2 . Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn are four major planets in the solar system. But do you know from where their English names originated? If not, just look ahead.

Venus is the sixth largest planet as well as the hottest one in the solar system. Except the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the lightest star in the sky, just like a shinning diamond. So the Romans call it Venus.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Its surface is colorful, and it also has a planetary ring. Jupiter is the king of gods, in ancient Roman mythology (神话).

Mercury is closer to the Sun than any other planet, and it is the smallest and lightest planet in the solar system, which usually appears along the Sun. Mercury is a god that delivers messages for other gods in ancient Roman mythology.

Saturn is the second biggest planet in the solar system. Saturn’s rings are made of dust and ice. In Roman mythology Saturn is the god of time, because this planet moves slowly.

1. Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn are ________ major planets in the solar system.

A．4.

B．5.

C．6.

D．7.

2. Except the Sun and the Moon, ________ is the lightest star in the sky.

A．Saturn.

B．Venus.

C．Jupiter.

D．Mercury.

3. Who is Jupiter in the ancient Roman mythology?

A．The god of beauty.	B．The king of gods.
C．The god of war.	D．The god of time.

4. From big to small, the proper order of four planets is ________.
①Venus       ②Jupiter     ③Mercury        ④Saturn

A．①②③④

B．④①③②

C．②④①③

D．②③①④

4 . 根据短文内容，从A、B、C三个选项中选出一个语法正确的答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。

Except Pluto, there ______ eight planets in the solar system now, including Earth. By the distance from the Sun from close ______ far, they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto used to be known as the ______ planet in our solar system, and the furthest planet from the Sun. Pluto ______ in 1930, and was named by an eleven-year-old girl from England. Pluto is only half as ______ as the United States. This planet takes 248 earth years ______ around the sun. It means we need 6.5 earth days to ______ a day on Pluto. Pluto is about 40 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. Pluto is in an area of space called the Kuiper Belt ______ has thousands of small, icy objects. The temperature on Pluto is ______ low that Earth air would turn into ice soon. The gravity on Pluto is less strong than ______ on Earth. So fat persons may prefer to move there, they would weigh much less on Pluto.

1.

A．be

B．is

C．are

2.

A．to

B．up

C．on

3.

A．small

B．smaller

C．smallest

4.

A．is discovered

B．was discovered

C．will be discovered

5.

A．wide

B．wider

C．widest

6.

A．travel

B．traveling

C．to travel

7.

A．spend

B．cost

C．take

8.

A．who

B．which

C．why

9.

A．so

B．as

C．for

10.

A．this

B．that

C．it

5 . Have you ever seen the day begin? The dark sky starts to look brighter. Then suddenly the sky is all pink and red and gold even a little green. The earth has turned bright until the sun is shining on the place where you are. This is what makes it day.

The sun is always shining, but it can only shine on one side of the earth at a time. It can’t light the side that is away from it. When the sun is shining on the other side of the world, it is night where you are. At night, you can see the stars.

All day the stars are in the sky, but the light from the sun is so bright that you can’t see them. When the sun is gone, the stars are bright enough to see. Stars look as tiny as pinheads (针头), but some are even bigger than the sun. Big things look little when they are far away. In the sky, planes look like toys, but on the ground you can see that they are big. Stars are millions of times bigger than planes. They look very small because they are so far away. The sun is closer than the other stars. So it looks bigger.

1. We can’t see the stars in the sky because ________.

A．it’s dark	B．when the sun is gone
C．the light from the sun is not bright	D．the light from the sun is so bright

2. Big things look little ________.

A．when they are far away	B．when they are close to us
C．when the sun is too bright	D．when the sun is gone

3. Why does the sun look bigger than the other stars?

A．Farther than the others.	B．Closer than the others.
C．Bigger than the others.	D．Brighter than the others.

4. When the sun is shining on the other side of the world, ________ where you are.

A．it is bright

B．it is darker

C．it looks brighter

D．it is night

8 . ①Most people have a place to call home on Earth. What about in outer space? The International Space Station(ISS) became our first “home” in space in 2000. It welcomed its first crew(队) that year, paving the way(铺平道路) for 20 years of future research.

②“You just have this impression that we’re all citizens(公民) of not a country, but of the planet,” former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly told National Geographic about working in ISS. “We’re all in this thing called humanity(人类) together.”

③Over the past 20 years, the ISS has mainly been used as a science lab, hosting 241 people from 19 countries, according to NASA. They have gone on spacewalks, done research on how space affects the human body, and even grown plants in space.

④ ▲ . For example, the station’s water purification(净化) technology has been used in poor areas to provide clean drinking water. The station also helps to warn us of natural disasters(灾难), such as earthquakes.

⑤However, after being our home in space for over 7,000 days, the station is starting to get old. It has leaked(泄漏) air a few times. Scientists think that the station can keep working until 2024. After that, scientists will bring it down to Earth. It is believed that Earth’s atmosphere(大气) will burn up most of the station. Other debris(残骸) will fall into the Pacific Ocean.

⑥In the future, space will be home to more stations like the ISS. NASA is building a space station that is smaller than the ISS near the moon. Also, China will have its own space station up in 2022.

1. What did Scott Kelly feel about his work in space?

A．Comfortable

B．Proud

C．Bored

D．Lonely

2. The astronauts have _______ while working in ISS.

(a. gone on spacewalks        b. provide clean water for poor areas       c. stopped earthquakes       

d. learned how space affects the human body            e. grown plants )

A．abc

B．abd

C．ade

D．bde

3. Which of the following sentences can be put in the ▲ .

A．We don’t know why we call the ISS our first “home”.

B．The station has also done something good to us on earth.

C．You want to know who has visited the ISS over the years.

D．People may wonder how scientists live on the station.

4. If we put the passage into three parts, which of the following is the best?
(Para. 1=① Para. 2= ② Para. 3=④ Para. 4=④ Para. 5=⑤ Para. 6=⑥)

A．①；②③④⑤；⑥	B．①；②③④；⑤⑥
C．①②；③④；⑤⑥	D．①②；③④⑤；⑥

9 . Imagine you are taking a bus home at night. Suddenly your cellphone loses its signal. The television on the bus has no programs. Everything around us black-except for some strange colorful lights dancing in the sky. What is going on?

These are just the kinds of problems a solar storm might cause. Solar storms happen when solar flares (耀斑)break from the sun and travel towards Earth quickly. Actually, since Sept.4, 2017, the sun has burst out two big solar flares, the most powerful ones since at least 2008 according to NASA. They hit Earth on Sept.7.

Normally, Earth is protected by its magnetic field (磁场). But when strong solar storm mix with it, things change. On the one hand, the colourful lights of the aurora (极光)can be seen from the US and Europe, rather than just from polar (极地的)areas. But on the other hand, the storms can stop the satellite systems that control our computers, cell phones and GPS. They can even cause blackouts (断电) for weeks or months.

, but they can put astronauts in danger. Spacewalking astronauts might have only minutes to hide. For this reason, NASA never plans spacewalks during solar storms.

Scientists now have a new tool called EEGGL, which can predict solar storms and hopefully give us warnings when they arrive. As for the recent storm, scientists say it is still too early to know its effect on our technology. They are closely watching for any long-term effects.

1. A solar storm might cause problems EXCEPT that ______.

A．the cell phone loses its signals	B．we get hurt in the eyes suddenly
C．we have no TV programs	D．everything around turns black

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE ?

A．Solar storms happen when solar flares travel toward the sun quickly.

B．The aurora can only be seen from polar areas during a solar storm.

C．Satellite systems can't work unless they're connected with solar storms.

D．It took two solar flares 3 days to come to Earth in September, 2017.

3. Which of the following sentence can be put in “ ”.

A．Solar storms are good for people on the ground

B．Solar storms have great effect on people on Earth

C．Solar storms hardly harm people on the ground

D．Solar storms can harm people on Earth seriously

4. The passage is written in a /an ______ tone(语气).

A．angry

B．serious

C．crazy

D．happy

10 . How much do you know about Earth—the planet that we live on? Our knowledge of Earth has been developing since ancient times. However, many puzzles (谜) about Earth remain unsolved. Live Science has published a list of the eight biggest mysteries about Earth. Let’s look at some of them.

Where did water come from?

When it first came into being 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was a dry rock. So where did all of our water come from? Scientists think that it might have arrived in the form of ice by an asteroid (小行星) from outer space that hit our planet. But this idea has not been confirmed (证明) because there is very little related evidence(相关证据) to be studied.

What’s in the core (地核)?

Scientists used to study meteorites (陨石) as small examples of Earth, believing that Earth’s core was made of iron and nickel (镍). However, a later study in the 1950s proved this way to be wrong because it found that Earth would be too light to provide gravity (引力) if its core contained only iron and nickel. Today, scientists continue to bring forward different ideas, but none have been confirmed.

How was the moon born?

Scientists have found that the chemical compositions (成分) of Earth and the Moon are very similar. That suggests that the Moon actually came from Earth. For example, it could be a piece of Earth that separated when Earth hit another planet. It is also possible that when Earth first came into being, it spun (旋转) very fast and threw off enough molten (熔化的) rock to later form the Moon.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．How Earth came into being.

B．Where Earth’s water came from?

C．How the moon was formed?

D．Unexplained mysteries about Earth.

2. What do we know about where water may come from?

A．Earth’s water may come from ice that melted 4.5 billion years ago.

B．Earth’s water may come from a small planet that hit Earth.

C．We don’t know where water came from.

D．There is lots of evidence that tells us where water came from.

3. What does the underlined phrase “bring forward” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Check	B．Raise
C．Improve	D．Receive

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scientists used to believe Earth’s core was made of meteorites.

B．A study in the 1950s proved that Earth’s core is made of iron and nickel.

C．The moon and Earth are made of similar materials.

D．Three possibilities of where the Moon came from are mentioned.