4、National Estuaries Day is an annual celebration of the coastal areas where rivers meet the sea — estuaries．Celebrated on the last Saturday in September, National Estuaries Day is a great opportunity to learn more about these magical ecosystems．It is also the occasion to inform people from coast to coast about their connection to these beautiful places and how they can encourage its healthy future．National Estuaries Day was first established 21 years ago as part of Coast Weeks． Countless National Estuaries Day activities range from photography contests, canoe trips, estuary clean-ups, exhibits, to guided estuary tours．

However, most people are simply unaware of how much they depend on estuaries and how much their actions can have an effect on other places that might not seem to be so close to home．Your home, school or office is thousands of miles away from the nearest coast, but what each of us does affects an estuary and even people’s health．As ecosystems, estuaries are under threat from human activities such as pollution and over fishing．Industrial, agricultural, and domestic（家庭的）waste enter rivers and are poured into estuaries．Contaminants can be introduced which do not break up rapidly in the marine environment．Water flows seaward through systems of rivers, lakes and wetlands．Much of the air we breathe and water we drink, in turn, come to us on atmospheric（大氣的）currents from oxygen produced by ocean plants and moisture（濕氣）rising from the sea．

By celebrating National Estuaries Day you can help others understand that no matter where we live we are connected and we all share one world ocean, with our fate tied to the future health of our estuaries and ocean．Whether you live close enough to visit your local estuary, or you simply transport yourself to an estuary anywhere in the world via the Internet, take some time on September 26th, 2009, or any day of the year, to explore these amazing places．

1．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

      A．How people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

B．Why people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

     C．When people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

D．Where people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

2．The underlined word “contaminants” in the second paragraph probably means ______．

A．wastes                    B．nutrients                 C．marbles                  D．oxygen

3．In the second paragraph, it seems that the writer is trying to make us know that ______．

A．estuaries have something to do with us

B．the farther you live, the less influence you get

C．it is high time that we forbade fishing in the estuaries

D．Much of the air we breathe now is polluted

4．The suitable title for this passage might be ______．

     A．How to protect estuaries                              B．Threat from human activities

     C．National Estuaries Day                                D．Estuaries ---- where rivers meet the sea