Question

Earth Hour started in Sydney on March 31^st, 2007. It calls on families and buildings to turn off the lights from 20:30 to 21:30 on the last Saturday night of March. In 2007 more than 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights.

A year later, on March 29, Earth Hour 2008 became a global activity and was supported by 50 million people from thirty-five countries. On March 28, 2010 over 2100 cities in another eight countries took part in it. Earth Hour came to China on that day, too.

In 2012 in China, there were many cities taking part in his activity, especially some large cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai…. Many people consciously(有意识的) turned off lights in the hour. And without lights, they could also enjoy themselves. In colleges some students held some activities to make all the students leave their dormitories.

It was 20:30, Beijing time. Some people in Beijing were having a nice talk with their friends. In Shanghai some people were taking a walk with their families or friends. And in Ningbo some young people were holding a party in a park, singing and dancing. The people from the three cities felt very relaxed.

1.Did Earth Hour first start in Australia?

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2.When did Earth Hour come to China?

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3.What were people in Shanghai doing during Earth Hour?

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Answer

1.Yes, it did.

2.On March 28, 2010.

3.They were taking a walk with their families or friends.

【解析】这篇短文给我们介绍了“地球一小时”这个活动。这个活动开始于悉尼，它号召人们在三月份的最后一个星期六的晚上关灯一小时。很多国家都参与了这个活动，中国也在2010年开始参加这一活动。

1.根据短文的开头Earth Hour started in Sydney on March 31st, 2007. 可知，地球一小时开始于2007年3月31日，悉尼。悉尼是一个澳大利亚的城市，因此这个问题的答案是肯定的。

2.根据短文中On March 28, 2010 over 2100 cities in another eight countries took part in it. Earth Hour came to China on that day, too.可知，在2010年3月28日，另外8个国家也参加了地球一小时活动，包括中国。

3.根据短文最后一段中In Shanghai some people were taking a walk with their families or friends.可知，在地球一小时活动时，上海的人们是和他们的家人或者朋友一起散步。

点睛：这是一篇任务型阅读，短文是关于“地球一小时”这一活动的，文章中有很多年代，这些年代可以成为我们串联短文主要内容的关键词。短文后有三个问答题，我们应根据题目中问到的问题，在原文中找到相关的信息，确定答案。例如第二题，我们可以用题干中的国家名China作为关键词，去文章当中进行定位，确定答案在第二段的最后一句话。