WHEN I ENTERED THE ROOM, I FOUND MY YOUNGER BROTHER STAND ON THE K...

10. When I entered the room, I found my younger brother stand on the kitchen table.

PART C: READING

I. Read the following passage and circle the best answer for each blank. Write your answer (A, B,

C or D) in the box provided. (14 pts)

What is the world largest desert? I’m sure the first that …1… to mind is the legendary Sahara – but

that’s 3

. It’s actually the desert on the Antarctic …2…, measuring just under 14,000,000kms2, closely

followed by the Arctic desert. Most people living away from deserts associate this kind of …3… with

sand, but only 10% of deserts are actually made up of sand …4….

The term ‘desert’ in fact describes a …5… which receives almost no …6…, meaning rainfall, snow, ice

or hail. The term can also apply to regions where there is greater evaporation of …7… than rainfall. In

other words, more water is absorbed back into the …8… than stays on or within the ground. So,

in …9… deserts, you’re mainly talking about ice sheets and a little rock, not sand, of course. The

surface of many other deserts is comprised of loose rock where the finer particles of dust and sand have

been …10… Away.

It may surprise you to know that deserts exist all over the …11…, from the Kalahari in Africa to the

Great Victoria in Australia and so on, and that they …12… just over a fifth of the earth’s land area. The

world’s largest hot desert, the Sahara, actually …13… temperatures of 122 Fahrenheit degrees. Other

arid deserts may not be so hot but in common with the Sahara, they …14… considerably at night.

An issue that is worrying geologists, governments and the people that live on the edges of deserts is the

way they are spreading. You might think that the reason for this is drought – but lack of rain is not the

cause.