Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?
To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That’s why dry deserts everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass.
Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil found between the cracks of the stones to grow in.
Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.
What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won’t. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.
【小题1】What things don’t most plants need to grow well according to the passage?
A．Warmth.              B．Food.                C．Sandy beach
【小题2】What does the underlined word “cracks” mean in the passage?
A．表面             B．缝隙                 C．夹层
【小题3】From the passage, we know that it is        for plants to grow in dry places.
A．difficult                B．impossible           C．important
【小题4】The reason why most plants can’t grow on the sandy beach is that       .
A．there isn’t enough sunlight
B．there is too much water
C．it has little food for plants
【小题5】The passage can most probably be found in a        book.
A．science              B．history              C．travel

Worries about school bus safety have drawn much attention. Now schools in some poor areas are looking   41  some other ways to go to school.
In the countryside, students are living in different places. And there isn’t enough   time for school buses to go around and pick up   42  student. So the most useful way is to let students living in the   43  village take a special school bus which is for them only. And the cost is   44  by their parents and the school.
Each bus is asked to carry only five students on the same route(路线) every day. Traffic police are also making daily checks to make sure drivers don’t carry__45  than 5 students. For a bus like this, the drivers can   46  make any money. So schools pay 300 yuan to drivers every month. The rest comes from the parents’ pockets（口袋）.
The roads to the students’ homes are rough(崎岖的) and sometimes even dangerous,   47  falling rocks and narrow（狭窄的） bridges. After spending at least an hour on the road, the students finally make it home.   48 the money for taking a bus has increased and it’s not easy for parents to make money, they are glad to know that their children will   49  home safely each day. And they feel happy to see their child enjoy their time at school. But one girl says she’s seen the big yellow school   50  on TV, and wonders when she’ll ride one of her own.

Imagine one day the water taps (水龙头) in your house stop running. You have to pay a lot of money to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough water for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to use for washing clothes. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

Probably not. But that is what kids in Yemen (也门) are experiencing (经历). According to a report, the capital, Sana, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

Because of the water shortage (短缺), the Yemen government often cuts the water supply (供应). Hannan, an 18-year-girl, tells the Teens, “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the next week there will be water only for a day or two.”

Hannan says only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water trucks. Private (私人的) companies own the trucks, They travel around the city every day to sell water--- at very high prices.

“ A lot of people can’t pay for it,” she says.

The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

1.How old is Hannan?     

2.The underlined word “that” means_______.

3.From the passage, we know that ______.

4.The Yemen government ______.

5.The writer wants to tell us ______.

Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?

To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That’s why dry deserts everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass.

Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil (土壤)found between the cracks of the stones to grow in.

Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.

What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won’t. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day. Many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.

1.According to the passage, plants need _____ things to grow well.

A．two              B．three             C．four              D．five

2.What does the underlined word “cracks” mean in the text?

A．缝隙             B．表面             C．夹层             D．底部

3.From the passage, we can know it is _______ for plants to grow in dry places.

A．easy             B．difficult           C．impossible         D．important

4.The reason why most plants can’t grow on the sandy beach is that _______.

A．there isn’t enough sunlight               B．there is too much water

C．it is too crowded there                   D．it has little food for plants

5.The passage can most probably be found in a ______ book.

A．science           B．history            C．travel            D．math