Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
Why is more and more land becoming desert？ Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow(吹) the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water. Without plants， the land can become desert more easily. Deserts ________.
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
Small green plants are very important to dry places because __________.
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above. |
After reading this passage, we learn that __________.
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things．Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time．
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration．Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%．Garlic is good for you, too．It can kill the type of virus that causes colds．
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’ s advice passed the test of medical studies, For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating．But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so．Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no．Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars．
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales．After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated from thousands of years of experience in family health care．We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false．Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
| A．Eating garlic is good for our eye |
| B．Carrots prevent people from catching colds． |
| C．Swimming after a meal is dangerous． |
| D．Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth． |
The author develops the third paragraph mainly________．
| A．by cause and effect |
| B．by order in space |
| C．by examples |
| D．by order in time |
The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means”_____”．
| A．to be suitable |
| B．to be valuable |
| C．to be admirable |
| D．to be believable |
What’s the author’s attitude towards “old wives’ tales” in the text?
| A．objective |
| B．subjective |
| C．dissatisfied |
| D．curious |
Editor Henry Slocum，
I read your May 10th article in the local newspaper Honesdale Times about electronic books，or e-books，with great interest．You made several good points about the disadvantages of e-books．You may have overlooked，however，some of the ways in which they are superior to traditional books．Yes，e-books are expensive，but they are also convenient．In addition，due to their environment-friendly nature, e-books have the potential to change our planet for the better．
E-books, for anyone who is unfamiliar with the term，are about the same size and shape as regular books．They have a large screen in the middle，however．This screen shows the reader a page of text that has been downloaded from a computer．Once the reader has finished reading the page on the e-book screen．he or she scrolls down to see a new page．The process continues until the entire book has been read．
As you pointed out．Mr．Slocum，it's great to lie on a warm，sandy beach with a book．You can do that just as easily with an e-book as you can with a traditional paper book．In fact，because e-books are so light, you can carry them anywhere．Say，for example，that you like to read on the bus．Which would you rather carry with you-a heavy 800-page novel，or an e-book that weighs only a few ounces?
Another important advantage is offered by e-books as well．They are more environmentfriendly than traditional books．At present，thousands of trees are cut down each year to meet the publishing industry’s demand for paper．Books that don’t sell are eventually returned to the Dublisher and destroyed．This terrible waste could be avoided if everyone used e-books，which require no paper．
Sincerely，
David EngWhat does Editor Henry Slocum think about e-books?
| A．Interesting |
| B．Environment-friendly |
| C．Convenient |
| D．Expensive． |
In David’s letter, he thinks that______
| A．E-books will come down in price |
| B．E-books do little harm to the environment |
| C．E-books come in various sizes and shapes |
| D．E-books are no better than traditional books |
The main purpose of the letter is to______
| A．provide evidence that e-books are a good idea |
| B．honor the person who invented e-books |
| C．scold publishers for wasting so much paper |
| D．explain how to read e-books |
阅读下列短文,选出最佳选项。Three-year-old Teddy Lasry was sleeping in his cowboy outfit (套装) yesterday at his family’s Fifth Ave．apartment when he shot up in bed screaming．A 3-foot-long black-and-white snake twisted around his left arm and had just bitten his little finger．
“The babysitter (a person taking care of children while their parents are away for a short time) was frightened to death,” said Teddy’s father, David Lasry, who, along with his wife, Evelyn, was at work when the snake appeared about 4:00 pm．
The horrified babysitter called 911 and the building’s doorman．The doorman and two cable TV workers helped take the snake off the boy’s arm and put it in a garbage bag．Police rushed Teddy to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he spent two hours attached to a heart monitor as a precaution in case the snake was poisonous．It wasn’t．Experts at the snakebite treatment center at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where policemen took the snake, found out it was a non-poisonous California king snake．
But how did it end up in Teddy’s bed?
A little detective work determined that the snake had escaped two weeks ago from its cage in the apartment of a doctor whose family lives four floors below the Lasrys．The apologetic owner said his son’s pet snake likely traveled up the water pipes and into his neighbor’s apartment．“It’s a very gentle, very harmless snake,” he said．“It’s handled by our family all the time．”
David Lasry believed the pet was simply hungry after two weeks of wandering．Evelyn said her son seems to have overcome his fright by thinking of himself as a hero cowboy as he rode in the back of the police car to the hospital．
“I told Teddy he’s a pretty snake, a nice pet snake who got out of his cage,” Evelyn said．“But he asked, ‘Why did he bite my finger, Mamma?’ And I said, ‘Because he saw that you are a big boy, Teddy, in your cowboy outfit and he got scared．’”What did the babysitter do after Teddy was bitten by a snake?
| A．She ran out of the apartment． |
| B．She called the TV company． |
| C．She made an emergency call． |
| D．She took the snake off Teddy’s arm． |
We can learn from the passage that the snake _______．
| A．was poisonous |
| B．was kept in a cage by its owner |
| C．was deserted by its owner |
| D．escaped to the apartment |
From the passage, we know _______．
| A．Teddy needed a heart machine to stay alive for two hours |
| B．Teddy was awake when the snake arrived |
| C．Teddy’s mother was at home when the snake turned up |
| D．the snake was used to being touched |
Teddy probably believed he was attacked because _______．
| A．his parents weren’t at home |
| B．he was asleep the snake |
| C．was scared of him |
| D．the snake was hungry |
Many years ago, I went through a tough time．One afternoon, I picked my girls up．It was late when we returned home．I went to unlock the door and found my key wouldn’t go in．I kept trying while my daughter went to get a flashlight．When she returned with it we found somehow the lock had been “stuffed” with sunflower seed shells．Thinking that one of the neighborhood children had been up to no good, I really didn’t give it much consideration．
I found all windows were locked up tight．So I returned to the back door．Oh my God, I will never forget the shock of that moment．The house was empty！Other than a few things remaining on the back porch, everything was gone！Then I heard a car pull into the driveway and found two policemen walking up．They inquired why I had broken into the house．They then asked me for proof that I lived at that address, so I asked them to wait a minute while I went to get my rent receipt and identification from inside the house．I explained the matter to them and showed them the door lock．
At this point they were not buying any of my story．I could tell from their actions and tone of voice that they thought I was breaking into an empty house for somewhere to sleep．
I asked a neighbor for the phone number of house owner and the officer made a call．The owner was quite shocked to hear my story．She said that my roommate had been going through an eviction（驱逐）process with the court when I moved in with her and had lost the case．She had been ordered to move by 10 am on that date．The court order had been issued the same day I had paid her 1/2 of the rent and a deposit of $300,000．
The owner was very kind and understanding but there was nothing she could do．The house had been rented already and the people were to move in the following weekend．
The officers let me go and I went to gather my girls into the car．They were both exhausted and old．Also very frightened, because they thought their mamma was going to jail．I had to pull over because the tears took control．I couldn’t believe it！Everything we owned was gone, I had used up all our money moving in and paying my “friend” our share of costs．I knew very few people in town, as we had just moved there recently．
I went to sit back in the car with the girls, I talked to the girls, explaining our situation to them so that they wouldn’t be afraid．During this time there was a “street person” with a bag, looking in the garbage for cans, bottles, and anything that might bring him some cash．But I didn’t pay much attention to him．I decided to get the girls something to eat for breakfast．We grabbed some bread, and chips and returned for a “picnic”．When we got there, I noticed that the man was not alone．He was with a small group of others like him and they were passing a hat amongst themselves．
I was busy setting up our little “picnic” when I heard a voice saying, “MaAm, please excuse… but…well…I overheard the situation you are in, and well… I and the fellows took up a collection for you and your little girls．It’s not very much, but maybe it’ll help a little．” I looked up at this man---dirty, needing a shave ----and saw the face of an angel．I started crying．The man tried to hand me $30．I folded his hand back over the money and just hugged him as tight as I could．I told him, “Thank you for your more than generous offer, but we are going to be just fine．” He didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced him that it was okay．
Later that afternoon I went to the market and bought the making for a barbecue and off to that little park．It didn’t take us very long to find those gentlemen and invite them to join us for lunch．I had a wonderful afternoon that day, sitting there with those old guys, singing songs．They had some of the most entertaining stories and they shared the dreams they once had．They shared themselves… from the heart．The writer couldn’t open the door because ________
| A．she didn’t have the right key |
| B．there was something else in the lock |
| C．someone had changed the lock |
| D．the owner of the house refused her living there |
How did the writer come into the house？
| A．She came in with the help of the policemen |
| B．She came in by breaking the glass |
| C．She came in with the help of a flashlight |
| D．She came in from the back door |
When the writer came into her house, she must feel _____
| A．excited | B．confused | C．shocked | D．frustrated |
The writer was not allowed to stay at the house because ____
| A．she was cheated by her roommate and the house had been rented to others |
| B．the house owner was angry about her breaking the glass of the house |
| C．she hadn’t paid her share of rent |
| D．she was ordered to move out by the court |
The underlined sentence "At this point they were not buying any of my story."may mean__________
| A．the policemen didn't have enough money |
| B．the policemen didn't believe the writer's words |
| C．the policemen helped the writer to break the window |
| D．the policemen wanted to get the rent receipt |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．The street person was poor and didn't dress well |
| B．The writer accepted the money the street person gave her |
| C．The street person didn't know the writer before |
| D．The writer got along well with the street person and his fellows |
People are being lured（引诱）onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don’t realize that they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information．Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages．
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening．Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook, because people don’t really know what their personal details are worth．
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules．Early on, you could keep everything private．That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network．Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default（默认）, to be shared with everyone on the Internet．
According to Facebook’s vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience．”
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money．Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed．Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends？
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington．In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy．He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites．“I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits．
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade（侵犯）our privacy, it’s only the beginning，which is why I’m considering deactivating（撤销） my account．Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t trust．That is too high a price to pay．What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph？
| A．It is a website that sends messages to targeted users |
| B．It makes money by putting on advertisements |
| C．It earns money by selling its user’s personal data |
| D．It provides a lot of information to its users |
What does the author say about most Facebook users？
| A．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook |
| B．They are unwilling to give up their personal information |
| C．They don’t identify themselves when using website |
| D．They care very little about their personal information |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage？
| A．To help its users make more friends |
| B．To obey the Federal guidelines |
| C．To make money by attracting more users |
| D．To offer better service to its users |
What does Senator Charles Schumer argue for？
| A．Setting guidelines for advertising on websites |
| B．Setting rules for social-networking sites |
| C．Stopping sharing user’s personal information |
| D．Removing ads from all social-networking sites |
Why does the author plan to stop using his Facebook account？
| A．He is dissatisfied with its service |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy |
| C．He doesn’t want his personal data abused |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes |