Nowadays,leaders the world over are busy mapping out blueprints for a new age with environmental protection high on their agenda. Sustainable development hits headlines almost every day. It is of utmost importance to restore the harmonious balance between man and nature,given the damage we've already done to it.

　　First of all, we must realize that man and nature are interactive.To begin with, we derive everything fromnature. Among other things,I'm sure you've all tasted natural produce that is otherwise known as green food. And you must have noticed that nearly all beautifying products boast of being natural creams,natural lotions or natural gels. For man,nature has an irresistible appeal.

　　But on the other hand we must also realize that nature can be unruly.Nature is indeed like a riddle,some areas of which are beyond the reach of science and technology,at least in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless,the advancement of science and technology will still characterize the next millennium. The coming new age will provide many opportunities,but it will be likewise run of challenges. For instance,United Nations'demographers predict that global population could soar from its current 5.9 billion to as many as 11.2 billion by 2050.This will aggravate the current scarcity of natural resources caused by environmental degradation.More conflicts over this scarcity may occur with the ghost of nuclear wars always hiding in the background. To prevent this nightmare from coming true,governments need to work closely with each other and back up their verbal commitment by actions. However, it is not enough only to ask what governments can do toachieve the harmony between man and nature. We must ask ourselves what we as individuals can do.

　　Can we all be economical with food,water,electricity or other resources? Can we,or rather,some greedy ones among us,stop making rare plants and animals into delicious dishes? Can we stop using the unrecyclable style of lunch boxes? If not,one day they may bury us in an ocean of white rubbish.After all,the earth is not a dustbin;it's our common home.

　　1."Green food"is a name we give to______________________.

　　2.Beautifying products boast of being natural because___________________.

　　3.What will the next millennium be characteristic of,according to the author?

　　4.The current scarcity of natural resources will be aggravated by_______________.

　　5.If we don't give up using the unrecyclable lunch boxes,they may accumulate to be__________________.

　　答案：

　　1.[natural produce]

　　[定位]根据green food查找到第2段第3句。

　　解析：原文该句中的otherwise表明natural produce和green food是同一概念，因此natural produce为本题答案。

　　2.[for man,nature has an irresistible appeal]

　　[定位]根据beautifying products boast of being natural及because查找到第2段最后两句。

　　解析：第2段倒数第2句开头的And表明该句与该段To begin with引出的第2句并列，因此，对倒数第2句的解释不能在之前的句子寻找，而应该在末句寻找，事实上，这两句存在隐含的因果关系，由此可见，末句就是本题答案。

　　3.[The advancement of science and technology.]

　　[定位]根据nest millennium和characteristic查找到第3段第3句。

　　解析：从原文该句中的characterize和题目中的be characteristic of可以看出，原文与题目同义，区别只在于characterize和be characteristic of要求的主语和宾语位置互换，因此原文的主语即为be characteristic of的宾语，即本题答案。

　　4.[the soaring global population]

　　[定位]根据题干内容查找到第3段第5、6句。

　　解析：第3段第6句表明自然资源匮乏的问题会因为“this”而变得更严重，而this指的是该段第5句描述的内容，从第5句可以知道this指的是“全球人口的急剧增加”，用原文的词语可表达为the soaring global population。

　　5.[an ocean of white rubbish]

　　[定位]根据题干内容查找到末段第3、4句。

　　解析：本题询问如果不停止使用不可回收利用的午餐饭盒，不可回收饭盒最终会堆积成什么。从末段第3句和第4句可以推断不可回收饭盒最终会堆积成白色垃圾的海洋，因此，第4句中的an ocean of white rubbish为本题答案。

（实习编辑：王晓晓）