Eleven countries are building a great wall of trees across Africa. It is called the Great Green Wall. The aim is to bring life to the dry lands and help to fight the bad environment.

    The wall is 8, 000 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide. It covers from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east, on the south of the Sahara Desert (撒哈拉沙漠). So far, Senegal has made the best progress by planting about 11,000,000 trees.

    Many years ago, there were few trees in that area and the winds used to be very strong. It was harmful to the fields. Also, there was little rain, so few plants could grow and many people went hungry. Since the tree planting project started, the trees have provided food for the local people and increased the wetness (湿度) of the air. Little by little, there appeared green fields for people to grow plant.

    The project which began in 2007 is supposed to cost a total of 8, 000, 000, 000 dollars. Many countries are trying their best to help to continue the planting. So we will be able to see the whole green wall across Africa in the near future!

    At East China University of Science and Technology, students who finish their food in the campus canteen get a coupon (优惠券) when they return their trays(托盘). Students can collect coupons and exchange them for small gifts, such as books, magazines and mobile phone covers.

    “It has been such a surprise,” said Liang Zhaoyun, 19, a student in this university. “It has given us one more motivation (动机)to finish our food.”

    “The aim of the activity is not only to encourage students to finish their food. We hope it can also motivate students to choose a more environment-friendly and healthier lifestyle,” said Tao Siliang, a teacher of this university.

    But some canteen food is poorly prepared, meaning that students are not willing to finish it all.

    “Generally speaking, the dishes in our canteen are all right,  ①  .Most students are the only child in their family and aren't used to some of the dishes,” said Wang Guangji, a leader of this university. 

    What if you really can't finish all your food? The canteen provides a take-away service. “If you can't finish all your food,  ②  .Even if you feed the cat, it's not wasted,” said Zhou Zeyong, another student of this university.

    “I'm glad that we've reduced waste since starting the campus ‘eat-up' activity. But if we  ③  students not to waste food, we should also improve the meals in campus canteens,” said Wang.

根据短文内容完成下列任务。

Mr. Helpful,

    I'm not a top student .Most of my classmates are much better than me, so I usually get stressed out. Although I spend much time studying for the tests, I can't get good grades. Sometimes my father gives me some help. He tells me not to worry about it, but it doesn't work. What do you think I should do?

Wang Tao

Dear Wang Tao

    Many famous people were not so good when they were young. Edison, a famous scientist, did poorly in his studies when he was a young boy .But , as an adult, he made many discoveries (发明)that helped a lot of people .When I was at a young age, I didn't do well at school. I just kept working hard and at last I succeeded .You should take it easy (慢慢来) and try your best .Tomorrow is another day. I believe you can do better.

Mr. Helpful

    A king in Africa had a close friend that helped him grow up. The friend had a habit of looking at everything that happened in his life positively(肯定地)and saying, " This is good. "

    One day the king and his friend went out hunting. The friend would prepare the guns for the king. The friend did something wrong in preparing one of the guns, and after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. On seeing the situation the friend said as usual, "This is good!" The king replied, "No, this is not good!" He was very angry and sent his friend to jail.

    About one year later, the king was hunting in a forest. Cannibals(食人者)caught him and took him to their village. As they were going to kill him, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. They never ate anyone who was less than whole. So they sent the king back.

    When he returned home, he felt sorry for his treatment of his friend. He went quickly to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said. "It was good that my thumb was blown off. "And he told the friend all that had just happened." And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."

    "No," his friend replied, "this is good! " "What do you mean? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been eaten!"

    Sally and Susan are sisters. They are the same in some ways, but different in other ways.

    Both Sally and Susan have long dark hair. They are both outgoing and popular, too. Sally is older and smarter than Susan. She's more serious. She reads more books and likes to talk about the things she reads. Sally isn't athletic.

    Susan is much more athletic than Sally. She plays basketball and volleyball, and she enjoys watching sports on TV. Sally likes to watch sports, too, but she doesn't play them. Both sisters like school and get good grades. But Sally is more serious about her homework. Both of them also like shopping and playing computer games on weekends.