BEIJING (AP) — Sandstorms whipping across China shrouded(遮蔽) cities in an unhealthy cloud of sand Monday, with winds carrying the pollution outside the mainland as far as Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It was the latest sign of the effects of desertification: Overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl(無計(jì)劃地?cái)U(kuò)展) and drought have expanded deserts in the country's north and west. The shifting sands have gradually moved onto populated areas and worsened sandstorms that strike cities, particularly in the spring.    

Winds blowing from the northwest have been sweeping sand across the country since Saturday, affecting Xinjiang in the far west all the way to Beijing in the country's east. The sand and dust were carried to parts of southern China and even to cities in Taiwan, 1600 miles (2600 kilometers) away from Inner Mongolia where much of the pollution originated.   

The sandstorm in Taiwan, an island 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from the mainland, forced people to cover their faces to avoid breathing in the grit(砂礫) that can cause chest discomfort and respiratory problems even in healthy people. Drivers complained their cars were covered in a layer of black soot in just 10 minutes.

In Hong Kong, environmental protection officials said pollution levels were climbing as the sandstorm moved south. Twenty elderly people sought medical assistance for shortness of breath, Hong Kong's radio RTHK reported.    

The latest sandstorm was expected to hit South Korea on Tuesday, said Kim Seung-bum of the Korea Meteorological Administration. The sandstorm that raked(掠過) across China over the weekend caused the worst "yellow dust" haze in South Korea since 2005, and authorities issued a rare nationwide dust advisory.

Grit from Chinese sandstorms has been found to travel as far as the western United States.

China's Central Meteorological(氣象）Station urged people to close doors and windows, and cover their faces with masks or scarves when going outside. Sensitive electronic and mechanical equipment should be sealed off, the station said in a warning posted Monday on its Web site.

State television's noon newscast showed the tourist city of Hangzhou on the eastern coast, where graceful bridges and waterside pagodas were hidden in a mix of sand and other pollution. In Beijing, residents and tourists with faces covered walked along sidewalks to minimize exposure to the pollution.

A massive sandstorm hit Beijing in 2006, when winds dumped about 300,000 tons of sand on the capital.

67. The passage tells us that the sandstorms mainly came from      .

A. Xinjiang          B. Hangzhou             C. Beijing                D. Inner Mongolia

68. The underlined word, “respiratory” (in Para.4) means         .

A. breathing                 B. digesting               C. hearing                D. walking

69. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. It is not so common for South Korea to issue a nationwide dust advisory.

B. Taiwan is 1,600 kilometers from Inner Mongolia, where the pollution originated.

C. It is not the first time that Beijing has been hit by a sandstorm in history.

D. In Hong Kong some old people need help for shortness of breath caused by sandstorms.

70. We can infer from the text that       .

A. the sandstorms were purposely made by China

B. China was to blame for the pollution

C. the sandstorms badly affected the air quality in US

D. China's Central Meteorological Station will be closed

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Beijing had its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap (寒潮) since 1981. And freezing weather is hitting the Deep South, including Florida’s orange groves and beaches.

Whatever happened to global warming?

Such weather doesn’t seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn’t contradict global warming at all—it’s just a temporary phenomenon in the long-term heating trend. “It’s part of natural variability,” said Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist. With global warming, he said, “we’ll still have record cold temperatures. We’ll just have fewer of them.”

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“We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air over populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere”, Arndt said.

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What is the best title of the text?

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D. Cold snap doesn’t contradict global warming.

With global warming, we will ______.

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B. have more hot temperatures forever

C. never experience cold temperatures

D. have more cold temperatures

According to experts, the current cold snap ______.

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C. a big outbreak of Arctic air              D. its large population

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A. not all the parts of the Northern Hemisphere are cold in face of the cold snap

B. the zigzag pattern arises naturally accidentally

C. Beijing will get cold weather next year

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A gadget which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave. http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

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The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost ￡800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly calculates that a liter of water costs around 20 pence to produce.

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What do we learn about the machine?

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Limit the use of private cars, improve public transport and encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion(擁擠) during the 2008 Olympics, experts from foreign countries advised Beijing on Friday.

Professor Nigel Wilson, of the civil and environmental engineering department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was "supportive to the limiting of private cars during the Olympic Games", saying that in foreign countries, the method is also adopted during big events, but he was unsure about the approach.

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51. The underlined word incentives in paragraph 4 means_______.

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   C. points could be exchanged for goods       D. award

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  B. banning private cars is the best way to solve traffic congestion in Beijing

  C. Beijing now has 200 kilometers of city railway

  D. the use of company cars will not be limited

53. Why did Wetzel stress “ he himself is a bicycle-rider in London”?

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  B. To encourage governmental officials to use public transportation or ride bicycles.

  C. To show that riding bicycles is good for health.

  D. To show that he loves riding bicycles.

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 B. to encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion during the 2008 Olympics

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