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__________.

A．it is sandy	B．there is so little rain
C．the wind is strong	D．there is no water deep under the ground

【小题2】What does the underlined phrase"suck up"in paragraph 3 mean_________?

A．围堵

B．讨好

C．释放

D．吸收

【小题3】Some desert animals have extra big eyes or ears because__________.

A．the sunlight is too strong in the day	B．they need to see and hear well at night
C．it is very cold at nigh	D．they store water in them.

【小题4】Most desert animals stay cool in the day by_________.

A．storing water in side their bodies	B．drinking water as much as they can
C．staying underground	D．growing lots of plants

【小题5】Which of the following is true?

A．Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard.

B．People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground.

C．Camels have special fur to store water.

D．All the deserts are covered in sand.

A. they think they should have done                B. you have done nothing C. people try and tell you they are not so bad         D. someone just said to me E. it’s a time to remember the things

 
Birthdays are strange things. The more you have, the more you try and pretend they don’t matter, and the more     【小题1】  . I’m not really sure why they think so. It’s true that you are getting older, but as     【小题2】  , “Who isn’t getting older every day?” The problem may be that a birthday reminds people of all the things     
【小题3】  , but have not. I certainly understand that feeling, though I think    【小题4】    that I most want to do — a kind of personal re-ordering (重新排序) of the to-do list. What makes you depressed(郁闷) on your birthday is that you realize your re-ordered to-do list is exactly the same as it was last year. That makes you feel     【小题5】  , and not been anywhere. I have not had that experience this year. I look back at where I was last year and find things have changed since then.

As a child, I was really afraid of the dark and of getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments.
Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded
in my own room at night that scared me so much. There was
never complete darkness, but always a streetlight or passing
car lights, which made clothes on the back of a chair take on
the shape of a wild animal. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw
the curtains(窗帘) seem to move when there was no wind. A
very low sound in the floor would seem a hundred times        
 
louder than in the day. My imagination (想象) would run wild, and my heart would beat fast. I would lie very still so that the "enemy(敌人) " would not discover me.
Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home. That was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the street, I was afraid that I would get in the wrong one and be taken to some other strange places. On school or family trips to a park or a museum, I wouldn't let the leaders out of my sight.
Perhaps one of the worst fears of all I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. Being popular was so important to me then, and the fear of not being liked was a serious one.
One of the processes(过程) growing up is being able to realize and overcome our fears. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life.
【小题1】 The author had _________kind(s) of fears when she was a child.

A．one

B．two

C．three

D．none

【小题2】 _________ would scare the author at night.

A．Streetlight and car lights	B．Wild animals and enemies
C．Moving curtains and wind	D．Strange sights and sounds

【小题3】When she went to some other places, she would _________.

A．walk away without others	B．take a bus by herself
C．follow others closely	D．make sure not to take a wrong bus

【小题4】Which of the following would be possibly true when she was a child?

A．She was usually popular among people.

B．She was always the leader of the others.

C．She always' got poor grades.

D．She was not at all liked by others.

【小题5】The underlined word "overcome" means "_________" in Chinese.

A．接受

B．忍受

C．信服

D．克服

A thousand years ago Hong Kong was covered by a thick forest. As more and more people came to 　1　 in Hong Kong, these trees were cut down and burnt. Now there is 　2　 forest left, though there are still some small areas covered with trees. We call these woods.
Elephants, tigers and many 　3　 animals were living in the thick forest. When people came to live in Hong Kong, the 　4　 began to die out. Early farmers grew rice and 　5　 pigs and chickens in the valleys. They cut down the trees and burnt them. They needed 　6　 to keep themselves warm in winter, to cook their food and to keep away the dangerous animals. Elephants quickly disappeared because there was not enough food for them. So did 　7　 of the wolves and tigers. Monkeys and many other animals soon 　8　 in the same way.
You might think that there are no longer any animals in Hong Kong 　9　 in the zoos. But there are still about 36 different animals 　10　 there. One of the most interesting of Hong Kong's animals is the barking deer. These are beautiful little animals 　11　 a rich brown coat and a white patch (补丁) under the tail. They look like deer but they are much smaller. They are less than two feet（英尺） 　12　. They make a noise rather like a dog 　13　. In Hong Kong the barking deer has only a real enemy--　14　. People hunt these little animals though it is illegal (违法的). There are now not many barking deer left. So it is important 　15　 people to protect wild animals.

【小题1】

A．work B．study C．live 　　 D．enjoy

【小题2】

A．many　　 B．a few C．no D．not

【小题3】

A．other 　 B．others　　 C．the other　 D．another

【小题4】

A．people　 B．animals　 C．plants 　 D．things

【小题5】

A．grew　　 B．made C．got D．kept

【小题6】

A．fire　　 B．hotness　 C．heat　　 D．stoves(炉子)

【小题7】

A．much　　 B．a little C．a lots　　 D．most

【小题8】

A．lived　 B．died　 C．came　　 D．left

【小题9】

A．besides B．except　　 C．and　　 D．or

【小题10】

A．live　 B．to live　 C．lived　 D．living

【小题11】

A．have B．without　 C．with　　 D．get

【小题12】

A．high 　 B．higher　　 C．short　　 D．shorter

【小题13】

A．shouting　 B．crying　 C．barking　 D．talking

【小题14】

A．tigers　 B．men　 C．wolves D．elephants

【小题15】

A．to 　 B．for　　 C．like 　　 D．of