Rivers are one of our most important natural resources(资源). Many of the world’s great cities are located on rivers, and almost every country has at least one river running through it that plays an important part in the lives of its people.
Since the beginning of history, people have used rivers for transportation. The longest one in the United States is the Mississippi. The lifeline of Egypt is the Nile. To the people of India, the Ganges is great, but it is also important for transportation; ships can travel along it for a thousand miles. Other great rivers are the Congo in Africa and the Mekong in southeastern Asia. The greatest of all for navigation（航海）, however, is the Amazon in Brazil（巴西）. It is so wide and so deep that large ships can go about two thousand miles up it.
Besides transportation, rivers give food to eat, water to drink, water for crops, and chances for fun. In order to increase the supply(供给) of water for crops, engineers sometimes build a dam (大坝)across a river and let a lake form behind the dam. Then people can use the water not only to irrigate(灌溉) their fields but also to make electricity for their homes and industries.
However, large cities and industries that are located on rivers often cause problems. As the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the water in the rivers becomes polluted with chemicals and other materials. People are learning the importance, however, of doing more to keep their rivers clean if they want to enjoy the benefits of these natural resources.
【小题1】The greatest river for navigation is ________________.

International students in Christine Rhodes’ English class in Australia share their impressions (印象) of places they have visited in Australia.

Canberra, the nicest city in Australia

I went for a short holiday to Canberra. My uncle lives there. It’s the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There’re lots of big rivers and trees around the city.

Siggi Siebold from Germany

The small city of Mount Isa

I went to Mount Isa six months ago. It’s a long way from Brisbane — about 2,000 km. It’s a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic facilities such as a base hospital, six schools and supermarkets. Here the weather is hot and gets very little rain. There’re two big lakes to keep rainwater for people in the city to drink.

Indra Ekanayake

Lake Moondarra and a mine (矿)

In Mount Isa, there’s a dam (水坝) called Lake Moondarra. At weekends you can go there with your friends, and it is beautiful. On the lake, there is water skiing. Also, people can go fishing there.

There’s a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people go to work in the mine and earn a lot of money. Mount Isa isn’t a beautiful green place, but many people love it.

Ida Robb from Indonesia

1.Siggi Siebold is from 　　　.

2.What does the underlined word “facilities” probably mean in Chinese?

3.Lake Moondarra is a 　　　.

4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Ida Robb?

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

Rivers are one of our most important natural resources(资源). Many of the world’s great cities are located on rivers, and almost every country has at least one river running through it that plays an important part in the lives of its people.

Since the beginning of history, people have used rivers for transportation. The longest one in the United States is the Mississippi. The lifeline of Egypt is the Nile. To the people of India, the Ganges is great, but it is also important for transportation; ships can travel along it for a thousand miles. Other great rivers are the Congo in Africa and the Mekong in southeastern Asia. The greatest of all for navigation（航海）, however, is the Amazon in Brazil（巴西）. It is so wide and so deep that large ships can go about two thousand miles up it.

Besides transportation, rivers give food to eat, water to drink, water for crops, and chances for fun. In order to increase the supply(供给) of water for crops, engineers sometimes build a dam (大坝)across a river and let a lake form behind the dam. Then people can use the water not only to irrigate(灌溉) their fields but also to make electricity for their homes and industries.

However, large cities and industries that are located on rivers often cause problems. As the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the water in the rivers becomes polluted with chemicals and other materials. People are learning the importance, however, of doing more to keep their rivers clean if they want to enjoy the benefits of these natural resources.

1.The greatest river for navigation is ________________.

2.Which is NOT true according to the passage?

3.When rivers are dammed, people use the water for __________.

4.Most water in rivers is polluted with ___________.

5.The best title for the passage is _____________.

 选择句子，补全对话，其中有两项是多余的。

A: Hi, Zhou Qiang. Haven’t seen you for too long!  1. 

B: I’ve just been to the Three Gorges (三峡).

A: Really?   2. 

B: Right. As you know, we’ve built a great dam (坝) across the Changjiang River.

A:   3. 

B: Yes, the dam is stopping water these days. And the water is rising 2 meters every day until it is 135 meters high.

A: Oh, it’s said the beautiful scenery (风景) of Kuimen will be under water. What a pity!

B:   4.   It has been copied in another place with some other places of interest.

A: Great！I want to go to the Three Gorges this summer. Would you like to go there with me again?

B: I’d love to!  5. 

A.Is the dam beginning to work?

B.But I haven’t been there yet.

C.Don’t worry.

D.Is it hard to build the dam?

E.Where have you been?

F.It’s reported that it has changed a lot.

G.We’ll see a new Three Gorges then.

International students in Christine Rhodes’ English class in Australia share their impressions (印象) of places they have visited in Australia.
Canberra, the nicest city in Australia
I went for a short holiday to Canberra. My uncle lives there. It’s the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There’re lots of big rivers and trees around the city.
Siggi Siebold from Germany
The small city of Mount Isa
I went to Mount Isa six months ago. It’s a long way from Brisbane — about 2,000 km. It’s a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic facilities such as a base hospital, six schools and supermarkets. Here the weather is hot and gets very little rain. There’re two big lakes to keep rainwater for people in the city to drink.
Indra Ekanayake
Lake Moondarra and a mine (矿)
In Mount Isa, there’s a dam (水坝) called Lake Moondarra. At weekends you can go there with your friends, and it is beautiful. On the lake, there is water skiing. Also, people can go fishing there.
There’s a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people go to work in the mine and earn a lot of money. Mount Isa isn’t a beautiful green place, but many people love it.
Ida Robb from Indonesia
【小题1】Siggi Siebold is from 　　　.