Not many women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Until 2004, no African woman ever had. That was when Dr. Wangari Maathai won it — for planting trees. You might ask, what do trees have to do with peace?
“Many wars are fought over resources (资源),” Dr. Maathai said as she accepted the prize. “If we conserve resources better, the fighting will stop.”
Dr. Maathai was born in Kenya in 1940. Unlike most African women, she went to school. High school woke up a hunger in her for more knowledge. She went to college in Kansas and earned a master’s degree in science from the University of Pittsburgh. She became the first Kenyan woman ever to earn a Ph.D. Later, Dr. Maathai taught animal science at Kenya’s University of Nairobi.
As an educated woman, Dr. Maathai feels responsible for leading others. She started her work in 1977 by planting nine trees in her backyard in Kenya. Trees are important in Africa for several reasons. First, they keep soil from being washed away into streams, thus cutting down on pollution and improving the soil. Second, trees provide firewood. So many trees have been cut down in Africa that women must walk far from home to find wood for cooking. New trees can also keep deserts from spreading.
Dr. Maathai’s Green Belt Movement pays local women for every tree they plant that is still alive three months later. In its first 15 years, the Green Bell Movement employed at least 50,000 women and planted more than 10 million trees. Following Dr. Maathai’s example, the Kenyan government increased its own tree-planting efforts. The movement has spread to 30 countries in Africa.
When the land and people’s lives have improved, Dr. Maathai says, peace will follow.
21. The underlined word “conserve” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.
A. use B. protect C. find D. provide
22. Dr. Wangari Maathai is the first African woman to ______.
A. win the Nobel Peace Prize
B. encourage people to plant trees
C. get a master’s degree in science
D. realize the power of knowledge
23. What’s Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A. The importance of trees in Africa
B. How trees prevent pollution in Africa
C. How planting trees works in Africa.
D. The history of tree-planting in Africa.
24. The Green Belt Movement ______.
A. aims to provide job opportunities for women
B. attracted the world’s attention to Africa
C. pays for every newly-planted tree
D. covered a large area in Africa.