Ⅱ. 短文填空
阅读下面短文,在空白处填入一个适当的单词或填入括号内单词的正确形式。
The Sahara Desert is in the north of Africa. It is the 11. (large) desert in the world, covering about 9, 320, 000 square kilometres. Life there in the past 12. (be) much more difficult for humans than in other places because it was hard 13. (grow) plants and find water there.
The Sahara Desert 14. (have) one of the most terrible living conditions on Earth. It is very hot 15. dry all year round. The highest temperature there once 16. (reach) 58° C. Camels are the 17. (useful) means of transportation(交通工具) for people in the Sahara Desert. They are called "ships of the desert".
Oil is one of the 18. (rich) mineral resources (矿产资源) in the Sahara Desert. After the people there found it, they started to sell it 19. other countries. Then they had money to build roads and houses in the desert. 20. the living conditions in the Sahara Desert are still hard now. And people were worried about the conditions getting 21. (bad). So the government 22. (try) hard to plant trees in the past few years. They also had some educational programs to let people know the 23. (important) of saving water. As a result, the Sahara Desert became much more beautiful 24. before.
The Sahara Desert reminds 25. (we) that nature is just as important as humans. So we should try our best to protect the natural world.

11. largest 12. was 13. to grow 14. has 15. and 16. reached 17. most useful 18. richest 19. to 20. But 21. worse 22. has tried 23. importance 24. than 25. us

Ⅲ. 阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。
A
①One of the world’s most dangerous sports is mountain climbing, and one of the most popular places for this is the Himalayas. The Himalayas run along the southwestern part of China. Of all the mountains, Qomolangma rises the highest and is the most famous. It is 8,848.86 metres high and is very dangerous to climb. Thick clouds cover the top and snow can fall very hard. Even more serious difficulties include freezing weather conditions and heavy storms. It is also very hard to take in air as you get near the top.
②The first people to reach the top were Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on May 29,1953. After a long and difficult climb, troubled by heavy snow, freezing wind and the lack of oxygen, they finally reached the top. They
could only spend about fifteen minutes on the summit before they had to come down. The first Chinese team did so in 1960, while the first woman to succeed was Junko Tabei from Japan in 1975.
③Why do so many climbers risk their lives? One of the main reasons is that people want to challenge themselves in the face of difficulties. The spirit of these climbers shows us that we should never give up trying to achieve our dreams. It also shows that humans can sometimes be stronger than the forces of nature.
()26. How high is Mount Qomolangma?
A. 8,848.86 kilometres.
B. 8,886.48 metres.
C. 8,848.86 metres.
D. 8,846.48 metres.
()27. According to the passage, when climbing Mount Qomolangma, what difficulties may climbers meet?
A. Thin clouds and heavy storms.
B. Freezing weather and thick clouds.
C. Heavy storms and lack of water.
D. Strong winds and slippery ice.
()28. What does the underlined word “sum-mit” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. side. B. foot. C. bottom. D. top.
()29. Match each paragraph with the main ideas. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. ① – Spirit of climbers;
② – Achievements of climbers;
③ – Facts and dangers
B. ① – Achievements of climbers;
② – Facts and dangers;
③ – Spirit of climbers
C. ① – Facts and dangers;
② – Achievements of climbers;
③ – Spirit of climbers
D. ① – Spirit of climbers;
② – Facts and dangers;
③ – Achievements of climbers
()30. What does the spirit of climbers tell us?
A. Never give up.
B. All roads lead to Rome.
C. Practice makes perfect.
D. Take risks without thinking.

26. C 27. B 28. D 29. C 30. A