Scientists think that a weather pattern（形式）called El Nino（厄尔尼诺现象）caused the

drought（干旱）in Australia．El Nino causes different weather in different parts of the world．It

causes a lot of rain and floods in some places．It causes droughts in other places．Droughts can badly affect people and the land．El Nino lasts about a year．

  In normal weather conditions, warm winds from South America blow from east to west across

the Pacific Ocean．The winds early storms to Australia．These storms bring rain to Australia．

    During an El Nino weather pattern．the winds change direction．They blow from west to east

across the Pacific Ocean．The storms no longer move across Australia．So Australia gets very little  rain during El Nino．

  The drought began in January，1982．E1 Nino often occurs at this time of year．But that year，

E1Nino was stronger than usual．There Was very little rainfall（降雨量）in eastern Australia．There  was also very little water in the rivers．The drought was at its worst in February，1983．At that time，the weather was very hot．The forests and fields were very dry．Cotton growers wouldn’t plant their cotton．Sheep farmers had no grass for their animals to eat．So many of them died．Because the forests were dry．forest fires started quickly．Some of the fires burned for a month．Many forests were  destroyed．Over 2,000 people lost their houses in the fires and 75 people died．

    The Australian drought of 1982-1983 affected thousands of people and animals．The drought

cost the country over$3,000，000，000．It was a reminder（提示）to Australians of how the weather

could change their lives．

根据短文内容选择最佳答案。

（    ）1．From the passage we know El Nino is_______．

       A．a powerful storm    B．a place in Australia     C．a weather pattern

（    ）2．The undefined word “occurs ”in the passage means“ _______”in Chinese．

       A．发生                     B．发展                           C．消失

（    ）3．Picture  ________shows how E1 Nin6 causes a drought in Australia．

（    ）4．W1lich of the following is not true according to the passage?

       A．There Was very little rainfall in eastern Australia in 1982．

       B．Many forests will destroyed in the Australian drought．

       C．the Australian government paid over￥3，000，000，000 for this drought．

（    ）5．What’s the main idea of the passage?

       A．A drought happened in South America．

       B．E1 Nino caused a great drought in Australia．

       C．Australia got much rain during E1 Nino．

The hottest place in the world is the Sahara Desert in Africa. But there are deserts in many other places: in America, in Asia and in Australia. In 1917 the temperature in Death Valley, in the United States, was over 48°C every day for six weeks. That's very hot!
But deserts are not always hot. After dark, deserts are very cold.
Not many animals and plants can live in a desert, because it doesn't rain very often. But one animal likes the desert — the camel. It has big feet to walk on the sand. It can live for a long time without water. Sometimes it doesn't drink anything for weeks — so it gets very thirsty! When it finds water it can drink 100 liters(升) at a time.
【小题1】What’s the weather like in a desert?