The Amazon rainforest covers 5.5 million square kilometers. That’s about half the size of China! However, according to a new study, the Amazon rainforest may become grassland (草原) in a few years.
The Amazon is the world’s biggest rainforest. Climate change and human activities make it “sick”. Usually, the rainforest can fix itself. But now, it feels too “tired” to get better. The trees may die and the rainforest could turn into a hot, dry grassland.
Why is the Amazon “sick”? The Amazon is one of the world’s wettest places. But since 2005, three droughts have hit the rainforest. They were caused by climate change. The trees don’t have enough water to grow. What’s worse, as they become dry, they can easily catch fire.
On the other hand, people cut down rainforest trees for wood. They burn the forest to make farmland. They clear trees to find minerals (矿产). All these activities have caused about 17 percent of the rainforest to disappear.
The Amazon is like the lungs of our planet. The rich plants there take carbon dioxide (CO₂) out of the air and make oxygen. They make more than 20 percent of the planet’s oxygen. What will happen if we lose it? If the Amazon “dies”, there will be more CO₂ and our earth will become even hotter.
Also, the Amazon is home to over 3 million animals and plants. Many of them can’t live anywhere else. They would very likely just disappear.
【小题1】If the rainforest can’t fix itself, what will the rainforest turn into?| A．Deserts. | B．Minerals. | C．Grassland. | D．Farmland. |
| A．The trees. | B．The three droughts. | C．The rich plants. | D．The world’s wettest places. |
| A．The climate will change better. |
| B．There will be more O₂ on the earth. |
| C．There will be more animals and plants. |
| D．Our earth will become hotter with more CO₂. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
What do you know about Hainan? Besides its warm sunshine，golden beaches and blue seas，the province has some other interesting features. It's a good time for us to take a closer look at the island province.
China's southern city
If you are bored of Hainan's more popular tourist cities，such as Sanya and Haikou，you may want to go to Sansha instead. Sansha is China's southern city. It includes many small islands，sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha，Zhongsha and Nansha island groups，Its government lies on the island of Yongxing. Since Sansha was set up in 2012，a hospital，a library and a movie theater have been built on Yongxing. Over 2. 5 million plants have been planted there to protect the environment.
The“migratory birds”
Migratory birds fly from the north to the south in winter. In China，a group of people are also considered as“migratory birds”. Every year，from October to April. people from all over China go on holiday to Hainan to enjoy the warm weather and fresh air. Most of them are elderly people from northern China，especially Northeast China. According to the Hainan local government，more than 1 million elderly choose to spend their winter in Hainan each year. These elderly “migratory birds”also encourage younger family members to join them on the sunny island.
A famous forum(论坛)
People in other countries might not know about Hainan，but they probably know about Boao. Boao，a town in Hainan，became China's first place for hosting international meetings in 2001. Every year in April. the Boao Forum for Asia，a nongovernmental international organization，hosts its meetings. Officials，business people and experts from different countries come to Bono to discuss economic(经济的) subjects.
The forum has been important for the development of Asian cities，Hainan and Boao have both benefited(收益) greatly from hosting the meetings，More restaurants and hotels have been built，creating more jobs for local people. An airport was opened in 2016. The forum has helped Hainan build itself into an international tourist attraction.
【小题1】What's the main idea of this passage?| A．A famous forum in Boao. | B．China's southern city. | C．Interesting features of Hainan. |
| D．The elderly“migratory birds”. | ||
① small islands ②a library ③ a movie theater ④ sandbanks ⑤reefs
| A．①②③ | B．①④⑤ | C．②③④ | D．②③⑤ |
| A．To develop Hainan. | B．To create jobs for local people. | C．To benefit from hosting the forum. |
| D．To discuss economic subjects. | ||
| A．Besides Sanya and Haikou，Boso is another popular tourist city. |
| B．More than 1 million young couples go to Hainan in winter each year. |
| C．Hainan has become an international tourist attraction because of the forum. |
| D．Every year in April，the Chinese government holds the Boao Forum for Asia. |
The Flame Mountain（火焰山）is about 200 km away from Urumqi in Xinjiang. It is in a place with many high mountains around it. It is much hotter than nearby places. If you want to enjoy the feeling of a hot shower in summer, it's the right place to go!
On hot summer days, it can get hotter than 80℃. Try to cook eggs or cakes in the sand and they will be ready in a few minutes!
Does rain help make it cooler? People hardly see rain in 10 out of the 12 months in a year. Why? For most of the time, the raindrops dry in the hot air before they reach the ground.
The mountain came into being millions of years ago when the earth was changing a lot. We can't see any plants on the top of the mountain, only red rocks. They make the whole mountain look red. In hot air and strong sunshine, the mountain looks like a burning flame. That's where its name comes from.
【小题1】How long will it take to cook eggs in the sand on the Flame Mountain?| A．A few minutes. | B．A few hours. | C．A few seconds. | D．A few years. |
| A．Because it never rains there in the daytime. |
| B．Because the raindrops dry in the hot air. |
| C．Because it often rains there during the night. |
| D．Because it hardly rains there all the year. |
| A．Thousands of years. | B．Hundreds of years. |
| C．Millions of years. | D．Two thousand years. |
| A．Green. | B．Rocky. | C．Red. | D．Hot. |
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