A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so could that water would turn into ice.






Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs(懸崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand.
Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out(延伸) a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls.
One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold.
Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night.
Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears.
A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal for. A gerbil has huge eye, so that it can see at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals.
Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals.
Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there.
【小題1】A desert is very dry because__________.

A．it is sandy	B．there is so little rain
C．the wind is strong	D．there is no water deep under the ground

【小題2】What does the underlined phrase"suck up"in paragraph 3 mean_________?

A．圍堵

B．討好

C．釋放

D．吸收

【小題3】Some desert animals have extra big eyes or ears because__________.

A．the sunlight is too strong in the day	B．they need to see and hear well at night
C．it is very cold at nigh	D．they store water in them.

【小題4】Most desert animals stay cool in the day by_________.

A．storing water in side their bodies	B．drinking water as much as they can
C．staying underground	D．growing lots of plants

【小題5】Which of the following is true?

A．Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard.

B．People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground.

C．Camels have special fur to store water.

D．All the deserts are covered in sand.

 
During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape. When I traveled across to the other side of the island (島嶼), I could see the other islands, and I said to myself, “Perhaps I can get there with a boat. Perhaps I can get back to England one day.”
So I decided to make myself a boat. I cut down a big tree, and then began to make a long hole (洞) in it. It was hard work, but about six months later, I had a very fine canoe (獨(dú)木舟). Next, I had to get it down to the sea. How silly I was! Why didn’t I think before I began work? Of course, the canoe was too heavy. I couldn’t move it! I pulled and pushed and tried everything, but it didn’t move. I was very unhappy for a long time after that.
That happened in my fourth year on the island. In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe, but I did not try to escape in it. The boat was too small for a long journey, and I did not want to die at sea. The island was my home now, not my prison, and I was just happy to be alive.  A year or two later, I made myself a second canoe on the other side of the island. I also built myself a second house there, and so I had two homes.
My life was still busy from morning to night. There were always things to do or to make. I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals. They looked very strange, it is true, but they kept me dry in the rain.
I kept food and tools (工具) at both my houses, and also wild goats (山羊). There were many goats on the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in. They learnt to take food from me, and soon I had goats’ milk to drink every day. I also worked hard in my corn (玉米) fields. And so many years went by.
【小題1】 The purpose of making a canoe on the island was to _____________.

A．escape in it	B．get to the other side of the island
C．use it for food	D．go around the island

【小題2】 To survive, the writer did the following EXCEPT _____________.

A．keeping goats for milk	B．making clothes from animal skins
C．working in the cornfields	D．going fishing in the sea

【小題3】Why didn’t the writer use his first canoe?

A．Because it was too small for a long journey.

B．Because it was too heavy to get down to the sea.

C．Because there was something wrong with it.

D．Because the writer was busy building a second house.

【小題4】From the story, we can learn that _____________.

A．the writer tried to make his stay comfortable on the island

B．the writer had nothing to do on the wild island

C．the writer tried to escape in the second canoe, but failed

D．the writer was in prison on the island, losing his freedom

A Solar-powered Plane---Lowcarbon Earlier this month, a solar-powered (太陽(yáng)能動(dòng)力的)plane called Lowcarbon took off to the sky for the first time. It has passed an important test on the way to travel around the world. Lowcarbon took off from an airport in Switzerland(瑞士)at 45 km an hour. It slowly rose into the sky. “There has never been an airplane so big, so light, using so little energy,” said Bertrand Piccard, a leader of the project. During the 90-minute flight, Lowcarbon did several turns. It climbs nearly 1.6 km above the countryside. Engineers plan to test a night flight in July. Then they will use the results of the tests to build a second plane. They plan to travel around the world in that plane in 2012. “We want to fly it day and night with no fuel,” Piccard said. Piccard and pilot Andre Borschberg will take Lowcarbon around the world .They will make a few stops to change places and rest after a long time in the air----and to show off their aircraft. Lowcarbon flies at 70 kph on average(平均). That is faster than a bike and slower than a car. The pilots will keep it in the air for up to five days at a time.

We Are One---“Expo Through My Eyes” Sharing offers you more happiness. To celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, China Daily invites you to share what you’ve seen, heard and experienced at the 6-month international event or Expo-related stories in English. Whether you are an Expo volunteer, a reporter, or a tourist , we’d like you to share with us your Expo experience, as seen through your eyes. So if you would liketo contribute(投稿)，please join us today in sharing the joy! Topic: 2010 Shanghai World Expo Language: English only Length: No more than 1,000 words- Content: Stories with photos are necessary. Duration: May 1,2010---October 31,2010 Email-box: expo@chinadaily.com.cn Reward: In addition to the satisfaction of supporting our work, ---your stories will be published on China Daily’s website; ---you will go in a lucky draw for a prize.

【小題1】Which of the following information about the plane Lowcarbon is NOT true?

A．It can fly at 70 km an hour.	B．It is solar –powered.
C．It has passed a night-flight test.	D．It is slower than a car.

【小題2】Lowcarbon is a special plane because________________.

A．it’s made in Switzerlland	B．it has travelled around the world
C．it can do turns in the sky	D．it’s big and light, but uses little enegy

【小題3】The purpose of the second article is to________________.

A．encourage us to visit Shanghai Expo	B．a(chǎn)sk us to be volunteers for Shanghai Expo
C．invite us to write stories about Shanghai Expo	D．tell us to get the lucky prize of Shanghai Expo

【小題4】Your stories about the 2010 Shanghai Expo for China Daily___________.

A．can be in Chinese	B．don’t need to have photos
C．must be given by post	D．should be handed in by e-mail

A Solar-powered Plane---Lowcarbon Earlier this month, a solar-powered (太陽(yáng)能動(dòng)力的)plane called Lowcarbon took off to the sky for the first time. It has passed an important test on the way to travel around the world. Lowcarbon took off from an airport in Switzerland(瑞士)at 45 km an hour. It slowly rose into the sky. “There has never been an airplane so big, so light, using so little energy,” said Bertrand Piccard, a leader of the project. During the 90-minute flight, Lowcarbon did several turns. It climbs nearly 1.6 km above the countryside. Engineers plan to test a night flight in July. Then they will use the results of the tests to build a second plane. They plan to travel around the world in that plane in 2012. “We want to fly it day and night with no fuel,” Piccard said. Piccard and pilot Andre Borschberg will take Lowcarbon around the world .They will make a few stops to change places and rest after a long time in the air----and to show off their aircraft. Lowcarbon flies at 70 kph on average(平均). That is faster than a bike and slower than a car. The pilots will keep it in the air for up to five days at a time.

We Are One---“Expo Through My Eyes” Sharing offers you more happiness. To celebrate the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, China Daily invites you to share what you’ve seen, heard and experienced at the 6-month international event or Expo-related stories in English. Whether you are an Expo volunteer, a reporter, or a tourist , we’d like you to share with us your Expo experience, as seen through your eyes. So if you would liketo contribute(投稿)，please join us today in sharing the joy! Topic: 2010 Shanghai World Expo Language: English only Length: No more than 1,000 words- Content: Stories with photos are necessary. Duration: May 1,2010---October 31,2010 Email-box: expo@chinadaily.com.cn Reward: In addition to the satisfaction of supporting our work, ---your stories will be published on China Daily’s website; ---you will go in a lucky draw for a prize.

【小題1】Which of the following information about the plane Lowcarbon is NOT true?

A．It can fly at 70 km an hour.	B．It is solar –powered.
C．It has passed a night-flight test.	D．It is slower than a car.

【小題2】Lowcarbon is a special plane because________________.

A．it’s made in Switzerlland	B．it has travelled around the world
C．it can do turns in the sky	D．it’s big and light, but uses little enegy

【小題3】The purpose of the second article is to________________.

A．encourage us to visit Shanghai Expo	B．a(chǎn)sk us to be volunteers for Shanghai Expo
C．invite us to write stories about Shanghai Expo	D．tell us to get the lucky prize of Shanghai Expo

【小題4】Your stories about the 2010 Shanghai Expo for China Daily___________.

A．can be in Chinese	B．don’t need to have photos
C．must be given by post	D．should be handed in by e-mail

During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape. When I traveled across to the other side of the island (島嶼), I could see the other islands, and I said to myself, “Perhaps I can get there with a boat. Perhaps I can get back to England one day.”
So I decided to make myself a boat. I cut down a big tree, and then began to make a long hole (洞) in it. It was hard work, but about six months later, I had a very fine canoe (獨(dú)木舟). Next, I had to get it down to the sea. How silly I was! Why didn’t I think before I began work? Of course, the canoe was too heavy. I couldn’t move it! I pulled and pushed and tried everything, but it didn’t move. I was very unhappy for a long time after that.
That happened in my fourth year on the island. In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe, but I did not try to escape in it. The boat was too small for a long journey, and I did not want to die at sea. The island was my home now, not my prison, and I was just happy to be alive.  A year or two later, I made myself a second canoe on the other side of the island. I also built myself a second house there, and so I had two homes.
My life was still busy from morning to night. There were always things to do or to make. I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals. They looked very strange, it is true, but they kept me dry in the rain.
I kept food and tools (工具) at both my houses, and also wild goats (山羊). There were many goats on the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in. They learnt to take food from me, and soon I had goats’ milk to drink every day. I also worked hard in my corn (玉米) fields. And so many years went by.
【小題1】 The purpose of making a canoe on the island was to _____________.

A．escape in it	B．get to the other side of the island[來(lái)源:學(xué)科網(wǎng)ZXXK]
C．use it for food	D．go around the island

【小題2】 To survive, the writer did the following EXCEPT _____________.

A．keeping goats for milk	B．making clothes from animal skins
C．working in the cornfields	D．going fishing in the sea

【小題3】Why didn’t the writer use his first canoe?

A．Because it was too small for a long journey.

B．Because it was too heavy to get down to the sea.

C．Because there was something wrong with it.

D．Because the writer was busy building a second house.

【小題4】From the story, we can learn that _____________.

A．the writer tried to make his stay comfortable on the island

B．the writer had nothing to do on the wild island

C．the writer tried to escape in the second canoe, but failed

D．the writer was in prison on the island, losing his freedom