Module 4　课下能力提升(十三)

　　阅读理解

　　A

　　In the early morning on February 28，a sandstorm with strong winds caused a train to derail in China's far west. The accident killed four people and injured about 30.

　　The 11­car train had just left a station in Turpan in Xinjiang when it was hit.

　　"A strong sandstorm broke the window soon after the train left Turpan. Then it blew some of the cars off the rail，" a passenger said.

　　The train had been running between the capital city of Urumqi and Aksu, in the west. Sandstorms happen a lot in that area. They are fed by the deserts of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Powerful winds blow the sands toward Beijing and the eastern cities each spring.

　　A sandstorm is a common natural disaster. It usually happens in deserts. Strong winds blow a huge amount of sand into the air. Sandstorms_are_so_strong_that_they_can_blow_you_1_to_ 1.5_meters_away_from_where_you_were_standing. Unlike some other disasters, sandstorms come with a warning. If you see the clouds with a dark brown color，that means there may be a sandstorm.

　　Xinjiang is one of the areas where sandstorms happen most often, which results from a dry climate, vast desert and a strong wind. It is in northwestern China. Xinjiang has mountains on four sides. The Tianshan Mountains，which are in the middle, divide the land into two large basins (盆地)．Both basins have deserts in their centers. They are the source of sandstorms. The passes and valleys (山谷) between the mountains are the places where strong winds are likely to form.

　　1．The underlined word "derail" most probably means "________"．

　　A．come to an end　　　　　B．crash into another train

　　C．come off the track D．catch fire

　　2．By saying the underlined sentence, the author may want to ________．

　　A．warn us not to walk in sandstorms

　　B．give us an example of a sandstorm

　　C．advise us to think of ways to reduce sandstorms

　　D．tell us about the damage of sandstorms

　　3．What is the main idea of the last but one paragraph?

　　A．How a sandstorm happens.

　　B．What a sandstorm is.

C．Where a sandstorm happens.