The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means (通讯设备). Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, Man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.

Air pollution is still the most serious. It's bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal (煤) in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.

Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic.

It is sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in population at the same time.

1. Our world is becoming much smaller ___.

A. because the earth is being polluted day and night. B. thanks to science development

C. because of the rise in population

2. Thousands of years ago, life was ____ it is today.

A. much easier than B. as easy as C. much harder than

3. Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here "it" means ____.

A. water pollution B. air pollution C. noise pollution

4. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because ____.

A. it's bad for all living things in the world B. it makes us angry more easily

C. it makes our rivers and lakes dirty

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world's population does.

B. The problem of pollution is not so serious because of modern traffic

and modern communication means.

C. If people could go to work by bike or on foot ,it would be helpful

in fighting against the problem of SO2.


      I left my hometown in London last year and now I have enjoyed working in this small city in China. Learning a foreign language opens you up to the culture and history of a country. So in order to know more about China, I started to learn Chinese.

But at times, I found myself in funny situations. When I greeted strangers in China, they began to talk a lot and very fast. They asked me questions about everything. But all I could do was to look at them with a blank face. I had no idea what they were talking about. Were they just being kind, funny or impolite? Many people want to make friends with me. But I am a bit upset when I find out the reason why they need a foreign friend. They say they want to practice their English. I don’t need friends like this. I like friends to share my feelings and ideas with.

However, the more Chinese I learn, the more similarities I find it has with English. In English, thick-skinned is to describe a person who doesn’t care for criticism (批评). I was surprised to find that houlianpi in Chinese means the same. And both languages share some common idioms (习语). For example, “look on with folded arms” means xiushoupangguan, and “burn the boats” is similar to pofuchenzhou.

I’m still on my journey to learn Chinese. I believe that sometimes you have the most fun on a journey.

(   )1. The writer comes from     .

       A. the UK          B. the USA       

       C. Australia      D. Canada

(   )2. The underlined word “similarities” means “    ” in Chinese.

     A. 相似点             B. 不同点

       C. 规律性             D. 重要性 

(   )3. A thick-skinned person may     .

     A. be very strong and seldom fall ill

       B. like to criticize others for their mistakes

       C. talk a lot and speak fast

       D. feel OK when he’s criticized

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网