There are deserts （沙漠） all over the world．Over half of Africa is desert．The United States has deserts in the southwest part of the country．In some places ，deserts are growing．This is a serious problem．Deserts destroy farmland and they also ruin （毁坏） land where animals live．When people can't grow food or find animals to eat，they have to leave their homes．

    Deserts spread（伸展） for different reasons．Sometimes nature causes this problem．Wind can move sand away from deserts and onto useful land．When there is no rain for a long time，many plants die and the land become a desert．However ，human also cause deserts to grow．This process（过程）is called "desertification"，and it happens in many ways．One way is caused by a lot of air pollution，which makes an area hotter．Hotter weather can reduce the amount of rain．Also，too many people in one area can damage the land．If they have many animals，their animals can also harm the land．When large animals like cows walk on soil too much，they turn it into dust．The wind easily blows this dust away．Trees help hold water in the ground．When people cut down a lot of trees，the water runs away and the soil is ruined．Plants stop growing in these places．

    All of these things can speed up desertification． To stop deserts from growing，people must think of ways to treat the land better．

1．What is the main idea of the passage?

    A．Where is the world's deserts are?

    B．How people live in deserts?

    C．The different reasons for growing deserts．

    D．How cows can stop deserts from growing?

2．Where are deserts found?

    A．Africa and Latin America．                  B．The United and China．

    C．On useful land．                       D．Across the whole world

3．Which is NOT a cause of desert growth?

    A．Little wind．                            B．Using land too much．

    C．No rain．                             D．Large animals．

4．How does humans cause desert growth?

    A．By causing pollution．                     B By eating only vegetables．

C．By keeping animals．                     D．By moving sand．

5．How can humans stop desert growth'?

   A．By using bicycles less．                     B．By raising more cows．

   C．By cutting down trees．                     D．By planting more trees．

A report from the United Nations said that around 60 million people across the world, with 80% of them in Asia, are drinking polluted water. Some 4,500 children die every day because of polluted water.

A report showed that environmental problems kill 3 million children under five years old each year, making them one of the key contributors(捐助者) in more than 10 million child deaths worldwise each year.

Dangerous factors include indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution, lack of good hygiene facilities and poor ecological (生态学) systems(系统) , it said.

Another study showed that parents and experts from seven countries including the United States, India and Nigeria, regarded pollution as the biggest threat (威胁)to children’s natural living environment.

Many parents say that children today are being brought up with fewer blue skies than when they were little kids.

Mrs. Green tries to teach her daughter Susan by setting a personal example. She picks out recyclable waste and uses the water from the washing machine to wash the toilet.

Chinese children mostly learn about environmental protection in school.

Some non-governmental organizations and child centers also teach kids to protect the environment. More parents have become aware of it. Family is now playing a more important role,” says a Chinese official.

Vera Lehmann, an expert from Germany says many Chinese are increasingly aware of polluted. “I was surprised to find how much schools in China are willing to contribute to educating the children on environment,” Lehmann said. “There has been a big change between now and ten years ago when I first traveled here.”

(   )61. What is the main cause of child deaths?

A. polluted water                B. poor ecological systems

C. environmental problems         D. indoor and outdoor air pollution

(   )62. How many dangerous factors are mentioned in the article?

A. three              B. four             C. five            D. six

(   )63. From the example of Mrs. Green ,we can know that she is a woman who            .

A. takes good care of her daughter.     B. is strict with her daughter.

C. likes housework very much.        D. pays much attention to recycling.

(   )64. Which is right according to the article?

A. 80% of the people in Africa are drinking polluted water.

B The government now plays a more important role in protecting the environment.

C. Not only developed countries regarded polluted as the biggest threat to children’s natural living environment.

D. Vera Lehmann thinks China still pays no more attention to the poor condition as usual.

(   )65. What’s the best title of the article?

A. Children today are in poor condition.           B. Teaching children to stay green.

C. Children died of environmental pollution.       D. The biggest problem in the world.

Parts of China had the heaviest rainfall this year in its history, killing more than 400 people. Some 770 people have been killed by flooding in South Asia. And it is a similar story in the world.

More than 50 people were killed in Sudan. Hundreds had to leave homes in northern England as the water rose. In Colombia, houses disappeared under rising floodwaters and some 50,000 people had to move to safe places.

    As people fought the worst floods in history, experts warn such things may become more often because of climatic change and that lessons still need to be learnt to reduce the losses(减少).

Floods may leave fewer deaths than earthquakes, wars or tsunamis(海啸) ，and the world pay less attention to it, but they can cause similar damage(毁坏).

    Climate change could make the problem worse. Many scientists say the world is warming because of carbon emissions（碳排出量）from human activities, making weather more unpredictable(不可测).

    Experts say that flood defenses(防洪) have made people feel no safety, especially in the most developed countries. "With floods, the first thing to learn is that you cannot stop them," said Professor Graham Chapman at Lancaster University. "You have to have a society that learns to live with them."

    In 2005 Hurricane (飓风)Katrina visited New Orleans, USA, and caused great losses. It showed that even a developed country like the United States could not face the flood if it was not fully prepared.

"Flood plains(平原)are not bad places to live," said Nottingham University's Thorne. "Most of the world's great civilizations (文明) grew up along rivers -- people are always going to live there. But you have to have plans for flooding."

1. From the first two paragraphs we know that ____.

A. there were serious floods all over the world this year

B. China had the heavier rainfall than other countries this year

C. many people in England were killed because the water rose

D. worldwide floods caused deaths in most countries this year

2. Experts think that lessons about floods still need learning because_______.

A. people pay no attention to flooding 

B. more floods may appear

C. floods will cause similar damage   

D. floods will be the main losses

3. According to Professor Graham Chapman, flood defenses________.

A. can keep people safe    

B. can influence climate change

C. are not able to stop floods 

D. let people pay less attention to floods

4. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans caused great losses partly because___.

A. the United States is a developed country

B. Americans didn't learn flooding lessons.

C. people knew nothing about flooding

D. people didn't prepare fully to face Hurricane Katrina

5.What did Thorn think of plains along rivers?

A. It’s dangerous to live there       

B. It is comfortable to live and work there.

C. The places fit for humans to live   

D. They are centers of culture in the world

Qiu Baoxing, Vice-minister of Construction Of China, has said that our country is "facing a more serious water crisis(危机) than any other country in the world." And the Chinese government would raise the cities' waste water treatment rate(率)from 45.6% t0 60% in five years.

"Because water plays such an important role in our country's economy(经济)and people's life, we must pay much attention to it. We have to solve the problem before it is too late." warned Qiu. He said China should learn lessons from developed countries. They have paid heavy costs in solving the environment pollution, "We must take action before the city water ecosystem collapses(生态恶化)." Qiu said.

Qian Yi, professor of environmental engineering,' said that two problems--the shortage of water resources(资源)and the pollution of water cause China's water crisis. He said China's present water availability is still low, about a fourth of the world average level. By 2030, the number will drop much. What's worse, among China's seven main rivers, five have been seriously polluted. The worst is the Haihe River near Beijing and Tianjin.

　 Qiu Said that the government is improving the city water, controlling strictly water quality and safety. The Ministry of Construction of China is now working with the Ministry of Health to work out a new set of standards（标准）for drinking water to keep people healthy.

61. This passage is probably taken from_______.

　 A. a story book　 B. a magazine　 C. a sports newspaper　 D. a fiction novel

62. China's present water availability is about _______of the world average level.

　 A. 45.6%　 　　 B.60%　 　　　 C.25%　 　　　　　　 D.75%

63. In order to keep people healthy, China _______.

　 A. is facing a water crisis　

　 B. has solved the environmental pollution

　 C. has solved the pollution of water　

　 D. is working out a new set of standards for drinking water.

64. Which of the following is NOT mentioned（提及）in the passage?

　 A. China has the most serious water crisis.

　 B. Water is very important to China's economy and people's life.

　 C. Five of China's main rivers have been seriously polluted.

　 D. China has actively taken action to prevent air pollution.

65. What's the main idea of this passage?

　 A. Water crisis must be solved.　 　　　B. Water quality won't be improved.

　 C. Water pollution can't be prevented.　 D. The balance of nature should be kept.