To prevent the deserts coming near, China has planted billions of trees---to replace destroyed forests and as barriers against the sand. This isn’t a cure, though, say experts, as thirsty trees can make the problem worse by taking in groundwater.

“Planting tress is one way, but it isn’t that simple. It doesn’t solve the basic issue of water resources,” says Wu Bo, a professor. “We need to calculate how much water the trees will absorb, or else it could have a negative effect.”

Villagers in Zhengxin have taken on this challenge, with limited success. When the irrigation channels began to run dry, Lu Xianglin switched from wheat to cotton on his land. He also planted trees to protect his fields from sandstorms. He says he still gets good yields using flood irrigation and earns a good income for his family.

Other farmers haven’t stuck it out: About one in three have left Zhengxin in the past 10 years after their wheat crops died. Young people who can find jobs in the towns rarely return.

Last week, Mr Lu joined the other men in his village on a government-arranged trip to see the land that has been set aside for their relocation, nearly 40 miles to the south. The next day, he was back, shaking his head at the plan. The idea of uprooting his family troubles him, as does the idea of giving up the land that fed his forefathers. He prefers to stay and keep up the fight.

“With enough water, this problem can be solved,” Lu says. “We can plant trees and grass, and they will grow bigger. That will stop the desert.”

Experts say that farmers could switch to drip irrigation to lessen their water intake for growing crops. Elsewhere in the region, farmers have built brick greenhouses as part of a plan to grow vegetables using less water. Roadside signs urge farmers to “Save Water, Protect the Environment”.

49. The negative effect of planting trees in deserts is that __________.

   A. it can make groundwater become less

   B. it can prevent the sand moving freely

   C. it can stop crops growing well

   D. it can get the soil to become poor

50. Why did Mr Lu NOT accept the idea of relocation?

   A. Because the plan of relocation will cost him much money.

   B. Because his family had trouble moving away.

   C. Because he was reluctant to give up his land.

   D. Because he would rather stay than fight against the deserts.

51. What can we infer from the passage?

   A. The deserts drive more and more people to leave their homes for their lives.

   B People have no means to fight against the land becoming desert

   C. Water is the biggest barrier for people to stop the desert.

   D. Planting trees cannot solve the problem of desertification of farmland

52. What advice is given by experts to save water?

   A. To plant more trees         B. To build greenhouses

It is only during the last few years that man has generally realized that in the world of nature a balance exists between all forms of life. No living thing can exist by itself: it is a part of a system (体系) in which all forms of life are joined together. If we change one part of the natural order, this will in its turn almost certainly bring about changes in some other part.

The cutting down of forests reduces the supply of oxygen. The killing of weeds and insects by chemicals leads to the wide spread poisoning of animals and birds. The throwing of waste products into the ocean harm to life in the sea, while waste gases change the chemical balance of the atmosphere.

And so we could go on, adding more examples, until in despair (绝望) we might feel like giving up the struggle to control and keep within limits these harmful human activities. Man is very clever at changing the world around him to satisfy his immediate needs, but not so clever at looking far ahead, or at thinking about what the future results of his action might be.

The first paragraph mainly tells us that __________.

A. everything in nature can’t exist without the help of human beings

B. no living thing can exist naturally

C. all living things in nature depend on each other

D. man has well known the importance of the balance for a long time

The examples given in the second paragraph are used to prove that __________.

A. it is very important to protect forests

B. there are some living things which can exist all by themselves without change

C. all forms of life belong to a system in which all the part can be changed for one another

D. we cannot change one form of life or matter without disturbing (扰乱) the balance of nature

In the second paragraph the underlined word “atmosphere” means __________.

A. the production of chemical factories                      B. the gas in the outer space

C. the mixture of gases that surrounds the earth               D. the health of the human body

The third paragraph suggests that __________.

A. man shouldn’t think only about his immediate needs without enough thought on the future results

B. man is very clever in planning his distant future 

C. man often feels that he has to give up in despair

D. man is always anxious to control and keep his actives within limits

What is eBay? The simple answer is that it is a global trading platform where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods, including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes — the list goes on and on 

The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child. At high school, he became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, he worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started Bay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade (升级) and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skill, and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. Even in the great crashes of the late 1990s, ebay has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet 

Ebay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is lake an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business.  The world is your market place. Of course for each item, eBay gets a percentage and that is a great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.

We learn from the text that eBay provides people with _________.

A. a way of buying and selling goods 

B. a place to show their own photos

C. a website for them to upgrade

D. a chance to buy things at low prices 

Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university? 

A. For fun                              B. To make money 

C. For gathering the engineers              D. To fulfill a task of his company 

From “he has never looked back” in Paragraph 2 we learn that Peter _________.

A. did not feel lonely                     B. was always hopeful 

C. did not think about the past              D. became more and more successful 

How does eBay make money from its website? 

A. By bringing sellers together.             B. By charging for each sale 

C. By listing items online               D. By making e-photos.  

What is Bay? The simple answer is that it is a global trading platform where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods. Including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes- the list goes on and on 

The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child, At high school, be became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, He worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started Bay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade（升级） and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skill. and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. . Even in the great. com crashes of the late 1990s,abay has gone from strength to strength ,. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet 

eBay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is lake an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business: the world is your market place. Of course for each item （商品）sold eBay gets a percentage and that is great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.

We learn from the text that eBay provides people with__ 

A. a way of buying and selling goods 

B. a website for them to upgrade 

C. a place to exhibit their own photos 

D. a chance to buy things at low prices 

Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university? 

A. For fun 

B. To make money 

C. For gathering the engineers 

D. To fulfill a task of his company

From “he has never looked back “in Paragraph 2 we learn that peter_ 

A. did not feel lonely 

B. was always hopeful 

C. did not think about the past 

D. became more and more successful 

How does eBay make money from its website7? 

A. By bringing callers together.  

B. By charging for each sale 

C. By listing items online 

D. By making e-photos. 

What is eBay? The simple answer is that it's a global trading platform (平台) where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods, including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes---the list goes on and on.

The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child. At high school, he became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, he worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started eBay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade (升级) and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skoll, and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. Even in the great.com crashes of the late 1990s, eBay has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet.

eBay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is take an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business: the world is your market place .Of course for each item (商品) sold eBay gets a percentage and that is great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.

We learn from the text that eBay provides people with_______.

A. a website for them to upgrade           B. a way of buying and selling goods

C. a place to exhibit their own photos       D.a chance to buy things at low prices

Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university?

A. For fun.                            B. To make money.

C. For gathering the engineers.            D.To fulfill a task of his company.

From “he has never looked back “in Paragraph 2, we learn that Peter______.

A. did not feel lonely                    B. was always hopeful

C. became more and more successful       D.did not think about the past

How does eBay make money from its website?

A. By bringing acallers together.           B. By charging for each sale

C. By listing items on line                D.By making e-photos.