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 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. |
Land is becoming desert little by little because ＿＿＿＿＿＿.
| A．plants can’t grow there |
| B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
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 |
There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.According to the passage, the following statements are true except.
| A．Laughter is good for health |
| B．Laughter can make you become old quickly |
| C．Laughter helps to reduce pain. |
| D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body. |
The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “”.
| A．delays | B．prevents | C．increases | D．reduces |
Some doctors hold laughter clinics because .
| A．they want to earn more money. |
| B．they think they will help the patients recover from illnesses. |
| C．they want to improve their patients’ condition. |
| D．they want their patients to practice how to laugh |
According to the author, we should .
| A．laugh as much as possible | B．watch more funny films |
| C．smile all the time | D．spend more time in laughter clinics |
The best title for this passage may be .
| A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health |
| B．Laughter clinics help patients improve their condition |
| C．Laughter can reduce the effects of pain |
| D．Laughter is the best medicine. |
In most of the time, I am devoted to my research in the lab with my friend Dave, who loves traveling very much. To make our life colorful and relax ourselves, in July, my friend and I are taking a camping trip. We will travel for four weeks and will tour the United States and part of Canada. We have decided to camp because it does not cost as much as vacationing (度假) in hotels.
We have to plan very carefully in advance. First, the car we are going to drive is very small, so we have decided to take only one small suitcase each and as few camping things as possible. We will take some medicine with us to prevent insects (昆虫) from hurting us, and also food for picnics. Second, there is a lot to see in the United States and Canada, so we have to decide on the direction (方向) we want to drive.
The date we are leaving is July 2, from which day we will have two months off. We want to see and do many things on our camping tour. We want to climb in the mountains, visit famous caves, and swim in cool mountain rivers. We want to visit many cities and talk to many people, which I am sure can enrich our experience greatly. We also want to find a hotel room if it rains at night. We expect to have an exciting trip. The two friends are going to take a camping trip ________.
| A．if they have four weeks’ time off | B．though it will be a long trip |
| C．so that they can save money | D．because it will be warm enough in July |
Which of the following statements is possibly true?
| A．They are now on the trip | B．They are going to make a tour all over the U.S and Canada. |
| C．They are quite rich. | D．July is drawing near. |
We learn from the second paragraph that ________.
| A．they must be ill. | B．they will bring a lot in the car. |
| C．they must have studied the map carefully. | D．they must have been hurt by insects. |
It is quite clear that ________.
| A．there will be no insects at all. | B．they are sure to take some medicine on the trip. |
| C．the two friends will take turns to drive. | D．the two friends will share a suitcase. |
If they are caught in the rain , they will ________.
| A．talk to their families while it rains. | B．ask others for help. |
| C．have to stop climbing. | D．have to stay in a hotel for the night. |
Jack was so excited about getting a new backpack because his old one had a broken zipper(拉链) and a hole in the bottom.
Jack’s elder brother took him to buy a new backpack. There were so many cool ones. How would he ever decide? He saw blue ones—his favorite color. He saw ones with his favorite action hero on the front. And then Jack saw a backpack with a black square design. When he opened it, he saw it had a hidden, secret small bag. He liked it, which made it different from others.
“This is the one,” he said, then carried it to the check-out counter.
That evening, Jack carefully filled his new backpack with his school things. He put his special pen in the secret small bag. The next day in English class, Mr. Mack said, “Let’s write an essay about earthquakes!” Jack looked for his pen in his backpack, but he couldn’t find it! He rummaged through his desk and his pockets, but no pen.
Jack asked if anyone had seen his pen, but no one had. Mr. Mack lent him a pencil, but Jack was feeling anxious because he lost his pen. When he got home, Jack told his brother he couldn’t find his favorite pen. His brother said, “You must have put it in that secret small bag.”
Jack laughed and said, “That small bag was so secret that I forgot all about it.”The backpack that Jack bought is__________.
| A．a blue one. | B．one with a black square design. |
| C．one with an action hero. | D．a small one. |
Jack decided to buy that backpack because __________.
| A．it had his favorite color | B．he liked the black square design |
| C．the secret small bag made it special | D．his brother suggested he get that one |
The underlined word “rummaged” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.
| A．forgot to look at | B．searched really well | C．turned sideways | D．threw away |
When Jack realized what he had done, he thought it was ________.
| A．funny | B．annoying | C．surprising | D．cool |
This text mainly tells us ________.
| A．a story of Jack’s old backpack | B．that Jack was studying earthquakes |
| C．that Jack was old enough to do shopping | D．a story of Jack’s pen and new backpack |
七选五：根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
A man came home from work late, tired and found his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man. “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Then he looked up and said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10?” The father was angry, “If the only reason you asked for that is to borrow some money to buy a silly toy, then you should go to bed.”
After about an hour or so, the man calmed down, and started to think. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. “Are you asleep, son?” He opened the door and as
ked. “No, Daddy,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was 
too hard on you just now.” said the man, “Here’s the $10 you asked for.”“Oh, thank you, Daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some small change.
“Why do you want more money if you have already had some?” the father asked angrily.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied, “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home earlier tomorrow, I would like to have dinner with you.”
| A．Silently the little boy returned the money to his father with tears. |
| B．The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. |
| C．“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” |
| D．“Daddy, how much do you spend a day?” |
E. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room.
F. The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
G. The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty –six days in a life-raft (救生艇) in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales (鲸鱼). “They started to hit the side of the boat,” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water.” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water— two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw (生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks (鲨鱼) came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn’t stand up. So the captain carr
ied them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over. Bill and Simone were traveling ______ when they met some whales.
| A．in a life-raft | B．in Miami | C．in Simony | D．in Panama |
During their days at sea, ______ saved their lives.
A．tins of food and bottles of water |
B．a fishing-line and a machine |
| C．whales and sharks | D．Twenty passing ships |
After their boat sank, the couple ______.
| A．jumped into the life-raft | B．heard water |
| C．watched the boat go under water | D．stayed in the life-raft |