Every year on April 22,Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.It gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet.The founder was Gaylord Nelson.
What moved Gaylord Nelson to action was the1969massive oil spill（溢出）in California,the largest oil spill in the United States at that time.The spill proved to be an environmental nightmare as it had a strong impact on marine life,killing an estimated3,500sea birds,as well as marine animals such as dolphins,elephant seals and sea lions.Inspired by the student antiwar movement at that period of time,Nelson found it was a right time to channel the energy of the students towards a fight for environmental protection.He decided that it was time to educate the Americans on the need to protect the environment.Thus,Earth Day was born in1970,and public environmental consciousness took centre stage.
On 22nd April 1970,millions of Americans took to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy,sustainable environment and thousands of students marched in protest of the terrible situation of the environment.Businesses were forced to follow environmental standards if they wanted to continue their operations.The year1990 saw Earth Day reach out to many more countries around the world.It helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,bringing together many nations,for a joint effort towards protecting the environment.In 2009,the United Nations decided to officially set April 22 as Earth Day.
For his role as founder of Earth Day,Gaylord Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom（1995）,the highest honour given to civilians in the United States.We honor the man,as the fight for a cleaner environment continues.
【小题1】What can we learn about Earth Day?| A．It was founded at the end of 1970s. |
| B．It was first celebrated in Rio de Janeiro. |
| C．People will march on the street on this day. |
| D．It arouses public environmental awareness. |
| A．He reduced the loss of the oil spill. |
| B．He participated in an antiwar movement. |
| C．He set environmental standards for business. |
| D．He involved more people in environmental issues. |
| A．The focus of Earth Day. |
| B．The development of Earth Day. |
| C．The world 's concern on the environment. |
| D．The joint efforts of different countries. |
| A．Intelligent. | B．Responsible. | C．Considerate. | D．Knowledgeable. |
