1 . “I can’t turn the desert into an oasis, but I’m working hard to prevent any oasis from degrading (退化) into desert,” says 78-yearold Wang Tianchang in Wuwei city, in Northwest China’s Gansu province.
Sticking to the belief that “only by containing the sand, our children and grandchildren will survive and thrive”, Wang and his wife Li Lanying have been stationed in the Tengger Desert for 22 years, voluntarily dealing with sand encroachment (侵蚀) and planting more than 8,000 acres. They have helped turn the once endless desert into an oasis.
In the spring of 1999, the then 56-year-old Wang put forward the idea of afforestation (造林) in the Tengger Desert. Strongly opposed by his family and ridiculed by the villagers, Wang secretly sold the family’s cattle, sheep and camels. With the collected money, the couple brought their tents and sand control tools to the desert.
“It’s not easy to plant trees, especially in the desert. To improve the survival rate of sand-grown seedlings (幼苗) in the desert, Wang observed the flow of sand dunes (沙丘) in areas where it was most severe in the 12th lunar month in winter. He also explored the best spots for planting grass and trees, and gradually found effective methods for planting saplings in the desert. In order to solve the problem of water scarcity, Wang bought two-humped camels. His wife led the camels to transport water on a route of more than 3 kilometers between their home and the desert back and forth every four and five hours.
Over the past 22 years, Wang and his family have invested more than 1.2 million yuan ($ 187,770) to the task of containing the sand and planting trees in the Tengger Desert. During this period, in order to improve the progress of sand suppression (抑制), the couple spent more than 6,000 days in achieving more than 8,000 acres of sand afforestation, and used camels to transport 5,000 tons of water on the sand line. The round-trip journey was more than 12,000 kilometers.
Wang’s spirit of living in the desert for decades has moved many people. Every year, volunteers from all over the country and tens of thousands of local people come here to fight the sands with the couple and protect their home.
1. How did Wang manage to get the money he needed?| A．He borrowed some from his relatives. |
| B．The local government provided it for him. |
| C．Charity organizations donated much to him. |
| D．He sold the family’s cattle, sheep and camels. |
| A．Research. | B．Pollution. | C．Shortage. | D．Control |
| A．5,000. | B．6,000. | C．8,000. | D．12,000. |
| A．The sands of time blow toward a greener world |
| B．Wang observes flow of sand dunes in the desert |
| C．Wang’s spirit of living in the desert moves people |
| D．Planting trees and grass leads to success of afforestation |
2 . The Dog and the Joey
Leonie Allan lives in an area of Australia where people often find wildlife in their yards. One spring morning, Leonie took her dog Rex for a walk as usual. The walk was casual, but Rex was acting strangely afterward. As Leonie worked in the yard, Rex kept looking down on the road where they had taken their walk. Then he began standing very still, with his nose pointing toward what he wanted Leonie to notice.
Rex, a mixed breed (血统), is part “pointer”. Pointers are dogs that naturally stand very still and point with their entire body in the direction of wildlife they see or smell. They are trained not to hunt animals but simply to point to where they are. They are excellent in tracking and finding animals.
Leonie became worried when Rex left to investigate (调查). She thought he might have found something dangerous. She called the dog back. But when Rex returned, in his mouth he had a joey, a baby kangaroo about four months old. Picking up an animal was unusual behavior for Rex, since he hadn’t been trained to do so. Leonie was surprised that Rex had taken the joey gently by the neck and brought it to her. The baby joey didn’t appear to be afraid at all.
“He obviously sensed the baby kangaroo was still alive,” Leonie said, “and somehow had gently took it by the neck and brought it to me.”
Rex and the joey, which Leonie named Rex Jr., spent the afternoon playing together. “The joey was snuggling (依偎) up to him, jumping to him, and Rex was sniffing and licking him — it was quite sweet,” Leonie told the newspaper reporter.
Rex Jr. was bottle-fed and raised at a wildlife sanctuary (庇护所). A year and a half later, he was released back into the wild in an area where he could be monitored. Now Rex Jr. is part of a group of kangaroos, living a normal kangaroo life — thanks to Rex, a gentle dog that knows how to point.
1. The “pointer” gets its name because of its ability to ______.| A．discover wildlife | B．be gentle with wildlife |
| C．avoid dangerous situations | D．get along with other animals |
| A．she thought he might get lost |
| B．she knew he was tired after the walk |
| C．she did not want to stop working in her yard |
| D．she did not want Rex to put himself in danger |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Curious. |
| C．Protective. | D．Respectful. |
3 . What to do if a fire starts?
Imagine it’s late at night. You hear the smoke detectors go off.
If a fire starts in your home, remember your escape plan and leave as quickly as possible.
●Call“Fire!”to warn everyone in your family.
●If you know where the fire is, close as many doors as possible between you and the fire.
●If you’re in bed, roll out of bed and onto the floor.
●.
●Look out and try to see the fire. If it is safe, leave the room. Remember to stay on the floor.
●If your clothes catch fire, stop immediately. Drop to the ground and roll.
●Call the fire department from outside and wait for help to arrive.
| A．Keep the following things in mind to make a safe escape. |
| B．Remember：Stop, drop and roll. |
| C．You smell smoke when you wake up. |
| D．You should leave the home immediately. |
| E．Call “Fire” to warn your family members. |
| F．Feel the entire surface of a door before you open it. |
| G．Crawl on the floor next to a wall. |
