A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so could that water would turn into ice.






Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs(悬崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand.
Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out(延伸) a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls.
One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold.
Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night.
Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears.
A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal for. A gerbil has huge eye, so that it can see at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals.
Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals.
Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there.
【小题1】A desert is very dry because__________.

If you are cycling in foreign countries, you will need to know what these traffic signs and signals mean.

1		A sign like this one means that there is a bike lane(车道). If there is such a sign，you are required to use the bike lane. If there is not such a sign, you should ride with traffic as far to the right side of the road as possible.
2		This signal means you can cross the street along with pedestrians(行人). It has a green picture of a oerson walking instead of using the word“walk”.
3		This signal is the “don’t walk”sign. It is a picture of a red hand, meaning you should stop. You should wait to cross the street until the green picture of the person walking is showing.
4		Car drivers and bikers must come to a complete stop at“STOP” signs.
5		A“YIELD”sign means to slow down and be ready to stop. If there are pedestrians or vehicles in or near the crossroad, you must stop. If there is no traffic in or near the crossroad and it is safe, you may go through.
6		This signal means you are coming to a zebra crossing. Car drivers and bikers must stop to allow people in the zebra crossing to cross the street.
7		When people are working on the roads, parts of the road are often dug up or rough(不平整的). Be careful when yon are cycling. Rough roads could make you fall off your bike. If you must move into the road to go around a work area，you should stop and look carefully to be sure there is no traffic coming.
8		A detour is a way of getting around a roadway that is closed. Roads are usually closed because of road work or dangerous conditions. If you must take a detour, be careful about the roads you aren’t used to.

Robots have been designed to do many things-play music，work in hospitals，but run a restaurant? There are two robot receptionists(接待员) and six robot waitresses and waiters in the Dalu Robot Restaurant in Jinan，Shandong．One hundred customers can eat in the restaurant at a time．Two of the robots serve drinks，while the other four serve the food． Not all the work in the restaurant is done by them．There are also people working there，especially in the kitchen．The cooks are humans because the robots don’t have the skills to cook．
【小题1】Robots can play music．
【小题2】Six robots work in the Dalu Robot Restaurant．
【小题3】No people work in the kitchen．
【小题4】Only a few customers can eat in the restaurant at a time．
【小题5】The robots can’t cook delicious food．

Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆)．They can happen any time of a day，at any point during the year．But don’t worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt． Only a few big ones hurt people． However，it’s important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening．
Do NOT go outside．You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings．If you are outside，stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线)．
Stay under a desk，table，or other strong furniture．Hold on to it．Or stay in a corner of the building．Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing．Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside．
Keep away from windows，pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building，and anything else that could fall and hurt you．Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake，not by the shaking itself．
Also keep away from a fire．You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire．
If you are driving when an earthquake happens，stop the car if it’s safe．Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops，and don’t drive near bridges． Try not to stop by power lines or trees．These could fall and hurt you．
【小题1】Most earthquakes are too          to hurt people．

Television has a huge influence on our lives. It is one of the most important ways of getting information. People spend part of their spare time watching television, and much of what they learn comes from it.
What we see on TV—movies, news shows, sports shows, advertisements and so on have increased our knowledge and have changed the way we learn about the world today. However, not everything on TV is true.
Most of the viewers are children. Television sometimes is like a baby-sitter. It spends more time with children than parents do. But it keeps them in the living room away from healthy outdoor activities. They spend less time playing soccer or walking in the park or playing games in the yard.
Of course, there are some programs on TV that are good for children. But there are also some shows which are bad. Children should not watch unhealthy shows. Maybe we can’t change what is on TV, but we can choose what we watch. Do you agree?
【小题1】Why is television sometimes like a baby-sitter?

Fish and apple soup'？Yes, and you won't believe how delicious it is. This first came out of a restaurant in Singapore, but it is now very popular as the soup du jour in Chinese restaurants.  Ingredients (serves 4):
1. Whole fish
2 apples, quartered,
4-6 ginger slices (姜片)
1 bunch of spring onions, cut into pierces
1 red tomato, cut into 8 pierces ，oil. salt and pepper
Methods:
l. Remove the bones from the fish.
2 Pour oil into a pan. Fly the ginger slices, and the spring onions Add the fish hones and oil.
3. Add enough water and boil it for about 15 to 20 minutes,
4. Add the apples, the fish and the tomato. When the apples go soft, ads salt and pepper,
【小题1】This passage is probably_________.

A．apples, fish and tomato—ginger slices and spring onions—oil—fish bones

B．oil—fish bones—ginger slices and spring onions—apples, fish and tomato

C．oil—ginger slices and spring onions—fish bones—apples, fish and tomato

D．ginger slices and spring onions—fish bones-apples, fish and tomato—oil

For many people the subject of hiccups (嗝) is a joke, but for Harry Mendes, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham, it was something quite different.
His hiccups began one Sunday lunch time and continued day and night for two weeks. After the first week, Harry’s parents took him to hospital, but it took another week for the doctors to cure his attack.
Harry, who is now back at school, described what happened to him.
“When I began to hiccup, I drank a glass of water but that didn’t do any good. That evening I had hiccups every four seconds. We tried everything to stop them. I held my breath and drank cold drinks. My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn’t work either.”
After a week of sleepless nights, he went to hospital. The doctors took an X-ray of his chest but they couldn’t find anything wrong.
“They gave me some medicine and my hiccups slowed down, but it was another week before the medicine worked completely and my hiccups stopped.”
Harry was very lucky. The world record holder is the American farmer Charles Osborne, who hiccupped for sixty-eight years. He stopped in 1990 at last, but nobody knows why.
【小题1】Harry’s hiccups lasted ____.

Is it a tree? Is it a bear? If you’re looking at a tree in the shape of a bear, it’s a topiary(林木雕塑). A topiary is a tree or a bush(灌木) that is trained into a shape. Growing a topiary garden takes both time and skills.
A topiary gardener should make a drawing first. The drawing shows the final shape that the gardener likes. The gardener then chooses a bush for the topiary. It may be one that just planted or one that is already in place.
In June of the plant’s first year, the gardener looks for new leaves. When the leaves grow, it’s time to shape(给……造型) the bottom of the bush. It needs about five years. The top is not trimmed during this time. In the fifth year, the bush grows tall enough for shaping. Then the gardener begins to shape the whole bush.
Once a topiary has been started, it needs care all year. In the summer it must be cut many times to keep its shape. This cutting also helps the bush grow. In the winter the bushes don’t grow. The gardeners have to brush snow of the plants, or snow may hurt some parts of them.
Topiary gardening is very old art. The Romans did it in the first Century. In the sixteenth century, people in Europe like topiaries too. By the late 1600s, topiaries were also grown in America. Today it’s popular in many parts of the world.
【小题1】 Put the following in the right order according to the passage.
a. The gardener chooses a bush for the topiary.
b. The whole bush grows tall enough for shaping.
c. The gardener begins to shape the bottom of the bush.
d. The gardener draws the shape of a topiary.

Eating out is more popular in Britain today than it has ever been. It is reported that British people spend more eating out than cooking for themselves and eating at home. It seems that many British people are becoming more and more interested in how good their food tastes, and also how healthy it is.
However, eating out can also be expensive, so British people do not eat out every night. When having a date with friends, or having a birthday, many people like to go to a restaurant, and people often also eat in a restaurant before going to the cinema or the theater.
As in all cultures, there are many rules of manners about eating. The knife and fork should be used in the correct way. It is also impolite to speak with your mouth full then you are eating.
Most British cities have a large collection of food as well as British food, from the very cheap to the very expensive－ French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and many, many more.
When people are too tired to cook after work, they often get a “takeaway”. This means that they order from a take－out restaurant by telephone, and then go to get it. Many take-out restaurants also send it to your house. All you have to do is to open the door, pay and eat!
【小题1】When do British people often eat in a restaurant?