How could we have thought so wrongly of as banana peel that it always hits the garbage? Utility of anything seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. The banana peel hasn't been an exception.

What most of us looked at as waste was converted to a thing of utility by Prithwis Mukhopadlyay, a 14-year-old prodigy. This Bengali boy, nourished in the US, Lake Junior High in Woodbury, Minnesota, has come up with an idea to convert banana peels to biogas.(生物气).

It's well known that almost any organic waste can be converted to biogas. But why biogas from banana peel has hit the news is because it produced five times as much biogas as manure(粪), a commonly used source for producing biogas, in the experiments Prithwis conducted.  

He filled two airtight containers, one with manure and the other with banana peels. Then he mixed each content with water and connected them to empty jars via pipes to collect the gas produced. He placed a heater next to each jar and measured the gas collected for 60 days. His studies proved that banana peels produced five times more biogas than manure.

This project titled 'Comparison analysis: Eco-friendly source of energy for the future,' earned him a spot in Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. This weekend, the young whiz is to showcase his research work along with 40 other finalists at Washington. "Initially, I thought of doing a project that would reduce global warming. Things changed after I visited a biogas plant in a village in India during my summer vacations. It was an amazing experience," Prithwis says.

1.Why could Prithwis's finding receive the attention of the media?

A．Because he is a prodigy.

B．Because he is of Bengali descent.

C．Because he used an extremely rare organic waste to produce biogas.

D．Because his research proved that banana peels can produce more biogas.

2.Where did Prithwis derive his inspiration  from?

A.Lake Junior High.   B Discovery Channel.

C.  India.            D.His laboratory at home.

3.This article probably appeared in a _________ magazine.

A．gourmet          B．science           C．computer         D．fashion

Global warming is when the earth heats up，the temperature rises.It happens when greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide，water vapor，nitrous oxide(二氧化氮)，and methane(沼气) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere，which increases the temperature.This is like when heat is trapped in a car.On a very hot day，the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot.This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car，by going through the windows，but it can’t get back out.Once the light is inside the car，it is trapped and the heat builds up，just like it does in the earth’s atmosphere.This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth.The heat and light can get through the atmosphere，but it can’t get out.As a result，the temperature rises.

Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us.The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on.Without it，the earth would be freezing，or on the other hand it would be burning hot.We would not get the sun’s heat and light to make the night somewhat warm.During the day，especially during the summer，it would be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter(过滤) it，so people，plants，and animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.

Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it，if there gets to be too many gases，the earth can get unusually warmer，and many plants，animals，and people will die.They would die because there would be less food (plants like corn，wheat，and other vegetables and fruits)．This would happen because the plants would not be able to take in the heat.This would cause us to have less food to eat，but it would also limit the food that animals have.Gradually，people，plants，and animals would all die of hunger.

People are doing many things to try to stop global warming.One thing people are doing is carpooling.Carpooling is driving with someone to a place that you are both going to.This minimizes the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car.

Another thing that people are doing is being more careful about leaving things turned on like the television，computer，and the lights.A lot of people are taking time away from the television，and instead，they are spending more time outdoors.This helps our planet out a lot.Now，more people are even riding buses，walking to school，and riding their bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.

Planting trees and recycling also help.If you recycle，less trash goes to the dump，and less trash gets burned.As a result，there are fewer greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.Although adults do many things to help stop global warming，kids can do just as much.

1.By the example given in Paragraph 1，the author wants to ________.

A．explain how greenhouse gases work

B．show his feeling in a car in hot summer

C．tell us cars are causes of greenhouse gases

D．say that there are greenhouse gases in every car

2.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to “________”．

A．light? B．heat

C．temperature? D．greenhouse effect

3.What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．If there is greenhouse effect，all the plants will die.

B．Human beings are likely to disappear from the earth.

C．Crops can’t take the heat if there is greenhouse effect.

D．Although greenhouse effect is necessary，too much of it causes us to die.

4.What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Why cars and buses pollute the air a lot.

B．What kids can do to help stop global warming.

C．What global warming is doing to the environment.

D．Who should be responsible for the environmental problems.

The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie．

Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring．In the decades to come, Asia—home to more than half the world's 63 billion people—will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels．

"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam．Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come．

Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come．Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters．According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become stronger and insects and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms．

All this comes on top of rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources．Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will likely enlarge the results of climate change．

In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two - thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill．

The year before, a winter cold strike and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India．

1.This passage is mainly about ____ ．

2.In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except ____ ．

3.The underlined word "doomsday" in the first paragraph may mean____ ．

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their ears, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品杂货) saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that，several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced (影响) us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

1.Why was the bike so important to the couple?

A．The man’s job was bike racing.            B．It was their only possession.

C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed.               D．They used it for work and daily life

2.We can infer from the text that ________

A．The couple worked 60 hours a week         B．people were busy before Christmas

C．the stranger brought over the bike          D．life was hard for the young family

3.How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

A．From radio broadcasts.                   B．From a newspaper.

C．From TV news.                          D．From a stranger.

4.What do the couple learn from their experience?

A．Strangers are usually of little help.          B．One should take care of their bike.

C．News reports make people famous.          D．An act of kindness can mean a lot.

Over the past decades, sea ice _______ in the Arctic as a result of global warming.

A. had decreased       B. decreased

C. has been decreasing      D. is decreasing