Forests have always been important to people. We make use of them in many   46  . First, trees   47   man fruits and building materials in the form of wood. Without trees it would be   __48   to build houses, boats, bridges and so on. Furniture such as desks, chairs and beds are made of   49  . Second, trees can  50   man from terrible heat. They provide shade for us. Third, they are also useful in stopping rich top soil from being washed away by heavy rains. The top soil is   51   for plants.

Unfortunately, because people in the past did not know enough about the science of nature, they   52    down too many trees and never planted new ones. Gradually the   53   of trees became smaller and smaller. And the rich surface soil was blown and washed away by strong wind and heavy rain. In the end the rich lands    54   into useless deserts.   55__  could grow there any more.

(   )46. A. ideas                B. ways                 C. parts               D. countries

(   )47. A. give                 B. show                C. make              D. bring

(   )48. A. different             B. impossible      C. interesting         D. easy

(   )49. A. plastic                      B. glass                 C. rubber             D. wood

(   )50. A. separate             B. stop            C. protect         D. save

(   )51. A. bad                  B. dangerous       C. important        D. special

(   )52. A. wrote               B. cut                    C. broke              D. pulled

(   )53. A. number                     B. height           C. weight            D. quality

(   )54. A. flowed               B. ran                    C. changed            D. fell

(   )55. A. Everything          B. Something     C. Anything           D. Nothing

   This story happened in a small mountain village. One day there was an earthquake （地震）. Nothing was destroyed and（1）was hurt. But a huge rock fell from a nearby mountain and stopped in the middle of the road.

   When the earthquake （2）, many people came to the road and saw the huge rock. Some of the strongest men tried to lift the rock （3）the road. But they couldn't move it. They tried to push it but failed. They tried to（4）it with ropes but nothing worked.

   "Well," they all agreed, "There's nothing we can do about it. We'll have to change the（5）. "At this time a boy of 12 years old said, "I think I can help you to move the rock."

   "You?" they shouted, "What are you talking about?" The men all（6）at the boy.

   The next morning some people came into the street. One of them shouted, "The rock is （7）!” More people ran out to see. It was true. The rock wasn't in the road any more. It wasn't（8）near the road.

   "This is （9）," they said, "Where did it go?"

   The boy stood in the street, （10）, "I told you I could move it last night."

   The boy walked over to where the （11） had been and uncovered some earth. "I buried it," he said.

   The people looked （12）. "You see," he said, " I dug a deep hole next to the rock and I dug a small incline （斜坡） up to the rock and the rock （13） down into the hole by itself. I covered it with earth."

   The crowds shouted, "What a （14） boy!" And some of them said, "Why haven't we thought of this good （15）?"

1. A. somebody            B. nobody              C. anybody           D. everybody

2. A. stopped         B. started              C. happened          D. appeared

3. A. over                    B. into                  C. off                   D. onto

4. A. push                    B. lift                    C. change                     D. pull

5. A. road                    B. stone                C. rope                 D. village

6. A. looked                 B. laughed             C. called               D. pointed

7. A. gone                    B. missed              C. broken             D. stolen

8. A. very                    B. quite                 C. even                 D. still

9. A. heavy                  B. dangerous         C. special              D. impossible

10. A. crying                B. smiling             C. thinking            D. lying

11. A. street                 B. town                C. rock                 D. mountain

12. A. surprised            B. sad                   C. happy               D. relaxed

13. A. lay                     B. dropped            C. walked             D. ran

14. A. clever                B. strong              C. brave                      D. poor

15. A. boy                    B. hole                  C. story                D. way