《2025年天下中考八年级英语下册》

五、阅读理解
From deserts (沙漠) and beaches to playgrounds, sand is a common sight. But you might not know that sand is also a useful resource (资源).
Sand is the second most - used resource in the world after water, the BBC reported. However, the UN said that sand is not limitless and that we might be running out of it.
Sand is made up of very small pieces of rock, soil and minerals (矿物质). It can take tens of thousands of years to form (形成). But now we are using sand more quickly than it is being formed. According to the BBC, we use about 15 billion tons of sand every year to build houses, roads and other things. That’s enough to build a 20 - meter - high by 20 - meter - wide wall around the equator (赤道) every year.
People also put sand in the sea to make new islands. Singapore, for example, is now 20 percent bigger than it was in 1965. Palm Islands are three large man - made islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They took 94 million cubic meters of sand to build.
If people keep using this much sand, it will run out in many places. For example, Vietnam now has a serious shortage of construction (建造) sand. Since people need so much sand, they are trying to mine (开采) more of it. But this is bad for the environment. Mining sand may cause beaches to disappear and more floods to happen in places close to the sea. Also, this may affect the habitats (栖息地) of many plants and animals.
( ) 1. Where are the Palm Islands?
A. In Singapore. B. In Britain. C. In Dubai. D. In Vietnam.
( ) 2. What can we learn about sand?
A. It can only be found on beaches.
B. It is the second most - used resource in the world.
C. It can never be used up.
D. It can’t be used to build houses.
( ) 3. Every year, we use about ______ tons of sand.
A. 94 million B. 20 billion C. 20 million D. 15 billion
( ) 4. In places close to the sea, more floods will happen due to ______.
A. overmining of sand B. climate change
C. the increasing size of certain islands D. the death of some plants
( ) 5. What is NOT the result of keeping using too much sand?
A. Beaches will disappear. B. Many plants will die.
C. The world will become greener. D. Animals will have fewer habitats.

答案： 1～5 CBDAC