The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and morden communication means （工具）． Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago， but it has brought new problems． One of the biggest problems is pollution． To pollute means to make things dirty． Pollution comes in many ways． We see it， smell it， drink it and even heart it．

Man has been polluting the earth． The more people have， the more pollution becomes． Many years ago， the problem was nor so serious because there were not so many people． When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place， man moved to another place．But this is no longer true．

Man is now slowly polluting the whole world．

Air pollution is still the most serious． It's bad for all living things in the world， but it is not the only one kind of pollution， Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water． Noise pollution makes us angry more easily．

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution． They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city， and from putting dirty smoke into the air． Pollution by sulfur dioxide （So₂） is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution， I! is caused by heavy traffic． We are sure that if there are fewer people driving， there will be less air pollution．

The earth is our home． We must take care of it． That means keeping the land， water and air clean． And we must pay attention to the rise in pollution at the same time．

（1）According the passage，　　， our world is becoming much smaller．

A． because of the rise in pollution

B． thanks to science development

C．because the earth is being polluted day and night

D．because the earth is blowing away by the wind every year

（2）Hundreds of years ago， life was　　it is today．

A．as easy as

B． much easier than

C． as hard as

D． much harder than

（3）In paragraph 1， the underlined word "it" means　　．

A． rubbish

B． noise pollution

C．air pollution

D． water pollution

（4）Which of the following is NOT true？　　

A． Many countries are making rules to fight pollution．

B． The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world pollution does．

C． The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth．

D． If people could go to work by bus or by bike instead of car or motorbike， it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO₂．