A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托车) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.
小题1:In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.
A．small, thin pieces of steel.
B．long, thin pieces of branches.
C．small pointed growth on the stem(茎) of a plant.
D．small, thin pieces of sticks.小题2:Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The greatest desert makers are humans.
B．There aren’t any living things in the deserts.
C．Deserts have been growing quickly.
D．The size of the deserts is always changing.小题3:People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.
A．the growth of deserts
B．the disappearance of desert plants
C．natural changes
D．congenital climate小题4:We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.
A．Asian countries
B．American countries
C．European counties
D．African countries小题5:Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.
A．The deserts of the world are always changing.
B．Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts.
C．Deserts are lands of silence and space.
D．Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years.
