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．

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

2． 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．

3． 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

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

We needed a new cupboard for the kitchen．So Peter made _____ from some wood we had.
A．it      　 　　 B．one     　 C．himself  　 D．a(chǎn)nother

The man and the horse _____ fell into the river were drowned.

　 A. Which 　 B. who

　 C. that 　 D. of which

We can’t go swimming today, because the swimming pool is _____.

A. under constuction 　 B. being repaired

C. under repairs 　 　　D. repaired

Can I change for another book?      Page of this book is torn and     cover looks old.
  A. the; the       B. a; the       C. the; a       D. a; a

______so many people communicating in English every day, it will become more and more important to use English freely.

　 A. As　 B. With　 C. Because　 D. If

Of all the subjects, I like ______ physics best because it gives us ______ useful knowledge of things in science. And I long to turn ______ scientist in the future.

A. the ; a ; a　　　 　　 B. / ; an ; /　　　 　　　　 C./ ; a ; /　　　　 D. the ; / ; /

The men were soon exhausting and laid down.

Who are the most beautiful women in the world? Looking at the records, people might think Venezuelan women are. They win the Miss Latin America, Miss Universe, and Miss World contests more frequently than women from any other country. In Venezuela, the term “Miss” as in “Miss Universe” is an honored title.

These days, people in some cultures consider beauty contests to be silly. They have tried to stop these contests, saying the contests treat women as objects and place too much importance on women’s looks. But in Latin America, beauty contests are a source of pride. And in Venezuela, they are almost a national obsession(狂熱).

Are Venezuelan women really more beautiful than other women? “They are not really more beautiful here,” says Selena, who trains girls for the contest. “It’s just that the girls here work harder and prepare more than anyone else.” Preparing for a contest is a full-time job that includes sixteen-hour days for six months. Many of the women take a leave of absence from their jobs during the training period. “If you don’t take this seriously, you don’t have a chance.” Selena says.

The preparation takes many hours a day. The contestants stretch their bodies and practice their walks down the runway. They work on their speeches and practice answering questions such as, “Whom do you admire most in the world?” They starve to stay slim. They take classes to learn how to style their hair and apply makeup. Most of them grow their hair long and diet to lose at least 10 pounds. Many of them have their teeth straightened or have plastic surgery (整形外科手術(shù)) to straighten or fix other body parts.

It isn’t easy, and the contestants give up a lot for the contest. One Miss Universe winner immediately put on 20 pounds after the contest. She said the only thing she wanted to do after the contest was to eat. The cost is high as well. The training for the Miss Venezuela and Miss Universe contests can cost up to $ 60,000. Fortunately the television station that sponsors (贊助) the contest pays the costs of training the finalists. Yet most of the contestants say it’s worth the effort. A former Miss Universe is now a mayor of a district in a large city. Although she had no political experience before that, she has been asked to run for higher political office.

Another winner has her own television show. Winners have an advantage they could not get anywhere else. “It’s the only chance you have to make it.” Says one contestant. “You can’t get these opportunities any other way.”

1. From the above passage we can infer that Venezuela is probably____.

A. a place where contestants from all parts of the world gather together

B. a city in America where beauty contest is held

C. a country in Latin America

D. a world beauty center

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Contestants have to stay away from their work for a period of time before the contest.

B. Only a few women won the contest without being trained.

C. Beauty isn’t the only factor for a contestant to win the contest.

D. It’s too expensive for individuals (個(gè)人) to pay for the training for the contest.

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Beauty Means Money

B. Venezuelan Women — the Most Beautiful Women in the World

C. How to Succeed in the Beauty Contest

D. Training — the Only Way to Success

I’m going to have my bad tooth ________ out tomorrow.

A. to pull　 B. pull　 C. pulling　 D. pulled