Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
The Middle East and North Africa are one of the driest regions on earth. Nearly two-thirds of the region is desert. The Sahara Desert of northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. Desert air (26)____ little moisture, so few clouds form over the land. Without clouds to block the sun, temperatures may reach as (27)____ as 125°F during the day. At night, without the clouds to contain the heat, the temperature can fall to as low as 125°F. Extreme temperatures (28)____ with little rainfall make desert life difficult for people, plants, and animals. (29)____, some life forms have adapted to even the most severe desert (30) ____, Camels are able to survive long periods without food or water. Many desert plants have long, shallow (31)____ systems. This allows the plants to reach out to collect water over great distances. Other desert plants have taproots. Taproots grow very deep (32)____ they can tap sources of underground water. Plant life in the desert is usually spread out over great distances. This is (33)____ deserts are often described as barren, or lifeless. When many people think of a desert they often think of endless miles of hot sand, but a desert does not have to be hot or sandy. Most of the land of the Middle East and North Africa is hot, dry desert land, (34)____ some deserts look very different. Most of Antarctica is a desert but there is no sand on the continent and the climate of Antarctica is (35)____ coldest on earth. Desert air (26) ____ little moisture, so few clouds form over the land.
Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.
A desert is a hostile, potentially deadly environment for unprepared humans. In hot deserts, high temperatures cause rapid loss of water due to sweating and the absence of water sources with which to replenish it can result in dehydration and death within a few days. In addition, unprotected humans are also at risk from heatstroke. Humans may also have to adapt to sandstorms in some deserts, not just in their adverse effects on respiratory systems and eyes, but also in their potentially harmful effects on equipment such as filters, vehicles, and communication equipment. Sandstorms can last for hours, sometimes even days. Despite this, some cultures have made hot deserts 'their home for thousands of years, including the Bedouin, Tuareg tribe, and Pueblo people. Modern technology, including advanced irrigation systems, desalinization, and air conditioning, has made deserts much more hospitable, In the United States and Israel for example, desert farming has found extensive use. In cold deserts, hypothermia and frostbite are the chief hazards, as well as dehydration in the absence of a source of heat to melt ice for drinking. Falling through pack-ice or surface ice layers into freezing water is a particular danger requiring emergency action to prevent rapid hypothermia Starvation is also a hazard; in low temperatures, the body requires much more food energy to maintain body heat and to move. As with hot deserts, some people such as the Inuit have adapted to the harsh conditions of cold deserts.