Put 2 February in your diary! It is World Wetlands Day! It marks the date that the

Convention(公约) on Wetlands was signed(签署)in1971.This special day was first celebrated in 1997 and it is celebrated every year.

　 The celebration is a call for action. It is a way to show people how important and

useful the wetlands are for people. On World Wetlands Day, people around the world take

part in many wetlands activities. People take trips to the local wetlands. There are talks

about how important the wetlands are. People get together to clean up their local wetlands

Children draw pictures to advertise the day. People also compete(比赛)in boat races.

　 The World Wetlands Day is important! If there are no wetlands, there will be no water for anyone in the future. Wetlands help protect nature and resources(资源)like fresh water. Already, more than 10000 million people in the world do not have fresh water.

　 Many people do not know how important the wetlands are. They can understand why an

elephant or a tiger is important because they are big, beautiful animals. It is much harder for

them to understand how important the animals in the wetlands are. These small animals,

such as frogs and snails, play a very important part in keeping the balance of nature.

　 All plants and animals are part of the food chain(链).If the small wetlands animals

die, some animals in the food chain will have nothing to eat. They will also die. People

need the wetlands to keep the balance of nature in the world. If we do not protect nature

today，it will be gone tomorrow.

46. What should you put in your diary?

　 A. Some frogs.

　 B. The date of World Wetlands Day.

　 C. 1971

　 D. Any special day.

47. Where do people celebrate World Wetlands Day?

　 A. All over the world.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In ships

　 C. At home.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. In their own way.

48. Which of the following sentences is NOT true?

　 A. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by taking part in competitions.

　 B. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by taking hips to local wetlands.

　 C. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by listening to talks about the wetlands.

　 D. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by talking about the weather.

49. Why are small animals important?

　 A. They are part of the balance of nature and the food chain.

　 B. They are beautiful.

　 C. Bigger animals are eaten by them

　 D. Without them, there may be no water.

50. Which of the following might be the best title of the article?

　 A. Wetlands Are Important

　 B. Small Animals Are Also Important

　 C. World Wetlands Day

　 D. Food Chain

Dear Reader,

Imagine an 11-year old girl whose days are often spent washing clothes, looking after a baby, working hard in the field.

Imagine a little girl who knows there will not be enough food for dinner, who can’t fill her stomach with water because it’s polluted, and who has watched life slip away from her father, little brother and sister because the family is too poor to see a doctor.

Is it hard to believe? For Maria Pastora, these are the real life.

Maria would gladly walk miles to school, but her mother, now alone, needs her badly at home. If Maria grows up without any schooling, what will be her future?

But for just 52 pennies a day, you can sponsor a child like Maria. Through “Save the Children”, you can help Maria’s mother get the tools and ways she needs to turn their poor food into a good dinner and the money she needs to buy clothes and school things for Maria.

To help Maria most, your money is put together with that of other sponsors, so hard-working people can help themselves. Build a school, a hospital…bring in clean water. This is what “Save the Children” has been about since 1932.

For you there are many rewards. Have the chance to write to or hear from your sponsored child. Receive photos or progress reports. Know you are reaching out to another person. Not with a handout(施舍物), but a “handup”. That’s how “Save the Children” works. But without you, it can’t work. Please take a moment now to fill in and post the form below to help a child like Maria and her village.

It can make such a difference in her life and yours.

1.We can most probably read the letter in __________.

A．somebody’s diary                      B．a newspaper

C．a progress report                       D．a storybook

2.From the passage, we can infer （推断）that _________

A．Maria is an 11-year-old girl.

B．Maria’s family is very poor.

C．Maria has to do a lot of hard work.

D．Maria is hoping to get schooling.

3.What is “Save the Children”?

A．An organization to help poor children go to school.

B．An office of the government to collect money.

C．A program shown at theatres to help the poor.

D．A group who works for children in poor places.

4.The underlined word “sponsor” means “__________” in Chinese.

A．回报             B．资助　　　　　    C．感恩　　　　      D．抢救

5.What does the last sentence in the letter mean?

A．If Maria goes to school, you will be rewarded.

B．What you give is more than what you take.

C．Both Maria’s life and yours will change a lot.

D．Marie and you can help each other at school.

People of Burlington are being disturbed by the sound of bells. Four students from Burlington College of Higher Education are in the bell tower of the church and have made up their minds to    15   the bells nonstop for two weeks as a protest（抗议） against heavy trucks which run    16   through the narrow High Street.“They not only make it    17   to sleep at night, but they are doing damage（损害） to our houses and shops of historical   18  ,”
said John Norris, one of the protesters.
“ 19  we must have these noisy trucks on the roads,” said Jean Lacey, a biology student, “why don’t they build a new road that goes round the town? Burlington isn’t much more than a  20    village. Its streets were never meant for heavy traffic”.
　　Harry Fields also studying    21    said they wanted to make as much noise as possible to force the government officials to realize what everybody was having to stand. “Most of them don’t live here anyway,” he said, “they come in for meetings and the Town Hall is soundproof（隔音的）, so they probably don’t    22   . It’s high time they realized the problem.” The fourth student, Liza Vernum, said she thought the public were mostly on their side, and even if they weren’t they soon would be.
　　I asked if they were    23    that the police might come to stop them.
　　“Not really,” she said, “actually we are suitable bellringers. I mean we are assistant bellringers for the church. There is no    24    against practising.”
I left the church with the sound of the bells ringing in my ears.