A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location of the world's deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 years, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of oil on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.
1.In this passage, the underlined word “needles” refers to ________.
A．small, thin pieces of steel
B．long, thin pieces of branches
C．thin, hard, pointed leaf
D．small, thin pieces of sticks
2.Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The greatest desert makers are human beings.
B．There aren't any living things in the deserts.
C．Deserts have been changing quickly.
D．The size of the deserts is always growing.
3.People in some countries are fighting a battle against ________.
A．the growth of deserts
B．desert climate
C．natural changes
D．the disappearance of desert
4.What does the author want to tell us?
A．Deserts are lands of hardness, silence and space.
B．The deserts of the world are changing from time to time.
C．Man is to take measures to control the growth of deserts.
D．Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years.
Years ago there was a group of kids who would hang around at some local ponds（池塘） in the woods near their houses in Warwick, Rhode Island. In summer they caught frogs and fish. When winter arrived they couldn’t wait to go skating. Time passed, and the ponds became the only open space for the kids to enjoy themselves in that neighborhood.
One day a thirteen-year-old boy from this group of kids read in the local newspaper that a developer wanted to fill in the ponds and build over a hundred small houses called apartments. So the boy went door to door and gathered more than two hundred signatures to stop the development. A group of citizens met and decided to support him.
At the meeting of the town planning organization，the boy was quite nervous at first and spoke very softly. But when he saw the faces of his friends and neighbors in the crowd and thought about what was happening to their favorite ponds，his voice grew louder. He told the town officials that they should speak for the citizens. He also insisted that they should leave enough space for children. A few days later，the developer stopped his plan.
Nine years later, when that teen was a senior in college, he was informed that the developer was back with his proposal to build apartments. Now twenty-two years old, he was studying wetlands ecology. He again appeared before the town planning organization. This time as an expert, he used environmental protection laws to explain restrictions on development in and around wetlands and the knowledge of wetlands ecology to help to improve the development. Finally some apartments were built, but less than half the number the developer wanted. The ponds where those kids used to hang around were protected by a piece of natural land, and are still there today.
1.The kids liked to ___________ at the local ponds in winter.
A. make a snowman B. throw snowballs
C. go skating D. go skiing
2.The boy thought that the town officials should be ___________ for the citizens.
A. responsible B. modest C. anxious D. thankful
3.Which statement is true according to the passage?
A. The apartments were built as the developer had planned.
B. The grown-up boy helped to protect the wetlands as an expert.
C. The developer stopped the boy’s plan at the meeting years ago.
D. The ponds were filled in and some apartments were built on them.
4.The underlined word “restrictions” in the last paragraph probably means________.
A. rules B. plans
C. advantages D. limitations
阅读下面的征友信。假如你是湘南中学的李华，愿意与写信人交朋友。请根据以下要点写一封回信，介绍个人的基本情况和学校生活。要求：1）介绍个人基本情况不少于3条信息，如年龄、性别、性格、爱好等；学校生活也不少于3条信息，如作息时间、班级大小、学习课程等；2）词数：100左右，信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；3）将回信写在答题卡上。
Dear friend,
Hi! My name is Jack. I am a high school student in the UK. I’m 17, an active and easy-going boy. I like ball games and surfing the Internet very much. School here starts at 9 a.m. and ends at about 3:30 p.m.. Our class is small, only 29 students or so. We have to move to different classrooms for different classes. Besides the main subjects, we can choose other subjects like Woodwork and German. Right now, I’m busy preparing myself for the A-level exam.
Please write and tell me about yourself and your school life if you are willing to be my pen friend.
Best wishes,
Jack
Dear Jack,
Hi, I am Li Hua from China. I am very glad to be your pen friend. I study in Xiangnan High School….
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回答问题 （共4小题；满分10分）
Once upon a time, there was a poor boy working for a king day and night, but the king treated him badly. Every day, the boy went cold and hungry, so he ran away. Then one day, he met a big lion in the desert. The lion looked angry and the boy was afraid. He was about to run away when the lion said, “I am angry because there is a thorn(刺) in my foot.” “Don’t worry. I will help you.” So the boy sat down and helped to pull the thorn out. From then on, they became good friends.
One day, the king went hunting in the desert and he caught the lion! He threw it into a net. On his way back he saw the boy and caught him as well. “I will punish you for running away. I will throw you to the lion’s den(兽窝)!” said the king angrily. So he did! But to the king’s surprise, when the lion saw the boy, it lay down and smiled. The boy smiled too and put his arm around his friend. Greatly moved, the king let the boy and the lion go.
1. Why did the boy run away from the king? (回答词数不超过8个, 该题2分)
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2.What did the boy do for the lion when he saw it for the first time? (回答词数不超过8个, 该题3分)
____________________________________________________________________
3.What did the lion do when the boy was thrown to its den? (回答词数不超过9个, 该题2分)
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4.What have you learnt from the story? (回答词数不超过12个, 该题3分)
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摘录信息 （共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在文后小题的空格里填上适当的单词或短语，并将答案转写在答卷上。注意每空不超过三个单词。
Colors can affect our feelings. Generally, they can be divided into four kinds. They are calm colors, warm colors, energetic colors and strong colors.
Calm colors Some colors make us feel calm and peaceful. Blue is one of those colors. Blue can also represent sadness, so you may say “I’m feeling blue” when you are feeling sad. White is another calm color. It makes you feel calm and peaceful.
Warm colors Some colors can give you a happy and satisfied feeling. Colors like orange or yellow belong to these. Orange represent joy. It can bring you success and cheer you up when you’re feeling sad. Yellow is the color of the sun and wisdom, too.
Energetic colors When you feel tired or weak, you should wear energetic colors, such as green. Green can give you energy as it is the color of nature and represent new life and growth.
Strong colors Anyone who needs physical or mental(精神的) strength should wear red clothes. Red is the color of heat and represent power and strong feelings.
1. : Colors and 2.
3.__________ | Feelings | 4.__________ |
calm colors | calm and peaceful | 5.__________ |
white | ||
warm colors | 6.__________ | orange |
7. | ||
8. colors | energetic | 9.__________ |
strong colors | 10.__________ | red |
Do you love your holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? Your are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods, Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. That idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast(宴会), have a small, low-fat snack（小吃）. This may help to keep you away from getting too excited before delicious foods. Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Dished that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.
Choose lean meat（瘦肉）. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth, try mints（薄荷） and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate .
Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess（过多的） calories.
1. Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may .
A. bring weight problems
B. bring you much trouble in your life
C.make you worried about your foods
D. make you hate delicious foods
2. In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, you had better .
A. drink much water and have vegetables only
B. not eat the food in high fat
C. no t accept invitations to feasts
D. turn away from delicious foods
3. According to the passage, is a necessary part to stop you from putting on weight.
A. vegetables B. water
C. calories of energy D. physical exercise
4.Many people can’t help putting on weight after the holidays because they .
A. enjoy delicious foods
B. go to many feasts
C. can’t control themselves .
D. can’t help turning away from the foods
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.how to eat properly during holidays
B. what you should remember in a feast
C. how to control your weight during holidays
D.the benefits of doing sports during holidays
