Our planet was born billions of years ago. Ever since this planet developed, it has surprised us human beings. No matter how much we human beings have developed technologically, we cannot ever create this kind of natural planet. The human race can only discover some amazing facts about it. Let us find out what some of them are.
On September 13,1922 El Azizia, a place in Libya, recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit. This was the highest temperature ever measured on the planet Earth. The highest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela, which drops from an amazing height of 3,212 feet. The waterfall drops over the edge of Auyantepui in the Canaima National Park. The gravitational pull（万有引力）of the Earth can be escaped if someone moves at a speed of 6. 95 miles per second. At such a speed, one could travel from New York to Philadelphia in Just 20 seconds. If the entire water in the world’s oceans evaporated, the salt we got from these oceans could cover the entire planet with a 500-foot deep layer of salt. The deepest lake on Earth is Lake Baikal in Russia. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world, containing about 20% of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water. The Andes in South America spreads over 4,525 miles. This is the longest mountain range in the world.
Did you know that the biggest valley in the world is the Grand Valley in Mesa County, Colorado and Grand County, Utah？It is about 30 miles（48 km）long and 5 miles（8 km）wide, along the Colorado River. The amazing facts about the earth are too many to be told completely above.
1.The underlined word “evaporated” in Paragraph 2 most probably means“ ”.
A.became salt gradually B.became clear slowly
C.changed into warmer water D.changed into gas or disappeared
2.Where is the longest mountain range in the world？
A.In Russia. B.In Libya.
C.In South America. D.At the Oregon-Idaho border.
3.We can learn from this passage that .
A.Lake Baikal is the biggest lake in the world
B.the highest temperature ever measured was 136 ℃
C.the Angel Falls drops from a height of 3,212 metres
D.one end of the grand Valley is in Colorado and the other in Utah
阅读课文缩写材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式
The Longji Rice terraces，1.（build）by the local ethnic groups between Yuan Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty，have different colours in different seasons．Thousands of visitors 2.（attract）to come here every year to admire this great wonder created by people and nature working together．The terraces could not only increase the areas 3. they could grow rice but also catch the rainwater and prevent the soil from 4.（wash）away．What is most significant is 5. people have worked in harmony with nature．The terraces are 6.（clever）designed with hundreds of waterways 7.（connect）with each other．Rainwater，along with these waterways，8.（move）down the mountains and into the terraces．The sun heats the water and turns it into gas，9. forms clouds from which rain falls down onto the mountain terraces once again，10.（provide）a perfect environment for birds and fish，some of which feed on insects that can harm the rice crops．
重点短语
1.be home __________ ……的故乡
2.from the bottom __________ the very top从底到顶
3.plenty __________ 许多，大量
4.prevent．．．__________．．．阻止……
5.__________ harmony with与……协调
6.connect __________ 连接
7.provide sth．__________ sb．给某人提供某物
8.feed __________ 以……为食
9.pass __________ 传下去
10.wash __________ 冲走
单词与拓展
1.__________ vt．包，裹
2.__________ n．闪光．使闪光，使闪现 vi．闪光，闪现
3.__________ n．（一）大层（覆盖物）
4.__________ n．霜
5.__________ n．朝代
6.__________ n．地区，区域
7.__________ adv．因此，由此
8.__________ adj．浅的
9.__________ v．阻挡，防止→__________ n．防止，预防
10.__________ n．土壤
11.__________ adj．重要的，影响深远的→__________ n．重要性→__________ adv．重大地，显著地
12.__________ n．融洽，和谐
13.__________ vt．设计，计划 n．设计，图样，计划→__________ n．设计者
14.__________ vt．伤害，损害，危害 n．伤害，损害，危害→__________ adj．有害的
15.__________ n．庄稼，作物
16.__________ n．传统→__________ adj．传统的，习俗的，惯例的
17.__________ n．一代人
18.__________ n．农业→__________ adj．农业的，农艺的
19.__________ vt．吸引，引起……的兴趣→__________ n．吸引，吸引力，具有吸引力的人/物
20.__________ vt．钦佩，赞赏，羡慕，欣赏→__________ n．敬佩，钦佩，羡慕
In the 1990s, when an area of Brazilian rainforest the size of Belgium was cut down every year, Brazil was the world’s environmental villain (反派角色) and the Amazonian jungles the image of everything that was going wrong in green places. Now, the Amazon ought to be the image of what is going right. Government figures show that deforestation fell by 70% in the Brazilian Amazon region during the past decade. If clearances had continued at their rate in 2005, an extra 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been put into the atmosphere. That is an amount equal to a year’s emissions from the European Union. Arguably, then, Brazil is now the world leader in addressing climate change.
But how did it break the vicious cycle (恶性循环)? The answer, according to a paper is that there was no silver bullet but instead a three-stage process in which bans, better governance in frontier areas and consumer pressure on companies worked.
The first stage ran from the mid-1990s to 2004. This was when the government put its efforts into bans and restrictions. The Brazilian Forest Code said that, on every farm in the Amazon, 80% of the land had to be set aside as a forest reserve. As the study observes, this share was so high that the code could not be followed --- or enforced. This was the period of the worst deforestation. Soybean prices were high and there were a vast expansion of soybean farming on the south-eastern border of the rainforest.
During the second stage, which ran from 2005 to 2009, the government tried to boost its ability to police the Amazon. Brazil’s president made stopping deforestation a priority, which resulted in better co-operation between different bits of the government. The area in which farming was banned was increased from a sixth to nearly half of the forest.
The third stage, which began in 2009, was a test of whether a system of restrictions could survive as soybean expansion continued. The government shifted its focus from farms to counties (each state has scores of these). Farmers in the 36 counties with the worst deforestation rates were banned from getting cheap credit until those rates fell.
By any standards, Brazil’s Amazon policy has been a success, made the more remarkable because it relied on restrictions rather than rewards, which might have been expected to have worked better. Over the period of the study, Brazil also turned itself into a farming superpower, so the country has shown it is possible to get a huge increase in food output without destroying the forest. Moreover, the policies so far have been successful among commercial farms who care about the law and respond to market pressures. Most remaining deforestation is by small holders who care rather less about these things, so the government faces the problem of persuading them to change their ways, too. Deforestation has been slowed, but not yet stopped.
1.Brazil is considered to play a leading role in dealing with climate change because ________.
A.it has rainforest as large as Belgium.
B.it has cut down too much rainforest.
C.it has taken action to reduce deforestation.
D.it sent 3.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air.
2.The underlined phrase “silver bullet” in Paragraph 2 most probably refers to _______.
A.a powerful weapon. B.an effective solution.
C.an intelligent device. D.a golden opportunity.
3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Brazil has successfully eliminated deforestation.
B.All the farmers care much about forest protection.
C.Small farm holders are a headache for the Brazilian government.
D.Both the food output and the forest in Brazil have greatly increased.
4.What can be the best title of the passage?
A.Cutting Down on Cutting Down. B.Brazil, the World Leader in Farming.
C.Restrictions Outperforming Rewards. D.Former Awareness Working Wonders.
Nowadays, people have a heated discussion on whether the pressure on international sports players kills the essence of sport --- the pursuit of personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. The individual representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself; he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for the entire nation’s hopes, dreams and reputation.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the summit of international sporting success. Mention Argentina to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup put Argentina on the map.
Sports fans and supporters get quite irrational about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1966. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses, and spent all their money travelling to Argentina, where the finals were played.
So, am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sport? Certainly not! Do the Argentinians really believe that because eleven of their men proved the most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really, but it’s nice to know that you won and that in one way at least your country is the best.
1.According to the passage, if a sportsman only thinks about winning, he will ___________.
A.fail to succeed. B.lose enjoyment.
C.achieve success. D.go unreasonable.
2.The main idea of the first paragraph is that ____________.
A.children take part in all kinds of sports because sports activities give them pleasure.
B.competitions between different school teams make sports no longer a personal act for fun.
C.some people believe that international competition makes sports a task, a responsibility, for the individuals.
D.some people think international competition is in a way opposite to the pursuit of personal excellence.
3.What does the speaker mean when he says “In a sense, winning the World Cup put Argentina on the map”?
A.Winning the World Cup makes Argentina a football power in the world.
B.Argentina is not important before it wins the World Cup.
C.Winning the World Cup gives weight to Argentina’s position in the world.
D.Argentina is world-famous for its football because of its obvious position on the map.
4.The word “irrational” in the third paragraph means __________.
A.passionate, B.unreasonable.
C.angry, D.happy,
