| Solar eclipse (日食) The moon moves around Earth, making a full trip all the way around our planet once every month. A solar eclipse happens when the moon gets right between the sun and Earth. | Lunar eclipse (月食) As the moon moves in an orbit (轨道) around Earth, Earth orbits the sun. When Earth moves between the sun and the moon, it blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. Earth’s shadow falls on the moon. A lunar eclipse usually lasts for a few hours. | ||
| A total solar eclipse is when the moon completely covers the sun in the sky. When the moon does this, it blocks some of the sun’s light and casts (投射) a big shadow on Earth only lasting a few minutes. | A partial solar eclipse is when the moon passes over just a little bit. When this happens, the sun looks like a chunk (大块) is missing. | A total lunar eclipse happens when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth Although the moon is in Earth’s shadow some sunlight reaches the moon. The sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere (大气层) which filters (过滤) out most of the blue light. This makes the moon appear red to people on Earth. | A partial lunar eclipse happens when part of the moon enters Earth’s shadow. In a partial eclipse, Earth’s shadow appears very dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. What people see from Earth during a partial lunar eclipse depends on how the sun, Earth and the moon align (排列). |
| A．A few seconds. | B．A few minutes. | C．A few hours. | D．A few days. |
| A．Golden | B．Blue | C．Black | D．Red |
| A．Some sunlight. | B．Earth’s atmosphere. |
| C．Earth’s shadow. | D．The moon’s shadow. |
Mars is full of surprises. Not long ago, something strange showed up in a picture of this planet. It is a pattern (图案) on the ground that looks like a bear face.
The picture was taken from high above Mars. Scientists took a closer look at the bear. Different marks on the ground make up the face of the bear. Its two eyes are big holes known as craters (坑). Rocks from space hit the surface of Mars long ago and then made the craters. The nose of the bear is a hill. Part of the hill has broken off in the shape of a V. The circle that forms the head is a crack (裂缝) in the ground. It might be the edge (边缘) of a crater that was much larger. Later, something like lava (岩浆) filled it. The “lava” might have come out of the hill that formed the nose.
Seeing a bear face on Mars is not as unusual as it might sound. The human mind is finding patterns in the world all the time. This is why you might see a cloud and think that its shape is like an animal or object.
People watching the surface of Mars have had experiences like this. In 1976, people were excited to find something like a human face in a picture of Mars. But it was just a huge rock.
These days, people take pictures of all kinds of things on Mars. Some have strange shapes. They might look like Martians made them, but it is probably not true. So far, Mars seems to be lifeless. The strange shapes people see are just patterns in the land.
Recently, a pattern was found on Mars. It looks like a face of a bear. Scientists took a closer look at it. In fact, the bear face is made up of different marks on the ground. The eyes are two large It might not be as unusual as it sounds to see such a face on Mars. The human mind is Now, people take pictures of all kinds of things on Mars. Some in |
3 . Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched? Well, you might be right.
According to a study published in Nature on June 23 th, astronomers have found that 1,715 stars have had a direct view of Earth since humans have been here.
In order to do this, scientists used a method that looked for life on other planets. But instead, they changed the method so it could try to decide what places could see us.
The team looked at 331,312 stars within 326 light-years of Earth. Out of all those stars, only 1,715 of them could see Earth within the last 5,000 years, with an extra 319 stars that will be able to see us in the next 5,000 years.
“When I look up at the sky, it looks a little bit friendlier because it’s like, maybe someone is waving,” said Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, US, and the study’s lead writer.
If a planet circling around one of those 1,715 stars is home to advanced (高级的) life, they could easily see that there is life here because of the oxygen on Earth. If that didn’t give it away, then the radio waves we have sent out into space would also be an indicator (标志). In fact, human-made radio waves have already travelled through 75 of the closest stars on Kaltenegger’s list.
Why haven’t we heard from anyone yet, then? It takes a long time for messages to travel between star systems. By the time a message could be received, that advanced civilization (文明) would probably not exist any more.
Alan Boss, a scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in the US who wasn’t part of the study, wrote in an email that this long time would limit the chances for different life to exchange “emails and TikTok videos. ”
“So we should not expect aliens to show up anytime soon,” Boss said.
1. How many stars will be able to see us in the next 5,000 years?| A．319. | B．1,715. | C．1,396. | D．2,034. |
| A．A planet circling around one of those 1. 715 stars. | B．Advanced life. |
| C．Oxygen on Earth. | D．Human-made radio waves. |
| A．Human-made radio waves cannot travel far. | B．Aliens don’t exist. |
| C．They can’t understand each other. | D．It takes a long time for messages to travel. |
| A．To show new findings published in a study. |
| B．To discuss if there is advanced life on other stars. |
| C．To raise readers’ interest in aliens. |
| D．To explain how messages travel between different star systems. |
4 . Nowadays, many astronomers (天文学家) are looking for new planets and new places for humans to live in the future. But where do astronomers start exploring (探索)?
First of all, astronomers look for a star. That’s because our own Earth moves around a star—the Sun. More importantly, it is neither too far from nor too near to the Sun for heat and light. So when astronomers have found the star, they look at the planets around it. In recent years, astronomers have found nearly 400 new planets with stars. Many of these planets are either too near to the star or too far away.
However, if the planet is in a good place, astronomers look for three key things: water, air and rock (岩石). Water is the most important because all life needs water. Humans can drink it and they can also grow plants with water. And plants produce air for humans to breathe (呼吸) and food to eat. Rock on a planet is also important. That’s because there is often water under the rock.
After many years of exploring, astronomers have found a planet like the Earth. It’s Gliese 581 g and it’s near a star. The astronomers think it has water and rock and the temperature is between -31℃ and -12℃. That’s cold, but not colder than Antarctica or the Arctic Circle. A year on Gliese 581 g is only 37 Earth days, not 365 Earth days. But astronomers do not think these are big differences and some of them think Gliese 581 g will be a new Earth.
a.Astronomers look for three key things.
b.Astronomers look for and find a right star.
c.Astronomers look at the planets around the star.
| A．a-b-c | B．b-a-c | C．b-c-a | D．c-a-b |
| A．The Earth. | B．Gliese 581 g. | C．The Sun. | D．Gliese. |
| A．A year on Gliese 581 g is 365 Earth days. |
| B．Water is the most important for life on a planet. |
| C．The temperature of Gliese 581 g is colder than Antarctica. |
| D．Nowadays, astronomers have found nearly 400 new stars with planets. |
| A．Gliese 581 g is already a new Earth. |
| B．There are some planets like our Earth. |
| C．Water, air and rock are important. |
| D．Astronomers are looking for a new Earth. |
5 . Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. Our own planet, the Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. It is hoped that people could start all over again and build a better world on Mars. Here is what life there could be like.
At present, our spacecraft are too slow to carry large numbers of passengers to Mars—it would take months. With the development of technology, by the year 2100, the journey might only take about 20 minutes in spacecraft that travel at the speed of light! However, the spacecraft would travel really fast, so the journey to Mars might be quite uncomfortable. Many people would feel ill.
Humans can’t live without water, air or food. So far, nobody knows whether there would be enough water or air on Mars for people. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether plants could grow on Mars. Food would most probably be in the form of pills (药片) and would not be so tasty.
Compared with life on the earth, life on Mars would be better in some ways. People would have more space. They might live in houses with huge comfortable rooms. Also, robots would do most of their work so that they could have more time to relax. There would probably be no schools on Mars. Every student would study at online schools with “e-teachers”.
Life on Mars would be interesting and challenging (有挑战性的). However, it may take hundreds of years to make it true. So the most important thing we need to do now is to protect our beautiful blue planet—the Earth!
1. People would move to Mars because ________.| A．flying to Mars would be fun | B．plants could grow better there |
| C．the earth is crowded and polluted | D．they want to challenge themselves |
| A．plane | B．spaceships | C．space stations | D．hot-air balloons |
| A．Slow and boring. | B．Fast and enjoyable. |
| C．Slow but comfortable. | D．Fast but uncomfortable. |
| A．People would be busy with work on Mars. |
| B．There would be enough water and air on Mars for people. |
| C．Food on Mars would he more delicious than that on the earth. |
| D．The writer thinks living on Mars would be full of challenges. |
| A．Life on Mars | B．Food on Mars | C．Schools on Mars | D．Environment on the Earth |
1. Where did the boy know the news?
| A．In a TV show. | B．In a book. | C．On the Internet. |
| A．Yes, there is. | B．No, there isn’t. | C．We don’t know. |
| A．No, they haven’t. | B．Yes, they have. | C．We don’t know. |
| A．We don’t know. | B．Yes, they have. | C．No, they haven’t. |
send, go, become, discover, name, be, reach, imagine, have, get, run |
The universe is very big. But how large is the universe? It is impossible
But we know the earth is our home. It is a planet and it
Scientists have also found many other galaxies in the universe. But they are very far away, so no spaceship has travelled far enough
8 . From a plane you can see the fields, cities, mountains or rivers below. If you go into space, you see more and more of the earth. Many man-made satellites (人造卫星) are sent into space to look at the earth, the stars and other planets and learn more about them.
The moon is our neighbor in space. It is smaller than the earth. Plants can’t grow on the moon because there’s no air or water on it.
The moon hasn’t got its own light. It shines back the light of the sun. When the sun is shining on the side of the moon that faces us, it looks like a great round ball. We can’t see the moon when the sun is shining on the side of the moon that faces away from us.
In fact, the moon is far away from us. It is three hundred and eighty thousand kilometres away from the earth. Of course, we can fly to the moon in a spaceship. A spaceship flies very, very fast. It only takes more than three days to get there by spaceship!
1. From ________ you can see the fields, cities, mountains or rivers below.| A．a plane | B．a bus | C．a train | D．a spaceship |
| A．Trees | B．Plants | C．Nothing | D．People |
| A．it is too far away from us |
| B．it is rainy or cloudy |
| C．the sun is shining on the side of the moon that faces away from us |
| D．the sun is shining on the side of the moon that facing us |
| A．背对着 | B．反射 | C．回来 | D．照耀 |
| A．the human can fly to the moon by spaceship |
| B．people can live on the moon |
| C．the earth is smaller than the moon |
| D．it only takes more than three years to get there by spaceship |
The Moon is a natural satellite that moves around the Earth.
The Moon’s surface is covered with craters (环形山), which are big round pits.
Do you know that humans have actually visited the Moon? In 1969, the Apollo 11 mission landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon’s surface.
| A．It is our closest neighbour in space. |
| B．The Moon plays an important role in our lives. |
| C．Do you know how many satellites the Earth has? |
| D．They were the first humans to set foot on the Moon. |
| E．Have you ever noticed that the Moon changes its shape? |
| F．These craters were formed by asteroids (小行星) and meteoroids (流星体) crashing into the Moon’s surface. |
10 . Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn are four planets in the solar system. But do you know how they got their English names? 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 (行星环). 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 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. |
| A．Saturn | B．Venus | C．Jupiter | D．Mercury |
| A．The god of beauty. | B．The god of war. |
| C．The god of time. | D．The king of gods. |
| A．the smallest | B．the sixth largest |
| C．the biggest | D．the second biggest |
