Napoga is a 12-year-old girl in Ghana(加纳)，Africa. It is hard for her family to get clean water. Every morning，she leaves home at half past five to get clean water for her family in a village far away. It takes her six hours to get enough clean water for daily cooking and drinking. She has no time to go to school or to play with her friends. Millions of people in the world are like Napoga. They can't get enough clean water to keep healthy.
Earth Day is April 22. But on all other days，we must also remember it. The water we use is the most important natural resource(自然资源) on the earth.
Water covers 70% of the earth's surface. But most of that is sea water. We can't use it for very many things. Fresh water covers only 1% of the earth's surface.
You probably feel lucky that your life isn't as hard as Napoga's. But that doesn't mean you don't have to worry about water. We all face serious water problems. One of them is water pollution. All kinds of things from cars，factories，farms and homes make our rivers，lakes，and oceans dirty. Polluted water is very bad for people to drink. And dirty water is bad for fish，too. Now, 34% of all kinds of fish are dying out.
How do cars and factories make our water dirty？First，they pollute the air. Then，when it rains，the rain water comes down and makes our drinking water dirty. Dirty rain，called acid rain(酸雨)，is also bad for plants，animals and buildings.
Scientists say that in 30 years，more than half of the people in the world won't have enough clean water. We have to learn how to save more water for ourselves and our children. Here is some advice for saving water：
●Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You can save as much as 450 liters(升) each month.
●Leaky taps(漏水的龙头) waste a lot of water. Fix them right away！
●You can easily cut your 10-minute showers in half----and you'll be just as clean.
●When you wash dishes，don't let the water run.
●Only wash clothes when you have a lot to wash. If your washing machine isn't full，you're  wasting water！
【小题1】On the earth，_______.

Napoga is a 12-year-old girl in Ghana(加纳)，Africa. It is hard for her family to get clean water. Every morning，she leaves home at half past five to get clean water for her family in a village far away. It takes her six hours to get enough clean water for daily cooking and drinking. She has no time to go to school or to play with her friends. Millions of people in the world are like Napoga. They can't get enough clean water to keep healthy.
Earth Day is April 22. But on all other days，we must also remember it. The water we use is the most important natural resource(自然资源) on the earth.
Water covers 70% of the earth's surface. But most of that is sea water. We can't use it for very many things. Fresh water covers only 1% of the earth's surface.
You probably feel lucky that your life isn't as hard as Napoga's. But that doesn't mean you don't have to worry about water. We all face serious water problems. One of them is water pollution. All kinds of things from cars，factories，farms and homes make our rivers，lakes，and oceans dirty. Polluted water is very bad for people to drink. And dirty water is bad for fish，too. Now, 34% of all kinds of fish are dying out.
How do cars and factories make our water dirty？First，they pollute the air. Then，when it rains，the rain water comes down and makes our drinking water dirty. Dirty rain，called acid rain(酸雨)，is also bad for plants，animals and buildings.
Scientists say that in 30 years，more than half of the people in the world won't have enough clean water. We have to learn how to save more water for ourselves and our children. Here is some advice for saving water：
●Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You can save as much as 450 liters(升) each month.
●Leaky taps(漏水的龙头) waste a lot of water. Fix them right away！
●You can easily cut your 10-minute showers in half----and you'll be just as clean.
●When you wash dishes，don't let the water run.
●Only wash clothes when you have a lot to wash. If your washing machine isn't full，you're  wasting water！

1. 1.

   On the earth，_______.

   1. A.
      sea water is more widely(广泛地) used than fresh water
   2. B.
      there is very little water for our living
   3. C.
      there is 71% of fresh water
   4. D.
      we don't need to worry about water
2. 2.

   Acid rain _______.

   1. A.
      is only bad for living things
   2. B.
      can be produced in factories
   3. C.
      doesn't do harm(伤害) to people，but it's bad for plants，animals and buildings
   4. D.
      doesn't just do harm to human beings but to animals，plants and buildings
3. 3.

   Which of the following wastes water？

   1. A.
      We need ten minutes if we want a clean shower.
   2. B.
      We should put in enough clothes when we wash them in washing machines.
   3. C.
      You can keep yourself clean by having a shower for five minutes.
   4. D.
      Don't let the water run when we brush our teeth and wash dishes.
4. 4.

   What's the main idea of the passage？

   1. A.
      Something must be done to prevent water from being polluted.
   2. B.
      Clean water means much to human beings and living things around us.
   3. C.
      It's time to take care of the water we use.
   4. D.
      Water is the most important natural resource on the earth.

阅读短文，根据其内容回答问题。

One cool April 22 morning, people started the day as usual．Yet it was not a normal day． What’s so special about April 22? The answer is simple．It is Earth Day． People all over the world celebrate this important day．The idea of having a special day to celebrate Earth began in the 1960s．Life was very different then． Few people talked or even thought about the environment．Most people had no idea how dirty our air and water were．

On April 22, 1970, twenty million （百万） Americans joined the first Earth Day activities. They showed that people really did want to do something about the environment． Since then laws have been passed to protect the air, water, land, and animals．

The vehicles such as cars and buses you ride in must pass tests to make sure they don’t cause too much pollution．Thanks to this law, cars today release （排放） about half as many bad chemicals as cars did back in 1970．As a result, the air we breathe is cleaner than it once was．

Rivers and lakes are also cleaner today than they were in the 1970s．It’s a good thing because they needed a lot of help．The Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted that rubbish and oil on the river even caught fire! Today, the river is cleaner．It no longer burns． It’s healthy enough for birds, fish, and other animals．

Now the celebration has spread to other countries．More than 175 countries take part each year．

In 2007, people in China paid much attention to a big problem．People were throwing away 27 million plastic bags a day! People had “Bye-Bye Throwaway Culture Week．” They wanted everyone to see how polluted it was to throw away so many plastic bags．In 2008, China passed new laws against them．

Every April 22, millions get together to clean and protect Earth．They also celebrate how far we have come．Our job is to put this knowledge to work． You can help keep our planet healthy too!

1． Is Earth Day on April 22？

2． What caught fire on the Cuyahoga River？

3． How many countries take part in the celebration each year now？

4． Why did Chinese people have “Bye-Bye Throwaway Culture Week”？

5． What the purpose of celebrating the Earth Day？