Everyone tries to get to school on time. But when bad weather gives you trouble, can you still make it before the bell rings?

In northern China during spring, big sandstorms often make trouble for students and everyone else. When the sky is dark with sand, buses and cars all move much more slowly. Sometimes, people can’t even see for 20 metres.

Sandstorms usually happen in spring. This year, sandstorms started in late March. They have happened in more than 10 provinces (省)  in northern China this year. More than 70 million people have had problems in those places because of the sandstorms.

People in southern China don’t have to worry about this kind of bad weather. Most of the sand comes from Gansu and Inner Mongolia（内蒙古）. In northern China, lots of places have few trees and don’t get much rain. People there have been cutting down too many trees. When there aren’t many trees, the ground can’t keep enough water. Over the years, the ground dries up and turns to sand. When spring comes and the ice melts（融化）, the ground becomes looser（更松散的）. Strong winds take the loose sand into the sky.

Sandstorms are bad for people’s health. If people breathe（呼吸） too much sand, they could cough or have asthma（哮喘）.

Sandstorms also give farmers lots of problems. Sometimes their sheep get lost in the storms and never get back home. The winds also tear down farmers’ houses.

What can you do to stop sandstorms? Here’s an idea: Ask you parents to help you plant some trees this spring.

If you see people cutting down too many trees, tell them about the dangers of sandstorms, and ask your government to stop them from cutting.

1.In which season do sandstorms usually happen?

2.Which of the following provinces in China is often hit by sandstorms?

3.The underlined phrase “tear down” in the sentence means “_________”.

4. According to the passage, what cannot be caused by sandstorms?

5.Which is not stated in the passage？_______________ .

Pollution means adding dirty or harmful things to land, air, water and so on. As a result, they are no longer pleasant or safe to use. Pollution is bad for animals and plants, and it even makes people’s health in danger. In our daily life, we can see different kinds of pollution in many places. There are three main forms of pollution: land pollution, air pollution and water pollution. 

Land pollution is caused by solid waste, such as cans, bottles and some plastic things which aren’t broken down quickly. It makes the environment look very bad. However, air pollution is more serious than land pollution. It is much worse in cities and towns because of the fumes(废气) from traffic and the waste from human activities. When people drive their cars, fumes which are most made up of CO2, NO2 and SO2 are given off. After the gases get into the air, they may mix with clouds. Then they will become some harmful chemicals (化合物) falling on the ground with rain. It is one of the reasons for soil erosion (土壤侵蚀) which is one example of water pollution.

Various kinds of pollution will cause many health problems. People have realized they must change this serious situation. There are many ways to control pollution. To develop alternative energy is very popular in many countries. China, for example, has made up its mind to be a leader in this field. It is trying hard to make full use of energy from the sun and wind. It has paid plenty of money to make electric cars and trains instead of traditional traffic. We should also take action to make our environment cleaner every day. Take cloth bags while going shopping and drive cars less. We have only one earth. We must take steps now to help protect our environment for the future wherever we are.

1.How many main forms of pollution are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.             B．Three.            C．Four.             D．Five.

2.Why is air pollution much worse in cities and towns?

A．Because of the cans and bottles that people throw away.

B．Because of the plastic things which aren’t broken down quickly.

C．Because of the fumes made up of SO2, CO2 and O2.

D．Because of the waste from human activities and the fumes from traffic.

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

A．Pollution hardly does harm to humans.

B．China doesn’t want to develop alternative energy.

C．Air pollution will cause soil erosion and water pollution.

D．Land pollution is only caused by solid waste.

4.To make our environment cleaner, we shouldn’t __________.

A．use cloth bags while shopping              B．ride a bike to school

C．drive a car out every day                  D．go to work on foot

5.The main idea of this passage is _________.

A．to introduce different forms of pollution and ways to control it

B．to introduce the harmful chemicals and the solid waste

C．to introduce the alternative energy and the ways to use it

D．to introduce the electric cars and traditional traffic

任务型阅读
Pollution problems are becoming more and more serious. One of them is called “white pollutions” caused by plastic, such as shopping bags, boxes and cups. In China, about three billion plastic shopping bags are used every day, which results in a great waste of resources(资源) and heavy environment pollution. Luckily, the government has stopped us from using free plastic bags, telling all stores and supermarket not to provide customers(顾客) with free plastic bags since June 1,2008. From then on, people have been supposed to use cloth bags and shopping baskets instead of plastic bags in order to protect our environment.
Now, more and more people have realized the importance of using the cloth bags and shopping baskets. For one thing it can protect our environment, for another it can also save energy. Yet we have more things to do to solve the problem of “white pollution”!
【小题1】Is “white pollution” caused by plastic?
__________________________________________
【小题2】How many plastic shopping bags are used every day in China?
_____________________________________________
【小题3】What are the advantages of using cloth bags or shopping baskets？
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Hundreds of years ago, life was harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no medicine, either.

Life today brings new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and we become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution to all living things in the world.

Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is very thick. People cannot see the sky clearly.

Many countries are making rules to fight against pollution. Factories now must clean their water before they throw it away. And they mustn’t let dirty smoke go into the air.

There are many things we can do to fight against pollution. We should put waste things in dustbins and do not throw them on the ground. We should go to work by bike or on foot instead of taking a car or a bus. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.

    Rules are not enough. We should do our best to fight against pollution.

1.Which of the following is NOT true about life in the past?

2.What should people do to fight against pollution?

3.The most serious pollution is              .

4.What should factories do to fight against pollution?

5.From the passage, we know that              .