Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

  And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts.  “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts,” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal’s worst affected area.

  This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten (威胁) Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.

  Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suf­fering from food shortage and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest.

  Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares (公顷) per day with pesticide (杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

  Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the disaster, the UN’s Food and Agricul­ture Organization warned.

71. By using “dark cloud” to describe locusts in the first para­graph, the author of the article ________.

A. showed the size and speed of the mass of locusts

B. suggested the great damage that locusts can cause

C. warned that locusts would sweep the continent like rain clouds

D. both A and B

72. The story is mainly about ________.

A. West Africa’s united effort in fighting a disaster

B. the difficulty in controlling locusts

C. how locusts caused great damage to West Africa

D. a struggle to fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa

73. The locust disaster ________.

A. would be even more serious in Asia  

B. is (was)out of control       

C. affected only the warning areas

D. can not be stopped unless twice as much pesticide is provided for the affected areas

74. Which of the following is WRONG?

A. Sud-Fm offered a reward for fighting locusts so that more people would join in the effort.

B. Senegal is to the southwest of Sudan.

C. The locusts can cause such damage mainly because it has no natural enemy in West Africa.

D. 12 countries affected by locusts have united but still lack pesticide.

Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts.  “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts,” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal’s worst affected areas.

This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten (威胁) Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.

Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suf­fering from food shortage and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest.

Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares (公顷) per day with pesticide (杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the disaster, the UN’s Food and Agricul­ture Organization warned.

1. By using “dark cloud” to describe locusts in the first para­graph, the author of the article ________.

A. showed the size and speed of the mass of locusts

B. suggested the great damage that locusts have caused

C. warned that locusts would sweep the continent like rain clouds

D. required the people to fight against the locusts

2. The story is mainly about ________.

A. a struggle to fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa

B. the difficulty in controlling locusts

C. how locusts caused great damage to West Africa

D. West Africa’s united effort in fighting a disaster

3. The locust disaster ________.

A. would be even more serious in Asia  

B. was out of control

C. affected only the warning areas

D. can not be stopped unless twice as much pesticide is provided for the affected areas

4. Which of the following is WRONG?

A. Sud-Fm offered a reward for fighting locusts so that more people would join in the effort.

B. Senegal is to the southwest of Africa.

C. The passage doesn’t mention why the locusts can cause such damage in West Africa.

D. 12 countries affected by locusts have united but still lack pesticide.

Just by living, it is apparent that the media has profound effects on people. How or why or to what degree, only the individual can judge for himself/herself. No matter if the media is small or major, everyday events are what effects people. A commercial about ice cream can send millions running to the nearest grocery store ready to try the new flavor.

While reading the online article about how poor sleep contributes to health problems, I was surprised to hear that not getting enough sleep was such a big problem. I was absolutely freaked out (使震惊) by this article, so right after I decided to get a good night's rest from then on. That night I drank hot tea, took a long bubble bath and listened to peaceful music before bed. I didn't sleep a wink that night, and it's because of the pressure I was putting on myself to “sleep well”. This article has macro effects because it is possible that many people have read the article and been affected.

Another media effect is a movie. It is originally a novel that is adapted into a movie. I normally hate literature that is put into film, but this was an exception. My mother was in love with the book Pride and Prejudice, so when I went to Blockbuster the other night it caught my eye. I rented the movie and fell in love with it. I was in fact so inspired by the movie that I decided to read the book. Thus, it was an unintended (无意识的) effect because the writer/adapter did not produce this movie thinking that it would make viewers want to read more classic books.

1. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A. The different kinds of the media.

B. The effects of the media on people.

C. Our pressure under the influence of the media.

D. Our addiction to the media.

2. The author decided to read the book Pride and Prejudice because ________.

A. his mother liked reading it

B. the movie was well produced

C. he didn't like the movie

D. the producer wanted viewers to do so

3. The last paragraph is written to show that ________.

A. the media can influence us in a positive way

B. a movie is usually a poor betray of a classic book

C. people usually like movies instead of original works

D. we can't love a classic without reading the original work

4. The author probably believes that________.

A. the influence of the media is usually misleading

B. we should remain calm under the influence of the media

C. the media can cause great pressure to people

D. people can't avoid the influence of the media in their daily life

5. The author's attitude towards the media can be described as ________.

A. subjective    B. negative  C. objective  D. positive

What a table ! I’ve never seen such a thing before .It is       it is long.

    A．half not as wide as                               B．wide not as half as

       C．not half as wide as                               D．as wide as not half