A thousand years ago Hong Kong was covered by a thick forest like the forests we now find in Malaysia and Thailand. As more and more ___36___ came to live in Hong Kong, these trees were cut down and burnt. Now there is no forest left, ___37__ there are still some areas covered with trees. We call these __38__.

Elephants, tigers, monkeys and many other animals used to live in the __39__ forests of Hong Kong, and there were even crocodiles in the ___40__ and along the coast. When people came to live in Hong Kong, the animals began to __41___ out. Early farmers grew rice and kept pigs and chickens in the valleys.

They ___42___ the trees and burnt them. They needed fires to keep themselves ___43___ in the winter, to cook their food, and to keep away from dangerous animals. Elephants quickly disappeared because there was not enough ___44___ for them. So did most of the wolves, and tigers. Monkeys, squirrels and many other animals soon died out in the same __45____.

You might think that there are ___46___ any animals in Hong Kong, except in the __47_____. You might think there can’t be any wild animals in such a __48___ place with so many cars and buildings. But there is __49_____ a good deal of countryside in Hong Kong and New Territories, and there are still about thirty-six different kinds of animals living there.

One of the most interesting of Hong Kong’s ____50___ is the barking deer. They are beautiful little creatures with rich, brown coat and a white patch under the tail. They look like deer but they are much ___51___. They are less than two feet high. The male barking deer has two small horns but the female has none. They make a __52____ rather like a dog barking.

Barking deer live in thick shrub（灌木） country and are very good at __53___. They eat grass and shrubs, mainly in the very early morning and late afternoon and evening. This is when you are most likely to see one but you will need to be very quiet and to have very ___54___eyes. In Hong Kong the barking deer has only one ___55_____ ---- man. Although it is illegal, people hunt and trap these harmless little animals. As a result there are now not many left. There are a few on Hong Kong Island but none in the New Territories.

A thousand years ago Hong Kong was covered by a thick forest like the forests we now find in Malaysia and Thailand. As more and more ___36___ came to live in Hong Kong, these trees were cut down and burnt. Now there is no forest left, ___37__ there are still some areas covered with trees. We call these __38__.

Elephants, tigers, monkeys and many other animals used to live in the __39__ forests of Hong Kong, and there were even crocodiles in the ___40__ and along the coast. When people came to live in Hong Kong, the animals began to __41___ out. Early farmers grew rice and kept pigs and chickens in the valleys.

They ___42___ the trees and burnt them. They needed fires to keep themselves ___43___ in the winter, to cook their food, and to keep away from dangerous animals. Elephants quickly disappeared because there was not enough ___44___ for them. So did most of the wolves, and tigers. Monkeys, squirrels and many other animals soon died out in the same __45____.

You might think that there are ___46___ any animals in Hong Kong, except in the __47_____. You might think there can’t be any wild animals in such a __48___ place with so many cars and buildings. But there is __49_____ a good deal of countryside in Hong Kong and New Territories, and there are still about thirty-six different kinds of animals living there.

One of the most interesting of Hong Kong’s ____50___ is the barking deer. They are beautiful little creatures with rich, brown coat and a white patch under the tail. They look like deer but they are much ___51___. They are less than two feet high. The male barking deer has two small horns but the female has none. They make a __52____ rather like a dog barking.

Barking deer live in thick shrub（灌木） country and are very good at __53___. They eat grass and shrubs, mainly in the very early morning and late afternoon and evening. This is when you are most likely to see one but you will need to be very quiet and to have very ___54___eyes. In Hong Kong the barking deer has only one ___55_____ ---- man. Although it is illegal, people hunt and trap these harmless little animals. As a result there are now not many left. There are a few on Hong Kong Island but none in the New Territories.

36. A. people          B. children               C. ladies           D. women

37. A. as            B. since                 C. though           D. because

38. A. desert         B. shades                C. fields           D. woods

39. A. thin             B. thick                     C. short                D. dying

40. A. rivers           B. hills                  C. sky                D. mountains

41. A. die              B. look                     C. come               D. get

42. A. planted          B. looked after                 C. cared for             D. cut down

43. A. cold             B. cool                      C. warm               D. hot

44. A. air              B. food                    C. water            D. clothes

45. A. way              B. road                    C. street                D. rail

46. A. never            B. always                    C. no               D. no longer

47. A. zoos             B. shops                         C. kitchens         D. parks

48. A. free             B. busy                    C. big              D. large

49. A. no more               B. nearly              C. still             D. hardly

50. A. animals               B. plants                  C. fishes            D. birds

51. A. great                 B. larger                  C. smaller           D. heavier

52. A. noise                 B. voice                  C. song              D. living

53. A. barking               B. eating                 C. planting          D. hiding

54. A. common           B. sharp                       C. clear                  D. big

55. A. neighbor              B. brother                C. enemy             D. friend

30^th June

Dear Aihua,

How are you? Sorry I haven’t written for so long. I’ve been quite busy planning my holiday with may older brother, Coin. Do you still remember the trip I told you about? I told you Colin and I would spend a few weeks traveling before he goes to university. Well, now we’re ready to go! We’re going to visit so many exciting places and do lots of astonishing things. We will go to Africa first. I can’t wait! Have you been there?

We leave London on 15^th July, and we’ll be flying to Morocco, in Northern Africa. We’re going to travel on camels through the Sahara Desert. It’s the biggest desert in the world-about the size of The US! I expect it will be very hot, dry and dusty there. We’ll be traveling by camel, with local guides, camping in tents and sleeping on the ground in our big, thick sleeping bags. I’ve heard that we can se beautiful stars on clear nights. I’ll bring a torch with me so that I’ll be able to see in the dark. The whole trip will take six days. That means I’ll have to sit on a came for almost a week-how uncomfortable! I hope my camel likes me!

After the trip by camel, we’ve going to travel down the River Nile. We’ll start at Lake Victoria. A little way down the river from Victoria, the water actually gets quite rough. So, we’ll go white-water rafting. It’s quite dangerous, but very exciting! We have to wear special clothing, a helmet and a life jacket, just in case the raft gets turned upside down or sinks after white-water rafting, we’re going on a trip to see wild animals in Kenya. We’ll live with the local people in their villages, and eat and drink like they do, including cow’s blood! Do you think I should drink it?

Since we’ll be walking every day for almost two weeks, I’ll need to buy a large, strong, light backpack to carry my supplies of food and water. During the day, we’ll walk across the land, following the footprints of big animals such as elephants, lions and giraffes. We’ll try to get as close as possible to the animals, even though they’re dangerous, so that I can take some really good photos. But don’t worry about me―our Guides will have guns with them to scare the animals away if they come too close. I really want to see an elephant up close. Colin wants to see a giraffe.

After that, we’ll be moving on to Tanzania, where we’re going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Mountain climbing can be very tiring, and many people feel sick as the air gets thinner, so Colin and I will make sure that we will get enough rest after sunset. The African part of our trip will take about four weeks. Then we’re going to the Himalayas. I’ll send you postcards from all the different places we visit!

                                                            Love

                                                             Toby

36. According to Paragraph 1, ______.

 A. Toby is planning a business trip.                           B. Toby usually travels in his summer holiday.

 C. Colin wants to travel before starting university       D. Toby is not very excited about the trip.

37. The underlined “there” refers to _____.

   A. the United States    B. Morocco     C. northern Africa    D. the Sahara Desert

38. According to paragraph 2, _____.

   A. Toby enjoys the traveling on camels                    B. Toby is worried about traveling on camels

   C. Toby will feed the camels                                  D. Colin loves camels

39. According to Paragraph 5, Toby wants to _____.

   A. see a giraffe up close                                         B. scare animals away

   C. take photographs animals                                    D. shoot an elephant

40. According to the letter, Toby enjoys _____.

   A. comfortable, expensive holidays                          B. cultural holidays

   C. adventure holidays                                             D. staying at home

Empty Deserts

    In the 19^th century Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing the “Great American Desert in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.

The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and in TV.

    In Arizona, man made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.

    There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.

    In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130 degrees. There is less than two inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---- 925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.

    Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Small insects, snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live under ground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water.  When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant colors.

In the 19^th century, Americans moved from the east to the west because they ______.

A. enjoy the trip                    B. wanted to make their home there

C. wanted to find new grassland there   D. had no water to drink

From the passage, we can conclude that ______.

the western desert is a good place for people to live in

there is little water but there are many trees in the desert

the desert is dangerous but it is full of life

till now, people know little about the desert

If you want to find some old native American pictures painted on the rock you must go ______.

A. on foot    B. by boat    C. by car    D. by plane

In the 1800s many travelers died in Death Valley because of ______.

A. illness                         B. high temperature   

C. cold weather                   D. poisonous water

In the desert, animals will die ______.

A. if they move about      B. if they cannot make holes underground

C. if they come out at night  D. if they drink much water

Empty Deserts
In the 19^th century Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing the “Great American Desert in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.
The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and in TV.
In Arizona, man made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.
There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.
In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130 degrees. There is less than two inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---- 925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.
Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Small insects, snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live under ground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water.  When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant colors.
【小题1】In the 19^th century, Americans moved from the east to the west because they ______.