If you look at the sky one night and see something moving and shining that you have never seen before, it might be a comet (彗星).
A comet sometimes looks like a star. Like a planet, a comet has no light of its own. It shines from the sunlight it reflects (反射). Like the earth, a comet goes round the sun, but on a much longer path (轨道) than the earth travels.
If a comet isn’t a star, what is it then?
Some scientists think that a large part of a comet is water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron and rock dust and perhaps a few big pieces of rock. When sunshine melts (融化) the ice in the comet, great clouds of gas go trailing after it. These clouds, together with the dust, form a long tail.
Many people perhaps have seen a comet. However no one knows how many comets there are. There may be millions of comets, but only a few come close enough for us to see.
An Englishman named Edmund Halley, who lived from 1656 to 1742, found out a lot about the paths that comets take through the sky. Some comets move out of our sight and never come back. Others keep coming back at regular times. A big comet that keeps coming back was named after Halley because he was the one who worked out when it would come back again. Maybe you have ever seen Halley’s Comets because the last time it came close to the sun and the earth was in the year 1986. Then people all over the world were outside at night to look at it. You will probably be able to see Halley’s Comets when it comes near the earth again.
1. A comet is like ________, goes round the sun.| A．sun | B．star | C．planet | D．the earth |
| A．water and rock | B．water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron |
| C．ice, iron and rock dust | D．only a few big pieces of rock |
| A．haven’t seen any comets | B．have seen all comets |
| C．have seen a comet at daytime | D．have seen a comet |
| A．in 1990 | B．in 1980 | C．in 1986 | D．in 1989 |
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Which planet is the most beautiful in our solar system? Many people may answer “Saturn(土星).” Saturn is a funny-looking planet. It has beautiful rings. Of the planets in the solar system. Saturn’s rings are the biggest and brightest. According to scientists, however, these rings will one day disappear completely.
How did Saturn get its rings in the first place? Science has no sure answer. But there’s a popular idea. Some comets (彗星) or small planets ran into each other with Saturn’s moons. Earth has only one moon. But Saturn has at least 60 moons. And this left behind a large amount of ice and rock pieces. These pieces are different in size. Some are as small as a grain of sand. Others are as large as a house.
These pieces began to travel around Saturn. Saturn’s gravity(重力) pulled them toward it. At the same time, the speed of their orbit(轨道) tried to throw them into space. Over time, these pieces of ice and rock formed rings around Saturn.
A new study, however, suggests that Saturn’s gravity is winning. About ten tons of “ring matter” is falling into Saturn every second. If this continues, the planet’s ring system will no longer exist in 100 million to 300 million years’ time.
According to scientists, Saturn’s rings are between 10 million and 100 million years old. “We’re lucky to be able to see Saturn’s huge ring system,” one of the scientists said. “Some of the planets in our solar system only have very thin rings today. Perhaps we just missed out on seeing their huge ring systems!”
1. What are Saturn’s rings made up of?| A．Lots of moons. | B．Lots of comets. |
| C．Small planets. | D．Pieces of ice and rock. |
| A．In the next 10 million years. | B．In the next 30 million years. |
| C．In the next 100 million years. | D．In the next 300 million years. |
| A．Saturn’s gravity is causing its rings to lose more matter. |
| B．Most of Saturn’s ring matter is being thrown into space. |
| C．Saturn’s gravity is making the ring matter run into small planets. |
| D．The speed of the ring matter’s orbit is making the rings disappear. |
| A．Scientists don’t clearly know how Saturn’s rings were formed. |
| B．About ten tons of Saturn’s ring matter disappears every minute. |
| C．Saturn's rings are thicker than those of some other planets in our solar system. |
| D．In the past, people didn’t know that Saturn’s ring system would one day disappear. |
| A．How Saturn’s rings form. | B．What Saturn’s rings are made of. |
| C．The disappearing Saturn’s rings. | D．A new study on Saturn. |
Three Chinese astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, the core module（核心舱）of Tiangong space station, will work and live there for about six month.
The answer, of course, is yes, because the microgravity （微重力）conditions on the space station can help produce experimental results that are impossible to get on the earth. And cells in microgravity also grow different in space.
The universe （宇宙）is a treasure house for humans to explore.
| A．Are the costs worth it? |
| B．Living in space is actually expensive. |
| C．Is it true to live in the space station for such a long time? |
| D．A space station provides a place for the scientific exploration. |
| E．This has been the longest mission so far for Chinese astronauts. |
| F．Giving people deeper understanding of some basic life science processes. |
【推荐3】The sun comes out in the morning and sets at night, and then the moon rises. Right? Then how come we can see the moon during the day sometimes?
The moon and the sun don’t actually take turns in the sky. The earth goes around the sun, and the moon goes around the earth. All three are spinning (旋转) in space all the time.
The moon moves through the sky night and day. Much of the time, the sunlight is so bright that we can’t see the moon during the day.
The sun is a very hot fire ball, which gives off both heat and light. But the moon is made of rock, it has no fire, and it is not hot or bright at all. What we call moonlight is actually sunlight bouncing off the moon, the same way that sunlight bounces off the glass in the window. They look like they’re lighting up, but they’re really just passing the sunlight along.
How bright the moon is depends on where it is in the sky. If the moon is between the earth and the sun, it doesn’t bounce any sunlight to us at all, and it is very hard to see, even at night. This is called a new moon.
When the moon is behind the earth, it shines very brightly. We call this a full moon. Sometimes, when the moon is very bright, we can see it even during the daytime.
1. Much of the time, we can’t see the moon during the day because ______.| A．the sunlight is so bright | B．the moon goes around the earth |
| C．the sun gives off heat and light | D．the moon is self-turning in space |
| A．闪光 | B．反射 | C．移动 | D．照耀 |
| A．in front of the earth | B．behind the sun |
| C．between the earth and the sun | D．behind the earth |
| A．the moon has its own light |
| B．there is no heat on the moon |
| C．the moonlight we see is the sunlight |
| D．the moon and the sun don’t appear at the same time |
| A．How Does the Moon Pass the Sunlight Along? |
| B．When Can We See a New Moon or a Full Moon? |
| C．Why Can We Sometimes See the Moon During the Day? |
| D．Why Don't the Moon and the Sun Take Turns in the Sky? |
Now some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With it, two people who are talking can see each other.
Picture phones can be used when you have something to show to the person you are calling. They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to see a book. Then you’ll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you want to buy, you’ll use your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will show you the thing you are interested in right over the phone. You’ll be able to shop all over the city and never even leave your room!
1. Today people can use the phone to talk with others ____________.
| A．in all villages | B．only in big cities | C．almost anywhere on the earth |
| A．the picture phone | B．any phone | C．the use |
| A．write a book | B．do shopping | C．play games |
| A．useful | B．impossible | C．bad |
| A．Picture phones | B．Shopping on the phone | C．Reading on the telephone |
【推荐2】
Have you ever realized that you’re dreaming in the middle of a dream? If this happens during a nightmare (噩梦), you can wake yourself up. If it happens during a common dream, you can decide what to dream about next. Want to fly? Go right ahead! People call this type of experience a lucid dream (清醒梦)
Some people have lucid dreams naturally, while others need to practice. The key to lucid dreaming is realizing that you are in a dream. To do that, most people need a “reality check”. One way of checking is to look at a clock or words on a page, look away, and then look back again. In a dream, words and numbers are often unclear, or change completely.
A lot of lucid dreaming devices (设备) promise an easy way to lucid dreams. These devices play sounds or shine red lights as reality checks. If these sounds or red lights appear in the dream, the user may realize, “Hey, I’m dreaming!”
Unluckily, a scientific report of lucid dreaming devices found that none of them were reliable (可靠的). For example, the Remee lucid dreaming mask was popular on Kickstarter when it came out in 2012. But many people complained that it didn’t work. They didn’t have lucid dreams, and didn’t remember seeing any red lights. Another device, the $299 Aurora headband, which can record brain-waves as well as body movements, also made people unsatisfied.
What do you think? Have you ever had a lucid dream? Would you want to try a lucid dreaming device? Or are these devices just a lie?
1. What type of experience can be called a lucid dream?| A．Dream about keeping flying in the sky. | B．Decide what to dream about in a dream. |
| C．Realize you had a dream after waking up. | D．Have an unpleasant dream during the night. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Most people need to practice hard to have lucid dreams. |
| B．Sounds and red lights are sure to appear in lucid dreams. |
| C．Reality check helps people know if they are in lucid dreams. |
| D．Remee lucid dreaming mask was popular because it worked well. |
| A．Some good advice on having lucid dreams. |
| B．Different kinds of reality check for lucid dreams. |
| C．The introduction of lucid dreams and the devices. |
| D．Opinions on buying lucid dreaming devices or not. |
【推荐3】Where did these numbers come from?
| Eleven and Twelve The number “eleven” comes from the German word “ainlif”, which means “one left” in English. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from “twalif”—“two left”. Why did people use “teen” instead of “lif” from 13 to 19? We still don’t know. |
| 42,195 kilometres in a Marathon（马拉松） The story began with an ancient Greek soldier Pheidippides. Once his country won a big war（战争） and he carried the good news from Marathon to Athens. He ran so fast that he died after telling people the news. To remember Pheidippides, people held the first modern marathon in the first Olympic Games in 1896. It was about 40 km from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. They made it 42,195 km. And since 1924 the number 42,195 has been kept in marathon. |
| 28 Days in February Before the calendar（历法）we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months（March through December）, with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome changed the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, and then made 56 days to divide between, January and February（28 days each）. Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That’s how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since. |
| A．the British was bad at Maths |
| B．the British didn’t like the Greek story |
| C．the British wanted to run longer |
| D．the British wanted to make the race different |
| A．28, 29 or 31. |
| B．28, 30 or 31. |
| C．28, 29 or 30. |
| D．29, 30 or 31. |
| A．We don’t know why the numbers from 13 to 19 didn’t follow the rule of twelve. |
| B．There used to be 304 days a year according to the first Roman calendars. |
| C．The Greek soldier ran from Athens to Marathon to carry the good news. |
| D．After changing the old calendar, February became the shortest month in a year. |
【推荐1】As the winter begins and the days get colder, common cold doctor Ron Eccles tells people the best way to do with the illness of cold.
| I am feeling awful. Where do I begin? Hot flavoured drink is great at easing coughs and sore throats. For example, honey and lemon is good. My mum put medicine first. Could she do anything else? The shop-bought medicine can only be taken once every 6 hours, but she can have as much as hot soup. The nasal spray is great because the effects last for 8 hours. What about Vitamin C? Vitamin C is good, but most of us have normal level of it. Instead, I think Vitamin D is very important for body functioning. I still feel bad. What can I do? Go to a trip to the cinema or an evening outing. Exercise moderately but avoid being too tired. If your cold won't feel so bad. |  Dr Ron Eccles is a doctor of the common cold center Interviewed By Dr. Helen | Need To Know… ① Enjoy lots of hot, tasty drinks and soup. They’ll make you feel comfortable. ② Maintain good and balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Get some exercise properly. ③ Treat yourself something fun and take mind off your illness. |
1. The topic of the reading is ________.
| A．Doing Sports | B．Beating the Cold | C．Learning English | D．Having Fun |
| A．Every 6 hours. | B．Every 8 hours. | C．Once a day. | D．Twice a day. |
| A．Try your best to do exercise. | B．Using nasal spray can help. |
| C．The more Vitamin C, the better. | D．Think over the illness for long. |
【推荐2】Among all the books I have read so far, one of my favourites is Number the Stars, written by the American author Lois Lowry.
The book is set in 1943 during the Holocaust（大屠杀）. It took place three days after Denmark surrendered（投降）to Germany. Around this time, the Nazi（纳粹）began to “relocate” the Jews（犹太人）they had caught in Denmark.
The book’s main character, 10-year-old Annemarie, lives in Denmark. Her good friend, 10-year-old Ellen Rosen, comes from a Jewish family. Word has spread that Nazis are going to “relocate” the Jews living in Denmark. Luckily, Sweden, unoccupied by the Nazis, makes an ideal place for the Jews to run away to. It’s time for Annemarie to work up her courage（勇气）in order to help her good friend out. Will she and her family risk their lives for the Rosens? You will know the answer by reading the novel for yourself.
Through the reading of Number the Stars, I realized the importance of friendship. Without their strong friendship with the Danish people, the Jews couldn’t have outsmarted the Nazis. But true friendships don’t only appear in books. They are actually all around us. Good friends help each other in many situations, from those that are as small as solving a maths problem to those as big as the one in Number the Stars. I have many great friends who have always been with me and helped me to deal with the difficulties I have met in my life. I should value it all my life.
1. We can learn from the passage that ________.| A．Number the Stars was written by a Jewish |
| B．the story happened in the forties of the 20th century |
| C．Lois Lowry is the book’s main character |
| D．Annemarie comes from a Jewish family in Sweden |
| A．Annemarie and her family may face much danger |
| B．Annemarie and her family will surrender to the Nazis |
| C．Annemarie will escape to Sweden instead of Ellen Rosen |
| D．Annemarie will help her friends escape to the USA easily |
| A．why the Jews are cleverer than the Nazis |
| B．why the writer decided to write the article |
| C．bow the writer gets on with his/her friends |
| D．what the writer has learnt from the book |
【推荐3】Spring Festival is coming soon. It means gift-giving season is also coming. Are you thinking about buying gifts for the ones you love? According to Chinese culture, there are some taboos on gift giving that you should remember in mind.
Chinese people usually don’t give a clock to each other. A clock sounds as zhong in Chinese. It means “the end”. Giving someone a clock means “your time is up”. It is unlucky for old people.
If clocks aren’t OK, maybe buying some fruit is a good idea. But remember not to buy pears. A pear sounds as li in Chinese. That means separation (分离). The umbrella also sounds the same as the word for separation in Chinese. Therefore, both pears and umbrellas are not good gifts.
It’s hard to choose gifts. So what is a right gift? A “red envelope (信封)” with money in it is the most popular gift in China. People give their friends red envelopes as a way to show their greetings. During the Spring Festival, the elder people will give children red envelopes to express their love.
Chinese people like to put some money with “lucky numbers” inside red envelopes. For example, “520” means “I love you”, “1,314” means “forever love”, “666” means “hoping that everything goes well for you” and “888” means “wishing you wealth”.
1. ________ may have the meaning of “separation” as gifts.| A．Pears and apples | B．Pears and umbrellas |
| C．Umbrellas and clocks | D．Clocks and apples |
| A．your life is coming to an end | B．you must finish something on time |
| C．you are an unlucky person | D．you are getting old |
| A．符号 | B．禁忌 | C．秩序 | D．短信 |
