阅读理解。
Making pulp (纸浆) and paper is a traditional industry in Canada. According to the Canadian Pulp and
Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world's wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these
paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be left. Recently, a possible
way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp (麻).
Hemp has been grown for a long time. It produces fiber which can be made into paper, fuel, oil, food and
rope. For centuries, it was very important to the economies of many countries because it was used to make
big ropes used on sailing ships. The worldwide trading network would not have been possible without hemp.
Nowadays, ships' ropes are usually made from wire or fibers, but scientists are now suggesting growing hemp.
In fact, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many
environmentalists believe that the large-scale growing of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada's forests.
However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, which is related to
the plant from which a drug called marijuana (大麻毒品) is produced, is very useful for fiber, rope, oil and
fuel. In the late 1930s,a movement to ban the drug marijuana began, resulting in the banning of the growing
not only of the plant used to produce the drug, but also of the commercial fiber producing hemp plant. In fact,
the drug marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it doesn't contain the active ingredient (成
分)in the drug. In recent years, many people try to make it legal to grow the plant and sell the fiber for
production.
1. Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada?
A. Canada needs to find a way to use all its spare wood.
B. Canada publishes a lot of newspapers and books.
C. Pulp and paper export is a major source of earning money for Canada.
D. Hemp is a traditional plant of Canada.
2. In the past worldwide trade, the plant hemp was used as _______.
A. a material for ships' ropes
B. a very rewarding export
C. fuel for ships
D. food for sailors
3. Hemp was banned because _______.
A. it is related to the marijuana plant
B. it can be used to produce marijuana
C. it was no longer a useful crop
D. it was harmful to the land
4. According to the passage, what can be used to make paper?
A. Trees.
B. Hemp plant.
C. Marijuana plant.
D. Both trees and hemp plant.
