Smog is a big problem in many Chinese cities. But it seems that besides wearing a mask, few of us know what has caused the smog and what to do to beat it. In fact, burning too much coal and oil are the main causes of PM2.5 and smog (雾霾).

    To solve the problem, we should clean our coal and oil or replace them with cleaner energy such as natural gas. We ordinary people can do something to help control smog, too.

    What can we do to help beat the smog?

    Choose to take public transportation. Though many people have their own cars, they had better take public transportation, such as the subway or buses. If the destination (目的地) is not far away, you can also walk ________ ride a bike.

    Call the hotline 12369. You can call the number for complaints and questions about environmental issues. It is run by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. If you call the number, some officers can come and try to solve the issues, so please remember it.

Report and resist pollutant source. If you find any pollutant source, take a picture of it and post it on your social media accounts. Remember to add “@local environmental departments” on weibo. Payattention to factories that pollute the environment and don't buy products from them.

    Our environment will become better if everyone is concerned (关注) with the environment. This is what we need in the future. So everyone can do something to beat smog.

The Smallest Life Around Us

    Tiny plants and animals live all around us．We cannot see them because they are so small，but they are everywhere. They live in the soil，in the air，and in rivers and oceans．They grow on mountains and in caves．Some live in the ice at the north and south poles; some live where it is very hot．They are found throughout cities and in the country. They grow on other plants and animals．Some are even living on you，on your skin，hair，and inside your body，in your mouth，nose，and all through your body．

    These tiny plants and animals are called microbes．The word microbe is made from two other words：micro，meaning small，and bios，meaning life．So，microbe means small life．

    Microbes have been on earth for a very long time．They may have been the first forms of life to be alive．Today there are more microbes in the world than all other living things．

    People did not know microbes had existed（存在） long．They were too small for them to see．But people did see many changes in their world﹣important changes．And they did not know what caused them．They saw food that they kept too long change color and begin to smell bad．They saw cuts and wounds grow red and painful and become worse. They saw old plants and leaves and trees crumble apart on the forest floor and disappear into the soil．Such changes were a natural part of the world，but people did not understand them．They did not know these changes were evidence(证据) of tiny plants and animals growing all around them.

    Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water into the deserts, so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time. Why is more and more land becoming desert? Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth. Some places on the earth don't get much rain. But they still don't become deserts. This is because some plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don't let the hot sun make the earth even drier. Plants don't let the wind blow the dirt away. When a little bit of rain falls, the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become a desert much more easily.

阅读短文回答问题。

    If you travel by air across the center of Africa or South America, you fly over forests for thousands of kilometres．These great forests are the seas of trees．They are full of thousands and thousands of different kinds of plants and animals．However, the world's forests are getting smaller all the time．We are cutting down the trees because we need wood, and we need more farmland as well．Some people say that there will not be any forests like these left in 20 to 30 years．What will happen if they disappear? If we cut down our forests, a lot of plants and animals will disappear from the world, in a lot of places the new farmland will soon look like the old deserts, for example, crops will not grow there．What's worse, it will not rain very often, and the weather will get very hot．Perhaps the climate of the world will change, which will be dangerous for everyone in the world．That is why we must take care of our forests．

    The Internet joins millions of computers all over the world,and today it is used by people all over the world.It was invented in the 1960s in the USA.The American government needed a network of computers for its army.Then in the 1970s scientists and business people also wanted to use the Internet to send and receive messages.For some years,they weren't allowed to use the US network,and when they were allowed to,the messages were in very simple text without photos.

    The World Wide Web was invented by a British scientist named Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.He wanted to send documents to other scientists,so he developed the World Wide Web.This allowed him to send and receive scientific documents with text,drawings and photos(also called multimedia documents).In the 1990s,more and more people began to use the Internet and the World Wide Web.

    So what's the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?The Internet is the hardware.It allows us to communicate with other people.The World Wide Web is the software.It allows us to create, see and read multimedia documents.

    The Web is made up of millions of documents called Web pages.These pages are held in computers all over the world.Many people have a favorite website with a number of Web pages on the same subject.

    The email is a way of using your computer to send and receive messages.It's cheaper and quicker to use emails than send normal mails.New users call the normal mail “snail mail” because it's too slow.It took 50 years for 100 million people to listen to the radio.It took 15 years for 100 million people to watch television.By the year 2000, it had taken only about three years for 100 million people to use the Internet.What will happen next on the Internet?

    Every year on 15th October, over 200 million people around the world take part in Global Handwashing Day. But why do we have a day for something we do all the time? Well, research shows that not enough people often wash their hands with soap. Experts believe that this leads to the deaths of millions of people every year.

    Sidibe, a public health expert says soap is the most beautiful invention in public health. Washing your hands with soap can have a huge impact on reducing (减少) the spread of diseases. Handwashing with soap prevents babies from getting ill and keeps children healthy in school.

    However, washing hands with soap does not happen as often as you might think. This is partly because there aren't enough resources (资源) in poorer countries, but it's also because for many people, handwashing is simply not part of their everyday life. It's not easy to get people to change habits they learned in early childhood -- but this is what Global Handwashing Day wants to do.

    In 2008, the Indian cricket team joined around 100 million Indian schoolchildren in washing their hands to promote (促进) the first ever Global Handwashing Day. Every year since then, many different events have been held around the world. In 2014, Global Handwashing Day was used in the fight against Ebola, a very serious disease, with events held in affected (受感染的) African countries.

    Today, local and national leaders continue to use the day to spread the message about the importance of clean hands. The hope is that handwashing becomes a necessary part of people's lives and improves the health of millions around the world.