译in some cases,deserts are the creation of destruction

A vast dust storm that blew in from the deserts of Australia’s red centre has blanketed the country’s largest city and eastern coast in a red fog，causing widespread traffic chaos and severe flight delays.
Residents from Sydney in New South Wales to Canberra inland and towns in southern Queensland awoke to a red sky and greatly reduced visibility after the country’s worst dust storm in 70 years blew in overnight. The Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House were covered in the red fog and hundreds of people were reported to have breathing problems. Children，the elderly and those suffering from asthma (哮喘) or heart or lung diseases were advised to stay indoors ,as even healthy adults reported "itchy throats" and a metallic aftertaste in their mouths after walking through the thick fog.
Commuters used face masks，originally intended to protect them from the spread of swine flu, to hurry across the blocked streets on their way to work. Some schools were closed and sports activities were called off as the conditions pushed air pollution levels to 1500 times their normal levels – the highest on record.
Passengers at the busy Sydney Airport faced delays of up to six hours for international flights and three hours for domestic trips，and even some international flights were cancelled as visibility was reduced to just a few feet.
Locals，phoning radio stations to express their shock at the red dawn.” It’s like a nuclear winter morning，" tourist Peter Wilson told Daily Telegraph, "It is so terrible." adding that when he awoke the sky was "bright red" and "all the cars were covered in dirt".
The dust hanging over Sydney had largely cleared by midafternoon, although national carrier Qantas said severe delays would last all day because of direction-changed and late-running flights.
The sand storm，which measured more than 310 miles wide and 620 miles long， was caused by dust clouds blowing east from Australia’s dry places，which has been attacked by the worst drought on record. It covered dozens of towns and cities in two states as strong winds swept away tons of topsoil threw it high into the sky and carried it hundreds of miles.
小题1:What was the face mask originally intended for? (No more than 10 words) (2 marks)[
小题2:When did most residents of Sydney discover the vast storm ? (No more than 3 words) (3 marks)
小题3:What do you think the underlined word Qantas is? (No more than 3 words)(2 marks)
小题4:What is the main idea of the last paragraph ? (No more than 10 words) (3 marks)

The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.
小题1:according to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.

A．clay	B．rock
C．sand	D．stones

小题2:The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.

A．brave	B．cruel
C．strange	D．kind

小题3:In the desert _______.

A．it rains in spring only

B．it rains for a short time every month

C．there is some rain, but far from enough

D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants

小题4:People live _______.

A．only inside the oases	B．only outside the oases
C．both inside and outside the oases	D．in places with regular rainfalls

小题5:From the passage we know that life _______.

A．is hard in deserts	B．is happy in deserts
C．is impossible in deserts	D．in deserts in much better now

Scientists are trying to make the deserts ,which get very little rain, 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 against the scientists’ wish．
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．
小题1: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

小题2:More and more land is becoming desertbecause____________．

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

小题3: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．

小题4: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

阅读理解D
The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay(黏土) or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(无人居住的). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable , no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.
小题1:According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of ________.

A．clay

B．rock

C．stones

D．sand

小题2:The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being ________.

A．kind

B．brave

C．cruel

D．strange

小题3: In the desert ________.

A．It rains in spring only.

B．it rains for a short time every month

C．the rainfall is just enough for the plants

D．there is some rain, but far from enough

小题4:People live ______.

A．only inside the oases	B．both inside and outside the oases
C．only outside the oases	D．in places with regular rainfalls.

Empty Deserts
In the 19 ^th century Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing the “Great American Desert in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.
The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and in TV.
In Arizona, man made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.
There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.
In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130 degrees. There is less than two inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---- 925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.
Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Small insects, snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live under ground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water. When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant colors.
小题1:In the 19 ^th century, Americans moved from the east to the west because they ______.

A．enjoy the trip	B．wanted to make their home there
C．wanted to find new grassland there	D．had no water to drink

小题2:From the passage, we can conclude that ______.

A．the western desert is a good place for people to live in

B．there is little water but there are many trees in the desert

C．the desert is dangerous but it is full of life

D．till now, people know little about the desert

小题3: If you want to find some old native American pictures painted on the rock you must go ______.

A．on foot

B．by boat

C．by car

D．by plane

小题4:In the 1800s many travelers died in Death Valley because of ______.

A．illness	B．high temperature
C．cold weather	D．poisonous water

小题5:In the desert, animals will die ______.

A．if they move about	B．if they cannot make holes underground
C．if they come out at night	D．if they drink much water

Scientists （科学家） are trying to make the deserts （沙漠） 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 deserts all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the deserts. 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 helpful to dry (干旱的)places. Plants don’t let the hot sun make the earth even drier. Plants don’t let the wind blow the earth away. When a little bit of rain falls, the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become deserts much more easily.
小题1:Why can the land become deserts?

A．Some places don’t get much rain.

B．Plants don’t let the hot sun make the earth even drier.

C．People don’t keep the earth well.

D．Scientists haven’t learnt enough about the deserts.

小题2:Scientists are to make the deserts into good land again.

A．carrying water

B．growing food

C．doing nothing

D．studying a lot

小题3:Which is NOT true?

A．The land never stops becoming deserts.

B．Scientists ask people to live in the deserts and grow food there.

C．People do bad things to the earth.

D．Scientists may not be able to change the deserts.

小题4:Why are green plants and grass helpful?

A．They can hold the water.

B．They can keep the earth wet.

C．They can stop the wind from blowing the earth away.

D．All the above.

小题5:Which is the best title（题目）for the passage?

A．The Desert Problem

B．People Make Deserts

C．Green Plants and Grass

D．The Deserts, the Tree and the Water