Passage 2.
It‘s a day to celebrate， a time to educate， and a way to make a difference. Earth day was first observed on April 22， 1970. the tradition began in the united states and is now an international focal point for people who are concemed about the environment.
Imagine a time before the Clean Air Act， the Clean Water Act， the Endangered Species act， and even the environmental Protection Agency. Hot topics of the time were industrial pollution， nuclear accidents， oil dependency， pesticides， and a vanity of social issues. However，olicymakers were not yet acting on many important environmental problems.
Earth day grew ort of grassroots action and institutional support. Student leader Denis Hayes and Wisconsin Senatour Gaylord Nelson were two key organizers for the firwt event. Over 20 million concerned citizens rallied for clean air and water. College students were a major force in the campaign， although participants of all ages were involved. Still， we cannot really credit a handful of individuals for the success of Earth Day. After all， a major message of Earth Day is that every single person has an important role in the environment.
The first Earth Day was very successful， inspiring the passage of congressional protection for air， water， and endangered species. Momentum from the demonstration also fueled the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thirty years later， the focus has changed but the urgency remains the same. Due to increasing amounts of scientific evidence that fossil fuels are changing the global climate， the theme for Earth Day 2000 is Clean Energy. The four major goals of Earth Day 2000 are clean cars， clean power， clean air， and clean investments.
1. April 22nd， 2000 is the ____ years‘ anniversary of the Earth Day.
A. 30th B. 20th C. 10th D. 100th
答案： A
考点： 该题考的是如何找出数字表示的细节。
解析： 提问的是2000年4月22日是地球日的多少周年纪念日。回答用数字表示的细节时，需要进行简单计算。从原文的第一段我们可以知道，地球日最早1970年4月22日在美国开始。刚好是30年纪念日。所以，选项A为本题的答案。
2. _____ originated the Earth Cay.
A. College students. B. Policy makers. C. Ordinary people. D. Denis Hayes.
答案： C
考点： 该题是一个就文章事实进行提问的细节询问题。
解析： 本题提问的是地球日是由谁发起的。这个问题答案需在第三段里找出。该段第一句告诉我们，地球日是群众自发活动，并由社会机构支持的。学生领袖Denis Hayes和威斯康星州议员Gaylord Nelson是第一次活动的主要组织者;200多万市民聚集起来，呼吁干净的水源和空气。各个年龄阶层的人都参加了这次集会，大学生在这次活动中是主要力量，但是我们不能确切地说地球日的成功归为哪一部分人。由这一段话的意思我们可以得知，地球日的创建是集体的结果，并不是由哪一个人创建的。所以，正确答案是C。
3. Which of the following is the immediate effect of the first Earth Day?
A. The Environmental Protection Agency was founded.
B. Congressional Protection for water was passed.
C. There are more demonstrations followed.
D. Denis Hayer published his Clean Energy Now.
答案： B
考点： 该题是对文章的一个主要事实的判断分析题。
解析： 本题提问的是以下哪一个是第一个地球日的直接影响所致。该题的答案含在文章的第四段中。这段话的意思是一个地球日极为成功，国会因此而通过了对空气，水，受害生物保护法;游行的势头也推动了环保机构的成立。由此可见，它直接影响的是B(国会通过了水保护法);因此，答案为B。