Deserts(沙漠)do not stay the same size (形状).Sometimes they grow bigger. Sometimes they get smaller. The world’s biggest desert, Sahara, is in Africa. Right now, the Sahara desert is growing fast.
Why is the Sahara growing ? In some places , People farm too much. In other places ,animals eat all the grass. or people cut down the trees. This makes the soil(土壤) weak. Weak soil lets the desert grow.
Why is it a problem? people can not grow food in the desert. people can not build houses, hospitals , or schools in the desert . so people must leave their homes .They must live somewhere else.
What can people do ? They can plant trees. They can also farm less. These things make soil stronger. maybe the Sahara will stop growing . It’s a big problem. Many people must work together to solve (解决) it?What is the main idea ?(中心思想)
| A．The Sahara Desert is in Africa . |
| B．Farming too much makes the soil weak. |
| C．Big problem are caused (引起) by the growing Sahara desert. |
| D．Planting trees will help the world. |
The Sahara is growing .Which of these things is not a reason(理由)？
| A．Building homes | B．Farming too much |
| C．Animals eating the grass | D．Cutting down trees |
What do we know about deserts ?
| A．Their size never changes | B．They are caused by people |
| C．They can make trouble for people | D．They are all in Africa. |
Planting trees can
| A．make the soil weaker | B．help people farm less |
| C．be good for the soil | D．make the Sahara grow. |
Stopping growing the desert
| A．is easy | B．takes a lot of people |
| C．is not a big problem | D．is not important |
As Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves on Friday on his first overseas tour, which includes stops in Moscow and three African countries, Beijing’s media is very interested in Xi’s famous wife Peng Liyuan, who will be traveling with him.
China’s new First Lady, one of the country’s most famous folk singers and a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador(亲善大使) for Tuberculosis(结核病) and HIV/AIDS, has long been as well known as her husband.
The news that she would come along with her husband on the trip has already brought her to the attention of the world on China’s micro-blogging service
“Each country’s First Lady has her own style and charm, and the thing that the world loves is color and difference,” says Tsinghua University political scientist Tang Xiaoyang.
As Peng and President Xi start their trip to Moscow, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo, the outing is the president’s first chance to shape his image as China’s new leader before foreign audiences.
Renmin University journalism professor Zhong Xin says there are high expectations that Peng will help her husband pass on a friendly image of China.
“Mrs. Peng is beautiful and popular.” Zhong said, explaining that the new First Lady will not only influence herself, but the president and the whole country.
| Peng Liyuan—China’s New First Lady |
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| A short |
● Beautiful and popular. ● Famous for her folk ● Well-known as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. |
Her overseas tour |
● Setting out with President Xi. ● Starting her overseas tour on Friday, |
Widespread attention on her |
● Beijing’s media shows ● The world expects her to be |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture．
For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy is a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some officers often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she tries another term. One of the persons who don’t support her says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.’’
Advertisers will sometimes use half—truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache. ”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of thing happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.We may infer that the author believes people should ________.
| A．buy lottery tickets if possible |
| B．make use of half—truths |
| C．be careful about what they are told |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
How many examples does the writer give to show how the truth is used to deceive?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Using half truths is against the law. |
| B．Technically, half truths are in fact lies. |
| C．Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache. |
| D．Governor Smith did a good job during her last term. |
Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．He’s really a big loser! |
| B．Sometimes the truth can lie． |
| C．Advertisers will sometimes use half truths． |
| D．It’s against the law to make false statements． |
Two men were sitting together in a plane. They were on a long journey. One of the men was a businessman. The other was a farmer. They sat without talking for a while, then the farmer said, “Let’s do something to pass the time.”
“What do you want to do?” the businessman asked. “We can ask each other riddles.” The farmer said, “You start.” “Let’s make the rules first,” the businessman said. “That’s not fair. You are a businessman with much knowledge. You know more things than I do. I am just a farmer.”
“That’s true.” The businessman said. “What do you want we should do?” “If you don’t know the answer to a riddle, you pay me $100. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $50.” The farmer said. The businessman thought about this, then he said, “OK. That’s fair. Who will go first?”
“I will,” The farmer said. “Here is my riddle. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?” The business man repeated the riddle, “What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies? Mm, that’s a good one. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer.” He gave the farmer $100, then said, “Tell me the answer. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?” “I don’t know.” The farmer said and gave him $50.What does the word “riddle” mean in this story?
| A．A difficult question to find the answer to. |
| B．Something to help to make rules. |
| C．Something to win money. |
| D．a kind of game in doing business. |
Why did the businessman agree to give more money if he lost?
| A．He made much more money than the farmer. |
| B．He thought he knew more than the farmer. |
| C．He was interested in making riddles. |
| D．He was better at playing riddle games. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The two men made rules for their riddle. |
| B．The farmer was much cleverer than the businessman. |
| C．The two men made their riddle game more interesting by paying it for money. |
| D．The business was not as clever as the farmer, but the businessman had more money than the farmer. |
She was returning from teaching out in a small community . It was a moonless night, and a heavy snow was falling.
She remembered back to when she had first started teaching out in small communities. In those days she had always picked up hitchhikers (搭便车者), until the day her sister told her of a friend who had been shot (中枪) in the head by a hitchhiker, all because she had stopped out of kindness to help him during a storm.
Her family didn’t become concerned (关心的) about her safety over the hitchhikers until the family heard the promise: “No more hitchhikers!” The snow that night was making her think back to this.
Then she saw a man waving. She slowed down for him, but now as he ran toward the car in the dark she shook with fear. Yet she thought that if he was truly in need she couldn’t leave him here in this storm.
The stranger explained that his car was dead, and she told him to get in. They drove for an hour into the next city and she took him to a telephone booth (公用电话亭). She waited until he had made a call. When he reported back to her that a family member would soon come for him, she wished him well and left.
Tears fell on her cheeks as she drove away. She felt as though she had been holding her breath for an hour. “I hope they’ll understand why I had to break my promise,” she thought.What can we learn about the woman?
| A．She was a taxi driver. |
| B．She used to be a hitchhiker. |
| C．She taught in small communities. |
| D．She seldom picked up strangers. |
What made her family worried about her safety?
| A．She had been hurt by a hitchhiker. |
| B．Her sister’s friend was killed by a hitchhiker. |
| C．There were often snowstorms on her way home. |
| D．Her car often broke down on her way home. |
We can infer from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph that _________.
| A．she was sorry for picking up the stranger. |
| B．she felt too tired to breathe. |
| C．she had been afraid being with the stranger. |
| D．she had been too careful driving in the storm. |
People have strange ideas about food. In the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的). They called tomatoes "poison apples."
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way, for a cream of tomato soup . This beautiful pink soup was served at the President's next dinner party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their President would sever his dinner guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his guests about the fact.Which of the following is true?
| A．Americans never ate tomatoes after the 17th century. |
| B．Even now Americans don't eat tomatoes. |
| C．It was not until after the 18th century that Americans began to grow tomatoes for food. |
| D．Americans didn't eat tomatoes before the 19th century. |
Jefferson was a president of _______.
| A．an African country | B．the United States |
| C．England | D．France |
Jefferson learned that tomatoes were good to eat _______.
| A．even when he was a little boy |
| B．because his parents told him so |
| C．from books |
| D．while he was in Paris |