尤其是几项数据的对比。说明人们现在的环境保护意识有了很大的提高。其中很重要的一项就是环境教育所起的作用。

1. 【答案】C

【试题解析】细节题。根据文章第一段第2句"We didn't know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it," says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.可知在1970年世界地球日开始的时候，人们甚至都不知道有"环境这个词"，更不要说知道存在着环境问题了。故C正确。

2. 【答案】A

【试题解析】细节题。根据文章第二段2,3行Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement.中的especially millions of grass-roots Americans尤其是千百万的一般民众。可知环境保护的主要支持来自普通民众。故A正确。

3. 【答案】D

【试题解析】推理题。根据第二段4,5行According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 .可知通过人们的共同努力，现在的污染排放的数字已经大大地减少了。故D正确。A项中的to the lowest是错误的。B项说已经解决了污染问题，这一说法是错误的。文章中只是说The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 .CO排放超标的城市从40降低到9.而不是C项含义。

4. 【答案】A

【试题解析】推理题。根据文章最后一段1,2行Twenty -five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment .Today , it's hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program .可知现在几乎每个学校都有环境保护方面的教育的内容。说明教育在环境保护方面有很重要的作用。故A正确。

【长难句解析】

1."We didn't know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,"