Passage Three
From the cold regions of Antarctica to the hottest deserts of Africa to the often drought-stricken regions of North and South America, areas that get little or no rainfall tend to have harsh environments. While many such unfriendly regions of the planet are lack of life, others have been inhabited for thousands of years by humans driven to exist across the Earth’s most inhospitable landscapes.
To identify the driest places on Earth, scientists reviewed average annual rainfall recorded by weather stations around the world. They calculated the average annual rainfall from 1997 through 7 2018. Weather stations that did not have at least five years of data available between 1997 and 2018 were not considered.
These driest places often have small populations that rely on water-related technologies to survive in their surroundings. These include the residents of many Saharan locations using time-tested irrigation techniques, as well as the research teams located in the deserts of Antarctica. These people’s approaches to life differ drastically from those living in the cities with the best weather.
According to 16 years of data, the driest place in the world is Al Jawf. It is a town located in southeastern Libya’s Kufra district. It has a hot desert climate and received an annual average of 0.007 inches of rain. It is one of the most isolated places in Africa, being located more than 560 miles from a major city in any direction, though it remains inhabited due to irrigation methods using underground water. In its history, the wettest year in database is 1997, when the rainfall only reached 0.1 inches.
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
22. What can we learn about areas with little or no rainfall?
23. What’s the standard for scientists to identify the driest place on the Earth?
24. What do we know about the deserts of Antarctica?
25. What do scientists find about the town of Al Jawf?
22. A 23. B 24. C 25. C
Part III Reading Comprehension
Section A
26. O 27. G 28. A 29. N 30. H
31. B 32. L 33. I 34. F 35. E
Section B
36. C 37. F 38. H 39. N 40. O
41. L 42. E 43. J 44. B 45. K
Section C
Passage One
46. A 47. D 48. C 49. C 50. B
Passage two
51. A 52. C 53. B 54. A 55. D