As the population of the planet increases, so does the number of homes, businesses, parking lots, schools, airports and roadways. All these structures use electricity and need to be lighted. Humans demand these lights. They want their homes more comfortable and they want their streets sage. The problem is that researchers are finding that all the light is having a negative effect on humans and wildlife as well.
Less than 10 years ago I drove to a thinly populated section of my town, lay down in the middle of the road and watched an attracted meteor shower(流星雨). The area was short of homes, street lights and traffic. If I did that today, I wouldn’t be able to see the meteor shower as well, and I would surely be run over by a car.
Nowadays scientists are finding light pollution can be almost as bad as carbon dioxide pollution. If you’ve ever taken a flight at night, the view is beautiful, but you must remember that all the light you see is wasted electricity. The crew of the space shuttles see an even bigger picture of how extensive the wasted electricity is worldwide.
Additionally, electricity needs to be generated, and the generation of electricity creates pollution by giving off greenhouse gases. This affects the air we breathe and our quality of life.
Scientists are also studying the effects of light pollution on wildlife. Thousands of birds die each year when they crash into highly lighted buildings, as they become puzzled by the light. It has been long known that tiny sea turtle hatchlings become lost and follow lights on the shore instead of heading towards the sea.
Fortunately, light pollution is one of the easiest sources of pollution that can be corrected without a negative effect. Following some guidelines and a little searching on Google can give you many ideas on how to reduce your contribution to light pollution. 
【小题1】The author tells the story in the second paragraph mainly to _________.

A．remember the past beauty of the town.

B．stress the advantages of less pollution

C．show the great changes of the town

D．prove the bad effects of light pollution

As the world prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8, a new report details the progress and challenges girls face in getting an education.
The report – from the Education for All Fast Track Initiative – highlights the importance of girls’ education for economic(经济的) and social development. It follows progress in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania, Mozambique and Niger.
Prema Clarke, author of Fast-tracking Girls’ Education, says, “Progress for girls’ education is that they can leave their homes, leave their families and come to a place to study and to learn.  And that’s a big achievement because otherwise these girls have to stay at home, looking after their brothers and sisters, doing the cooking or doing the cleaning.”
She says progress toward the Millennium Development Goals and those of Education for All “is allowing and enabling girls and forcing countries to look at this issue(问题) and to ensure that interventions (干预) help girls attend school.”
Benefits
Improving education for girls brings many benefits, says Clarke. “It means that girls can then enter the workforce. They can look after their own families much more effectively. They can prevent child death rate. They can educate their own girl children when they begin to expand their own families.” Studies show that having an educated female population helps to improve a country’s health and economic well-being.
Warnings
The report says, “In developing countries, too many girls are not in school, and many girls face continuing health risks and danger just walking to class.”
“Especially in the fragile and post-conflict countries and in many of the African countries, this is a real issue,” she says. Till now, the interventions have been so focused on providing schooling and providing teachers, etc. And now I think there is much more expanded focus on looking at specific（特定的）communities of girls within at-risk groups that now need much more specific attention and much more creative solutions(解决方法) to help them attend school.”
【小题1】The underlined word “highlights” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．promote the progress in girls’ education

B．talk about the benefits of improving girls’ education

C．give some information about the education girls are facing

D．sing high praise for the girls’ education

As a nation we are becoming more aware of the food we and our children are eating.The recent campaign to improve school dinners by celebrity(名人) chef Jamie Oliver has helped raise awareness of our fast food lifestyles.While we may be trying to eat more healthily，it seems we still have some bad habits.

?Healthy eaters or just trendy?

Are there certain things that you do and don’t eat and why？With so many food programmes and books telling you what you should and shouldn’t eat to be healthy，it’s hard to make choices.

Some people are vegetarians for moral reasons，some don’t like the taste of meat and there are one or two people who do it because it’s trendy.Likewise，it can be trendy to follow the latest celebrity’s diet because it’s what the famous are doing.

?Eating out

People are eating out more often now，not just on special occasions as in the past.The choice of restaurants has also diversified.Italian，Chinese and Indian restaurants have been around for years but have now been joined by Mongolian，Japanese，Mexican and so on.Bars and pubs are still popular for food and often promote English cuisine made with local produce.

“We enjoy eating out a couple of times every month whether with friends or just as a couple.We like trying new things so we go to different restaurants.” said Craig,25，County Durham.

?Eating on the go

From chocolate bars to sandwiches more people are eating on the go—on the street，in cars or on buses and trains.While our parents and grandparents may frown at this behaviour，considering it to be bad manners，people eat on the go because they are rushing from one place to another.And in the home the number of people sitting down at a dining table for their evening meal is on the decrease as meal times become more informal.

“If I’m running late for work I don’t think twice about eating toast in the car or on the bus but I know my mum wouldn’t approve，” said Stacey,24.

1.What can we infer from the text?

A．Our parents think highly of the eating habits mentioned in the text.

B．We should get rid of the bad habits and try to be healthier.

C．Japanese restaurants have been around for years.

D．It’s good for people to eat out more frequently.

2.People find it difficult to decide what to eat to keep healthy because ________.

A．different programmes and books have different ideas about healthy eating

B．there are many celebrities having different diet styles

C．what the famous are doing is different from ours

D．they have some bad eating habits

3.The underlined word “diversified” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．

A．made a great change

B．made a big difference

C．had a rapid increase

D．had a wide variety

4.Craig often goes to different restaurants because ________.

A．he likes trying new things

B．he follows the latest celebrity diet

C．he enjoys the meal with his friends

D．he has more special occasions to celebrate

As the population of the planet increases, so does the number of homes, businesses, parking lots, schools, airports and roadways. All these structures use electricity and need to be lighted. Humans demand these lights. They want their homes more comfortable and they want their streets sage. The problem is that researchers are finding that all the light is having a negative effect on humans and wildlife as well.

Less than 10 years ago I drove to a thinly populated section of my town, lay down in the middle of the road and watched an attracted meteor shower(流星雨). The area was short of homes, street lights and traffic. If I did that today, I wouldn’t be able to see the meteor shower as well, and I would surely be run over by a car.

Nowadays scientists are finding light pollution can be almost as bad as carbon dioxide pollution. If you’ve ever taken a flight at night, the view is beautiful, but you must remember that all the light you see is wasted electricity. The crew of the space shuttles see an even bigger picture of how extensive the wasted electricity is worldwide.

Additionally, electricity needs to be generated, and the generation of electricity creates pollution by giving off greenhouse gases. This affects the air we breathe and our quality of life.

Scientists are also studying the effects of light pollution on wildlife. Thousands of birds die each year when they crash into highly lighted buildings, as they become puzzled by the light. It has been long known that tiny sea turtle hatchlings become lost and follow lights on the shore instead of heading towards the sea.

    Fortunately, light pollution is one of the easiest sources of pollution that can be corrected without a negative effect. Following some guidelines and a little searching on Google can give you many ideas on how to reduce your contribution to light pollution. 

1.The author tells the story in the second paragraph mainly to _________.

     A. remember the past beauty of the town.

     B. stress the advantages of less pollution

     C. show the great changes of the town

     D. prove the bad effects of light pollution

2.In the passage the author advises people _________.

     A. to try to reduce unnecessary light.

     B. not to ignore the beauty around.

     C. to set proper light for animals

     D. not to destroy the animal’s living conditions.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

     A. Light pollution is difficult to deal with.

     B. Light pollution is a threat to some animals.

     C. Light pollution has nothing to do with global warming

     D. Astronauts can’t see clearly in space due to light pollution.

4.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph which follows the last paragraph?

     A. The author’s contribution to light pollution

     B. Other sources of light pollution

     C. Ways of reducing light pollution

     D. More bad effects of light pollution