the forest was hit by an extreme drought (干旱). During the non-drought years, they saw there wasn’t much difference between the normal plots and the ones where they’d removed the termites. But during the drought, the effects were marked. What they found was unexpected: in the termite-rich areas, the soil stayed slightly wet, more tree seedlings sprouted (抽芽), and the system was full of activity despite the long, hard dry spell.

For Griffiths, it was only because they happened to study the drought that they could pick out the real importance of termites to the system, she points out. “And that rings alarm bells in my head,” she says, “because it makes me think, well what else don’t we know? If we start damaging biological communities, we don’t know what that will do.”

2 . Five steps to make a difference to the oceans

The oceans are being seriously polluted now. Plastics are harming the marine (海产的) life. Carbon pollution is warming the oceans and increasing their acidity(酸度). Waters are being overfished.     1     Here are some steps we can take to help make a difference.

1.Bring our own bags.     2     Try carrying a reusable bag at all times, including while traveling, and bringing our own things to work to avoid relying on plastic items.

2.Talk about it now. We should carry that conversation into public places. Talk to our friends and family about why the ocean is important and why we take steps to help it, and challenge them to do the same.

3.    3     A good way to make a difference is to organize a garbage cleanup now. Whether it’s an inland cleanup or one near the coast, plan one in our community.

4.Throw away our cars.     4     When we hang out, we should reduce our carbon footprint, which may help slow global warming and ocean acidification as well as conserve energy

5.Recycle, obviously. Experts say recycling is an obvious action to take. Check on what can be recycled in our community, and make sure you’re separating out your plastic.

In summary, think about it more and act on it more. The more someone thinks about plastics and plastics pollution, the environment and the consequences of our actions, the more likely they are to act on it.     5    

Yours faithfullly,

Li Hua

4 . As most people know, in the last few years, sandstorms have swept across many cities and areas of North China, polluting the air and disturbing daily lives of human beings. People look dirty and suffer many kinds of illnesses, such as breath difficulty. The sandstorm is such a serious problem that it has not only weakened the industrial and agricultural development of our country but also caused a lot of trouble to the living conditions of the Chinese people.

Therefore, effective measures should be taken as soon as possible to stop its happening. So how should we deal with the frightening sandstorms?

Some experts offer practical advice as follows: For one thing, more money ought to be put into tree planting and forest protection in order to keep more water on the Earth. For another, government of all countries should make laws on environment protection. For example, banning the use of throw-away chopsticks and punishing illegal tree cutting. Scientists should also study and find ways to lower the grade of its destruction and to improve the environment. As for some schools, education about sandstorms should be spread properly and timely to make more and more people attach great importance to this problem.

How people look forward to sunny days with soft wind touching their faces now and forever! The golden days can come back so long as we try our best to protect the natural environment from today on. And the fact is that what I expect is not just a dream. There are some sweet fruits from the early efforts.

1. 污染正威胁我们的生存。

2. 地球是我们的家园，我们有责任为我们自己和我们的后代去照顾好它

3. 政府已采取更多的措施去解决这些问题，法律已被通过去制止污染。

4. 坚信我们的家园会变得越来越好。

2.词数100左右，开头已给出，不计入总词数

Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world.

6 . There’s been a lot of talking about white-and-blue collar workers, and you may have even heard of gold collar workers, but lately a new color of collar is making its way into China’s urban vernacular(土话)—green. Green collars say no when work is life and life is work. They choose to get out of the fast lane(车道), and explore new ways of living “green”.

Living green doesn’t mean someone is working as an environmentalist, biologist or scientist. Instead it is more of a lifestyle choice. A typical green collar is well educated like a white-collar but physically tough like a blue-collar, likely born in the 70s or 80s of the last century and living in one of China’s big cities, with a monthly income well above 5,000 yuan(about US $700).

The life of a green collar may go something like this: Turn off the mobile phone after work, eat only healthy food rich in vitamins, go on hikes every weekend, and like to help the underprivileged.

Green collars even have their own club. In Beijing, the Green Collar Club is for people who share a “be happy, healthy and helpful” spirit. The club often holds charity parties and uses the donations for environmental protection and poverty relief(摆脱贫困) projects in China.

“They are successful in their careers, but do not miss the pleasures in life. They have a lot of money, but do not fall slave to it.” said Zuo Shiguang, one of the founding members of the club.

7 . It is the year 3000. I come to a place where I can’t see any water, plants or animals but black clouds in the sky and sand everywhere. It’s very dry so I drink some water that I carry with me. A native sees what I do and asks “What is it?” I pour some water and tell him it’s called water. “Oh, I’m so lucky that I can see water!” the man shouts in an excited voice. “You have never seen water? But how can you live without water?” I ask.

“Harry, get up, it is 7 o'clock, or you will be late!” a voice comes to my ears. “Oh! What a strange dream I dreamed just now!”

In class, I always think of that dream. And I also think of the fresh air, clean water, blue sky, green plants and animals in our world nowadays. How beautiful our life is!

But in order to make more money, people have built more and more factories. These factories send out waste smoke and water with chemicals which are harmful to the environment. The pollution is becoming worse and worse, and as a result, some animals and plants die out. With the development of agriculture, farmers spray aerosol (喷雾) and fertilizer, which also pollute the water and air. In the street the cars and buses are sending out heavy smoke which pollutes the air badly. Even tourism is harmful to the environment. When some tourists travel somewhere, they throw the plastic bags and rubbish onto the ground.

These behaviors are polluting the environment and the environment will become the greatest problem of the world. We shouldn’t pollute the environment any more. Otherwise more and more animals and plants will disappear. And maybe my dream will come true in the future.

9 . 83-year-old Antonio Vicente has spent the last four decades of his life fighting against the current. As Brazilian landowners cut down rainforests to make room for profitable (盈利的) plantations and cattle grazing grounds, he struggled to bring the thick jungles of his childhood back to life.

In 1973 Antonio took up the challenge of restoring the forest on a 31-hectare piece of land that had been destroyed for cattle grazing. Ironically enough, he bought the land in Brazil's Sao Paulo region, using credits （贷款）that the military government was giving out to promote deforestation (砍伐森林) and agricultural technology. But Antonio didn't use the money to promote the national agriculture but wanted to revive the forest.

"You are stupid. Planting trees is a waste of land. You won't have income. If it’s full of trees, you won't have room for cows or crops," Antonio's neighbors told him. But he knew the damage caused by deforestation was far greater than financial profit. Antonio had grown up on a rural farm, and watched his father and the other villagers cut down forests at the owners’ orders, either for charcoal production or to clear land for grazing cattle. He had watched the ancient water sources dry up and people struggling to survive.

With only some donkeys and a few hired workers Antonio brought back the forest to his land. What started out as a weekend hobby soon became a permanent way of life. Antonio often recalls spending days and nights in his young jungle, surrounded by rats and foxes, and eating banana for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As the forest grew, the water returned, and Antonio says that there are now over 20 water sources on his land that were no longer there when he bought it. Then the animals started making a home there. Today, the forest is alive with sounds of birds and insects living there, and more species are settling in every year.

10 . The problem of global warming has caused a lot of people to try their best to protect the environment. Unluckily, there are still many people who think it is hard to go green. In fact, it is very easy to be green in our daily life.

You can make a great start by learning to recycle (回收利用). While this looks really simple, there are many people who still throw glass bottles into their common garbage. Almost all cities offer a recycling bin (垃圾箱) for these items. If you put them in the recycling bin instead of throwing them away, you will be on the path to save the earth.

One good thing to recycle is newspaper. But there are still some people who just put their newspaper in the garbage when they finish reading it. As we know, there are many other things we can do with an old newspaper. For example, we can use it to clean our windows.

Another thing that could help you to start to live green is to begin walking a bit more. Many people think nothing of getting in their car and driving one mile to get drinks at the local store. If you walk to the store, not only can it take less time, because you won’t have to try to find a parking place, but you will be saving money on gas and helping to protect the environment. If you wish to save even more on gas, take the opportunity to car pool (拼车) each time you can, which has become popular in many countries.

There really are many means by which people can start living green. They only have to make some changes in their lifestyle to improve our environment.