1.
阅读理解
There is little rain in deserts. Because
deserts are so dry, they have no"quilt" to help stop the soil from
going away. As a result, they may get very hot during the day with the Sun
shining, but don't hold the heat overnight. Many deserts can quickly get cold
once the Sun goes down. Some deserts can reach the temperature of over 100 degrees
F during the day and then drop below freezing(32 degrees F)during the night.
The largest hot and dry desert in the world
is the Sahara Desert in North Africa. The Sahara is a sandy desert with great
sand hills. It covers over 3 million square miles of Africa. Other large
deserts include the Arabian Desert in Western Asia, the Gobi Desert in northern
China and southern Mongolia, and the Kalahari Desert in Africa.
Animals that live in the desert are also
used to needing little water. Many get all the water they need from the food
they eat. Other animals keep water that they can use later. The camel stores up
fat in its hump while other animals keep something they need in their tails.
Only certain types of plants can live in the
terrible environment of the desert. You won't see a lot of tall trees in the
desert. Most plants have a way to keep water in their leaves or trunks so they
can live a long time without water.
Now deserts cover around 20% of the world's
land, but they are growing. This is called desertification and is caused by
different reasons including human activities. The Sahara Desert is growing
larger and larger each year. What should we do with it?