1 . ①Students enjoy the science class given by astronauts on board China’s Tiangong space station on March 23rd. Wang Yaping, Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu appeared on television screens watched by students across China at 4 p.m. During the 41-minute class, the “teachers”, did four experiments (实验). Let’s take a look at two of them.
②In the first experiment of the class, Wang used a bag of supersaturated sodium acetate solution (过饱和乙酸钠溶液) to show its crystallization (结晶化) in space.
③After Wang pushed the solution hard from the bag, it became a water ball moving slowly in the air, Wang used a small stick cover with crystal nuclei (晶体粉末) to touch the water ball and it quickly became crystallized. “It looks like an ice ball, but as I touch it, I can fell that it is warm.” Wang said.
④Another experiment showed how to separate (分离) oil from water in space. Wang prepared a small bottle of oil and water, which were separated at the beginning, while the students on the earth also had such bottles, allowing them to follow the steps.
⑤The teachers and students shook the bottles to mix oil and water into a mixture (混合物). They found the mixture separated into water and oil again on the earth, but in space water and oil stayed the same as a mixture.
⑥The astronauts said they were so happy to share scientific facts about spaceflight with students. These experiments made young people show greater interest in space and science. Wang Yihan, a ninth grader, said, “It was an eye-opening experience. These experiments really amazed me. I want to be an astronaut too!”
1. Which of the following is TRUE about Wang?| A．She appeared on TV alone in April. | B．She did four experiments in space. |
| C．She made a cold ice ball in the air. | D．She separated oil from water easily. |
| A．astronauts will take the place of science teachers |
| B．students will do these experiments at home |
| C．young people will be more interested in space and science |
| D．Chinese astronauts will have a better working environment |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Health | B．Space | C．Culture | D．Sports |
The Shenzhou XIII mission was sent on October 16th, 2021. The astronauts are Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu. They planned to spend six months working in the space station. Early last month, 41, was China’s first woman spacewalker in the space.
They gave space-based classes from space station to students around the world. The astronauts showed the space station and their scientific experiments to the students, and showed some interesting physical phenomena to them.
On October 13th, almost all students watched the space-based classes around China. It was the first time for Chinese students to have classes in this new way. It is a good way to make more young people be more interested in the space and study science and technology harder.
1. How long will the astronauts stay in the space station? (not more than 2 words)2. Where did the astronauts give space-based classes? (not more than 3 words)
3. According to last paragraph, how are the space-based classes? (not more than 3 words)
On December 25, 2021, a new and exciting age of space science started when the James Webb Space Telescope was launched* into space. According to NASA, Webb is the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever built.
At first, Webb was planned to cost half a billion dollars and launched in 2007. But it turned out to be impossible. As designed, Webb’s orbit* is about 1.6 million kilometers away from the earth. It is too far for the astronauts to repair if it breaks down. So everything has to work perfectly on the first try, and it is the main reason why NASA spent nearly 30 years and 10 billion dollars getting it ready for launch.
Considered as a successor* to the old Hubble Space Telescope, Webb will allow us to look deeper into the universe than ever before. Hubble mostly sees what we see—which is known as visible light. But Webb is designed to focus on the infrared* light, which is invisible to the human eyes. That means Webb can see through dust* in the universe and make new discoveries by examining stars inside those dust clouds. It will try to collect light from the very first stars when the universe was young. By collecting the light, the telescope can see galaxies as they appeared in the past, which could help to explain how the universe began. It will also study the planets around other stars, looking for signs of life.
In order to collect the light and focus it into its camera, the mirror* Webb uses is 6.5 meters across much larger than Hubble’s 2.4-meter-wide mirror. The size advantage gives Webb 6.25 times more surface area to collect light in the universe, letting it see further and more detailed. However, the mirror also needs to be small enough to fit into a rocket to be launched into space. To fit the telescope in the rocket, engineers built the mirror with 18 honeycomb-shaped segments* that could fold up. And during Webb’s journey to the orbit, they will unfold, creating one large mirror.
Now, Webb has been in its orbit for several months, and it will send back its first images in June. By the time, the results will prove it is of great value to put so much time and money in building it.
1. NASA put off sending Webb into space because ________.| A．there wasn’t enough money for the further research |
| B．Webb’s orbit was too far away for the rockets to reach |
| C．it was not necessary to send Webb into space so early |
| D．it was hard to make Webb work excellently in its orbit |
| A．costing much more efforts to be designed and built |
| B．working in a shorter distance away from the earth |
| C．using a 2.4-meter-wide mirror to collect more light |
| D．collecting infrared light to explore the start of space |
| A．People still need to be patient for the results of Webb’s first try. |
| B．It’s close to the orbit and will send back its pictures this summer. |
| C．The mirror it uses has been half unfolded since it was launched. |
| D．It is the largest and most expensive space telescope in the world. |
| A．Future of Making New Space Telescope |
| B．A Space Telescope with High Expectation |
| C．Challenges for exploring further universe |
| D．A Special Mirror for Collecting Lights |
4 . China’s Eye In the Sky
July 31 was a big day for China. On that day, China’s first global satellite navigation (satnav) system (全球卫星导航系统), Beidou, started its full-scale (全面的) work. More than 120 countries and regions are now using Beidou services.
Beidou means “Big Dipper (北斗七星)” in Chinese. In old times, when people got lost, they looked up at the Big Dipper for direction (方向). Now, China’s own satellite navigation system, BeiDou, is there to keep us safe and bring us convenience.
With as many as 59 satellites (卫星), Beidou has “sharp eyes”. These satellites fly around the Earth. They can “see” rivers, forests and mountains. They can “see” houses and schools. Of course, they can “see” you, too! From space, they can tell where you are on the ground, with a difference of no more than 10 meters.
A satnav system uses groups of satellites. It sends information to a receiver (接收器), such as a smart phone. The more satellite a system has, the more accurate (精确的) it is.
Beidou is the world’s fourth navigation satellite system. The earliest system is the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States. The US has put 24 satellites into space to make sure GPS can locate (定位) a person correctly and globally. Likewise, Russia’s GLONASS and European Union’s Galileo can also work globally.
BeiDou can find you wherever you are. It helps you go faster by finding shortcuts (捷径) and using correct directions. It can look for mines (矿产) in deep mountains. It can give orders to driverless cars. This summer, Chinese people fought the flood in the South. Beidou helped measure (测量) the rise and fall of the flood water.
What’s more, when people are in danger and there is no cell phone signal, they can use Beidou to send a 1,200- word message to ask for help.
1. A satnav system works correctly and globally by using ________| A．a satellite | B．a group of satellites |
| C．a receiver like a smart phone | D．a group of receivers |
| A．7. | B．24. | C．59. | D．120. |
| A．The United States. | B．South Korea. | C．Russia. | D．China. |
| A．There are 60 Beidou satellite above our heads. |
| B．Beidou only works in China. |
| C．Beidou can be used for many things. |
| D．Everyone needs to have a smart phone that can use Beidou. |
5 . Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s famous scientists, believed that to survive, humans will one day have to move into space. “Once we get into space and build independent colonies, our future should be safe,” he said.
Today, the United States, Europe, Russia, China, and Japan are all planning to send astronauts back to Earth’s closest neighbour: the moon. Some of the countries want to create space stations there in the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars（火星）or other Earthlike planets.
Robert Zubrin, a rocket scientist, thinks humans should colonize space. He wants to send people to Mars. He thinks that will help humans much. For example, we can learn the ability to live in a very different environment. Finally, we could create new human societies on other planets. Besides, any progress we make in the fields of science, technology, medicine, and health will be good for people here on Earth.
Space X is a company that builds rockets. Its founder and CEO, Elon Musk, also believes we should colonize Mars. His long-term goal is to put one million people on the planet in case something bad happens to us here on Earth.
Not everyone thinks sending humans into space is a smart idea. Many say it’s too expensive. Also, most space trips are not short. A one-way trip to Mars, for example, would take at least six months. People travelling this kind of distance could face many health problems. In addition, these first people would find life quite difficult in space. On the moon’s surface, for example, the sun’s rays are very dangerous. People would have to stay indoors most of the time.
Although there are worries, sending people into space seems certain. In the future, we might see lunar（月球的）cities or even new human cultures on other planets. First stop: the moon.
1. In order to survive, scientists all think humans have to ________.①move into space ②colonize space ③create new societies ④stay indoors
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．①③ | D．②④ |
| A．keep away from | B．be careful with | C．be worried about | D．in order not to |
| A．compare the environment of Mars and the moon | B．give reasons against sending humans into space |
| C．describe possible dangers humans will face in space | D．introduce what life in space might be like in the future |
| A．people can see lunar cities on the moon. | B．it’s sure to send humans to the space in the future |
| C．people can see new human cultures on other planets | D．everyone worries about sending humans to the space |
6 . Venus（金星）is the second nearest planet from the sun. It is only a little smaller than the earth, about 95% of the earth’s diameter（直径）and 80% of the earth’s mass（质量）. Earth and Venus are sometimes called the twin planes.
The word Venus means the goddess of love and beauty in Greek. ▲ probably because it is one of the brightest planets we have known by now. We human beings have known Venus for a long time. It has a cloudy atmosphere. This helps it reflect sunlight. So it appears to be very bright.
It is easily observed in the sky. It is seen near the sun. It seems that it is the brightest thing in the sky except the sun and the moon. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, and is often thought as the Morning Star or as the Evening Star. A lot of observation of Venus was important to Copernicus’s Heliocentric Theory of the solar system.
Scientists for years thought that Venus was very likely to have life in some forms. In 1962, scientists sent the first spacecraft to explore Venus, and we will know more about Venus in the future.
1. What’s Venus like?| A．It’s bigger and lighter than the earth. | B．It’s smaller and heavier than the earth. |
| C．It’s bigger and heavier than the earth. | D．It’s smaller and lighter than the earth. |
| A．It is very beautiful | B．We can’t see it clearly |
| C．We name the planet so | D．The name is so beautiful |
| A．Venus is the brightest in the sky. | B．Venus is known as the Morning Star or the Evening Star. |
| C．Venus is a planet. | D．Venus is in the solar system. |
| A．In a sports magazine. | B．In a science report. |
| C．In a fashion magazine. | D．In a story book. |
You might have seen beautiful rainbows in the sky before. They form when sunlight falls on water drops in the air. But in fact, moonlight can also create rainbows in the same way. They are called “moonbows”. They are similar to rainbows, but they are created by moonlight instead of direct sunlight.
Moonbows are rarer than rainbows. Different weather and astronomical （天文学的）conditions have to be just right for moonbows to be created.
The moon has to be very low in the sky-only 42 degrees from the horizon （地平线）. The moon period has to be a full moon or nearly full. The sky must be very dark for a moonbow to be watched clearly-any bright light can obscure it. Water drops must appear in the air in the opposite direction of the moon.
Moonbows appear on the opposite side of the moon and usually look white to the human eye. This is because their colors are not bright enough to be noticed by the human eye. It is possible, however, to view the colors in a moonbow using long exposure （长时间曝光）photography.
Moonbows more often appear in some locations around the world. Most of these locations usually have waterfalls, which create thin fog in the air. Some of these locations are the Yosemite National Park in California and Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky, US; Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe; and Waimea in Hawaii, US.
Moonbows do really happen. So at a certain time and a certain place, when a moonbow happens to appear, you can’t miss it if you’re right there.
1. According to the first two paragraphs, moonbows are ________.| A．created by sunlight | B．much easier to find |
| C．seen during the day | D．more difficult to form |
| A．A half moon hangs high in the bright sky. |
| B．A full moon is 50 degrees from the horizon. |
| C．A nearly full moon hangs low in the dark sky. |
| D．Water drops are in the opposite direction of the sun. |
| A．cover | B．drop | C．connect | D．produce |
| A．Conditions of moonbows. | B．Background of moonbows. |
| C．Locations of moonbows. | D．Development of moonbows. |
8 . The Big Bang theory offers us an answer about where the universe came from. But after learning about it, you might ask, “Where will the universe go? Will it ever come to an end?”
Scientists have been thinking about these questions. However, it’s hard to know what will happen. After all, the universe is so big. Still, scientists have made some guesses about the ending of the universe. In the 1800s, the study of heat showed that the universe might someday experience
“heat death”. Our universe “runs” well because of temperature differences. It’s kind of like how a car engine is able to run because it’s hotter inside than outside. But if temperatures become the same everywhere in the universe, the universe will die.
Will the universe continue to expand? And what will the ending of the universe be like? Scientists gave us some related theories.
We know that our universe is expanding. Dark energy causes it to expand faster and faster. The theory, The Big Rip, suggests that this change will continue forever. Eventually, the faster and faster change will make everything in the universe be ripped. As the universe expands, galaxies, stars and planets will pull away from each other. Light from stars will no longer reach Earth. This will make the universe colder. Finally, the temperature of the universe will reach absolute zero. All movement stops at this temperature. This is called The Big Freeze. The Big Crunch is different from the other two. Instead of expanding forever, it suggests that the universe is heavy enough to stop the expansion. Then, like a star that grows too large, the universe will collapse in on itself, maybe creating a new singularity.
1. Which of the following is NOT the guess about the ending of the universe?| A．The Big Crunch. | B．The Big Rip. | C．The Big Freeze. | D．The Big Bang. |
| A．Being warm. | B．Being cool. | C．Being large. | D．Being small. |
| A．The universe will surely come to an end one day. |
| B．Maybe the universe won’t expand all the time because of its weight. |
| C．Keeping the temperatures all the same can make the universe live longer. |
| D．The universe expands so fast that everything in it will stick together like glue. |
In the universe, there is the sun, the moon, the earth and many stars. Through our geography lessons, we know the earth goes around the sun, and the moon goes round the earth. We have day and night because the earth keeps turning all the time. When our part of the earth turns to the sun, it is day. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, it is night. The other part of the earth is always contrary.
Just because the moon is closer to the earth than the sun, it looks much bigger than the sun. Big things will look smaller when they are further, and small things also look bigger when they are nearer.
The sun is big enough to give out very strong light. The moon can’t give any light at all, but it looks quite bright, too. Why? In fact, the light from the moon comes from the sun. The moon looks much bigger and brighter than the stars. But in fact, the stars are much bigger and brighter than the moon. They look smaller than the moon also because they are further away from the earth.
Earth is so important because living things and people can only live on the earth. And some countries have sent astronauts to the space to learn more about the universe. At 9:00 a.m. on October 15th, 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei was sent up to space. He stayed there for 21 hours. It was the first time for Chinese to get into space.
1. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, the other part of the earth is ________.| A．night | B．day | C．windy | D．Sunday |
| A．bigger; farther | B．smaller; closer |
| C．bigger; closer | D．smaller; farther |
| A．On November 15th, 2002. | B．On October 16th, 2003. |
| C．On May 15th, 2004. | D．On October 15th, 2003. |
| A．The moon goes around the earth, and the earth goes round the sun. |
| B．The sun gives out strong light while the moon can’t. |
| C．All the living things and people can only live on the earth. |
| D．The sun, the moon and the earth. |
10 . What is it like to travel in space? People aboard the Aurora Station（曙光女神空间站）, the world's first luxury（豪华的）space hotel, can tell you in the future. The hotel plans to welcome its first guests in 2022, CNN reported.
US company Orion Span built the hotel. It will fly 320 kilometers above Earth. It can hold six people at a time. Two of them will be workers. They may be former NASA astronauts.
Each trip aboard the station will last for 12 days. Guests there will be able to do many interesting things. For example, they will see 16 sunrises each day. They can fly and move around in zero gravity（重力）. They can also grow food in space. Later, they can bring the food back to Earth as a souvenir（纪念品）. These are the same things that astronauts usually do.
Guests can also share what they see and hear with others on Earth. They can have a video chat using a high-speed internet connection.
But the trip will be expensive. Each guest will have to pay at least $ 9.5 million（about 60 million yuan）.
1. What is special about the Aurora Station?| A．It will be the world's first space station. |
| B．It will be the world's first luxury space hotel. |
| C．It will come back to Earth in 2022. |
| D．Astronauts will do lots of research there. |
| A．Two. | B．Four. | C．Six. | D．320. |
| A．They can see 15 sunrises over 12 days. |
| B．They can walk as easily as they can on Earth. |
| C．They can grow plants and bring them back. |
| D．They can help astronauts pilot the station. |
| A．There will be no water. | B．There will not be enough food. |
| C．There will be no internet connection. | D．The trip will cost lots of money. |
