3 . Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls, within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.

Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing—very, very slowly—as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that: have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day, a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

1. Many plants may survive in deserts when___________.

A．the rain is spread out in a year	B．the rain falls only in a few weeks
C．there is little rain in a year	D．it is dry all the year round

2. Sand dunes are formed when___________.

A．sand piles up gradually	B．there is plenty of rain in a year
C．the sea has dried up over the years	D．pieces of rock get smaller

3. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is____________.

A．too much sand	B．more sand than before
C．nothing except sand	D．something else besides sand

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

    1    (base) on the story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp, the film ---- the Sound of Music, is about a young Austrian woman     2    (study) to become a nun(修女) in Salzburg in 1938. She is sent to the villa（别墅） of an officer,     3    has lost his wife, to bring     4    his seven children alone.     5    bringing love and music into the family through     6    (kind) and patience, she marries the officer.

The film was     7    great success and soon got popular throughout the world. The Los Angeles Times described the movies as “three hours of visual and vocal brilliance”. It     8    (list) as the greatest movie of all time.

    9    is thanks to this Hollywood movie that Salzburg City has become    10    (true) world-famous. Visitors from all over the world come to Salzburg every year.

5 . Dubai boasts (夸口) that it has just built a “new global landmark”—the Dubai Tower, which stands 512.1 meters high now and has just become the tallest building in the world.

The Dubai Tower now surpasses Taiwan’s Taipei 101, which is 508 meters tall, and has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world.

The Dubai Tower, being built by South Korea’s Samsung Corporation and scheduled for completion next year, is one of a series of great projects taking shape in Dubai. The final projected height of the tower has remained a secret since the project was launched in January 2004; however, it is rumored that the tower will be more than 700 meters tall and have more than 160 storeys.

The Dubai Tower has become the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, leaving behind other tall buildings.

The Dubai Tower will house 30,000 apartments in addition to the world’s largest shopping mall. It is the centerpiece (重要工程) of the 20-billion-dollar venture. Another venture gradually emerging across the desert sands is Dubailand, a series of multi-billion-dollar projects claimed to be the Middle East’s very own Orlando. Dubai also paid 100 million dollars to buy the Queen Elizabeth II, one of the world’s superb cruise liners (游轮), which it plans to turn into a luxury floating hotel.

Faced with decreasing oil wealth, the Western-oriented emirate (酋长国) has raced to turn itself into a business and leisure hub and it aims to more than double the number of tourists to 15 million by 2015.

1. The underlined word “surpasses” in the second paragraph means____.

A．is equal to	B．matches
C．is left behind by	D．is higher than

2. Which building was the tallest in the world before the Dubai Tower began to be built?

A．Dubai land	B．Orlando
C．Taiwan’s Taipei 101	D．The Twin Towers

3. Why has the Western-oriented emirate paid more attention to becoming a business and leisure center?

A．Because it wants to attract more tourists to its places of interest.

B．Because it produces less oil than ever.

C．Because it aims to race with other countries to show its wealth.

D．Because it wants to set a new world record.

4. Which of the following statements about the Dubai Tower is TRUE according the passage ?

A．The Dubai Tower is 508 meters tall and has more than 141 storeys.

B．The final height of the Dubai Tower is over 700 meters tall.

C．Samsung Corporation has completed building the Dubai Tower.

D．The Dubai Tower has apartments and a shopping mall.