Air is all around us. It is around us as we talk and play. From the moment we were born, We are surrounded(围绕)by air. When we sit down, it is around us. When we go to bed, air is also around us. Wherever we are on the earth, We are surrounded by air. We live in air.

All living things need air, living things can’t live without air. We can go without food or water for a few days, but we can’t live for more than a few minutes without air. We breathe(呼吸)in air. When we are working or running, We need more air. So we breathe faster than usual. When we are asleep, We need less air.

1.From the text, we know that on the earth _____

A．there is air everywhere

B．some animals don’t need air

C．plants need more air

D．for a long time people don’t need air

2.The writer tells us that _____

A．there is less air on the earth than on the moon

B．the earth is covered with air

C．the earth is covered with water

D．there is no air on the earth

3.Which is the first important thing for people’s lives?

A．Water            B．Air               C．Food             D．Sunlight

4.Which of the following things needs air?

A．Land             B．A mirror          C．A cat             D．A river

5.A man needs more air when he _____

A．dies              B．runs fast          C．takes a rest        D．sleeps

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution.

To pollute means to make things unfit or unclean to use. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even eat it. Pollution is beginning to threaten (威胁) our health, our happiness and our life.

Man has been polluting the earth from the time he first made fire, washed his clothes in the river and threw his waste on the ground. When land was used up or water became dirty, men moved on to another place. At first, the problem was not so serious because there was plenty of clean air, land and water. There weren’t so many people then and their wants fewer. All the dirty things could be absorbed(吸收) by nature and soon covered over. But this is no longer true. The increase of pollution and the development of industry(工业) have changed that. Man is slowly poisoning(毒害)not only his environment but also himself.

Through the use of poison, man has polluted the land, killing the animals. By putting dirty water and chemicals into rivers and lakes we have polluted our drinking water, killing the fish.

Our increasing population is part of the problem. More people, more waste.

Where is this all to end? Are we turning the world into a big rubbish dump(堆存处)，or is there any hope that we can get rid of (摆脱，除去) the pollution? Luckily, millions of people have been warned of the danger of pollution. Large numbers of people are now working hard to bring pollution under control.

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

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

A. We live on the earth, so we should look after it.

B. Man is fighting against different kinds of pollution.

    C. To pollute means to make air, water and land unfit for use.

D. All the waste produced by modern industry can be absorbed.

2.In Paragraph4, the underlined word “chemicals” mean ____________.

A. 化学物质    B. 医疗器械     C. 污染源       D. 塑料制品

3.Through the uncontrolled use of poison man has___________.

    A. made the drinking water dirty        B. polluted the land

    C. killed the animals                   D. all of the above

4.From the sentences “More people, more waste.” We know that ___________

    A. we need more people, not more waste

B. the increase of population caused more waste.

    C. there isn’t any hope that we can get rid of the pollution

D. More people have been warned of the danger of more waste.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Man begins to understand the pollution.                  

B. Man doesn’t know how to control pollution.  

C. Man is doing something to control pollution.

D. Man still doesn’t realize how serious pollution is.

Today there are 6 billion people on the earth. By the year 2050 there may be 12.5 billion. There will be a lot of people to feed. We need more food.
One way to produce more food is by growing stronger plants. For thousands of years, farmers have made plants better. Every season, they pick the best plants for the next season. It works very slowly. Since 1983, scientists have been able to change plants more quickly by changing their genetic material(遗传物质). Foods from plants grown in this way are called genetically modified foods(转基因食品), or GM foods.
By changing the genetic material of a plant, it is possible to make new plants. They make plants which are strong against plant diseases. They can also help in our diseases: a kind of rice is being prepared, for example, which stops people from becoming blind.
Rich countries produce GM foods because they are easy to grow and bring in more money. Poor countries are interested in them because they help produce more food.
GM plants are not natural. No one knows how good or bad they are. Making GM foods is only one way of feeding people in 2050. There are strong feelings against them, because they are unnatural. They may feed people, then hurt them or their children later. But, both rich and poor countries are very interested in their use, and they are not going to go away. In 2050 we may think differently about them.
【小题1】GM foods ________.