1 . On April 8th 2024, millions of Americans put on their special glasses to watch a total solar eclipse (日全食). The picture above shows its full progression (进展).
The total solar eclipse could be seen in North America. A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. As the moon shortly covered the sun on April 8th, cities went into darkness. The temperatures dropped greatly by up to 7°C during totality (全食), reported dogonews.com.
There are five stages in a total solar eclipse:
Partial eclipse begins (1st contact):
The Moon becomes visible over the Sun’s disk. It looks like the Moon has taken a bite out of the Sun.
Total eclipse begins (2nd contact):
The Moon covers the entire disk of the Sun, and people are now within the Moon’s umbra (本影).
Totality and maximum eclipse:
The Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun. Only the Sun’s corona (日冕) is visible. This is the most dramatic stage of a total solar eclipse. At this time, the sky goes dark, temperatures can fall, and birds and animals often go quiet. The midpoint of time of totality is known as the maximum point of the eclipse.
Total eclipse ends (3rd contact):
The Moon starts moving away, and the Sun reappears. Those fortunate enough to be in the Moon’s umbral can see Baily’s beads and the diamond ring effect just after totality ends.
Partial eclipse ends (4th contact):
The eclipse ends as the Moon leaves the Sun’s disk.
To Chinese people regret, we can’t watch the beautiful view this time. A total solar eclipse will occur on September 2nd 2035 in China. If you are an amateur astronomer (天文爱好者) in China you could ________.
1. Where can people watch total solar eclipse on April 8th 2024? (不超过15词)2. Which is the darkest stage of the total solar eclipse? (不超过5词)
3. What would the writer say at the end of the text? (不超过20词)
2 . Would you like to take a trip to the moon? People have already landed on the moon. Some day, the moon might become a popular place to visit. How will a trip to the moon be? Here are some facts.
There is no oxygen (氧气) or water on the moon. In order to stay alive (活着), you would have to take your own oxygen and water. It is silent (寂静地) on the moon. Sounds can’t be carried from place to place because there is no air. On the moon, the temperature goes down to 240℃ below (在……以下) 0℃ at night, and it warms up to 212℃ above 0℃ during the day.
What will the surface (表面) of the moon look like? The moon has more than 30,000 holes on it. One of the biggest is 146 miles wide.
When you walk on the moon, you’ll feel light on your feet. That’s because you weigh only about 20 pounds on the moon. You might forget what day it is there because a moon day lasts for two weeks. But you won’t need an umbrella anymore because it never rains on the moon. And the weather on the moon never changes at all.
根据上述内容，选择最佳选项。1. What do you need to take to the moon in order to stay alive?
| A．Oxygen and water. | B．Food and umbrellas. | C．Sounds and oxygen. |
| A．It is the same as that on the Earth. |
| B．It is much lower than that on the Earth. |
| C．It is 240℃ above zero. |
| A．October 3. | B．October 8. | C．October 15. |
| A．The moon has less than 30,000 holes on it. |
| B．No one has ever visited the moon. |
| C．The weather on the moon never changes at all. |
| A．The weather on the moon. |
| B．What the moon is like. |
| C．Take a trip to the moon. |
3 . If you watch the sky for about an hour after the sun goes down, you may see some “moving star”. But they are not really stars. They are man-made satellites. And the biggest of all is the International Space Station (ISS). From May to July is the best season to watch the ISS flying over the earth. And people can see it with their eyes during the time. The scientists want to live on the ISS. They think that the best way to learn more about space is to live there.
When the space station is finished, it will be like a city in space. People will stay and study there with many of the things they have at home. Labs, living rooms and power stations are being built. The ISS is the most expensive program. Billions of dollars are spent on it every year.
Scientists thinks that the ISS will be crucial for future space exploration. “The ISS will be more useful some day. The ISS will help us understand the human body better, explore space and study the earth. It can help us make life on the earth better,” said Kathryn Clark, an ISS scientist.
Sixteen countries are part of the space program: the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and 11 European countries. China has helped with some of the experiments. In 2003, China sent some rice up to the ISS to find out what space would do to it.
1. From the first paragraph, we can learn ________.| A．we can't see the ISS with our eyes |
| B．March is the best season to watch the ISS flying over the earth |
| C．all the moving stars are really stars |
| D．the biggest man-made satellite is ISS |
| A．To live on the earth. | B．To watch the ISS flying over the earth. |
| C．To live on the ISS. | D．To make life on the earth better. |
| A．Important. | B．Expensive. | C．Impossible. | D．Strange. |
| A．To use as astronauts’ food. | B．To sell it to aliens. |
| C．To do some experiments. | D．To make it grow better in space. |
| A．A storybook. | B．A notice about life and health. |
| C．A magazine about science. | D．A website about space exploration. |
Scientists think that there has been life on the earth for hundreds of millions of years. However, we have not found life on any other planets yet.
The earth is a planet and it goes around the sun. Seven other planets also go around the sun. None of them has an environment like that of the earth, so scientists do not think they will find life on them. The sun and its planets are called the solar system, and our solar system is a small part of a much larger group of stars and planets, called the Galaxy or the Milky Way. There are billions of stars in the Galaxy, and our sun is only one of them.
Scientists have also discovered many other galaxies in the universe. They are very far away and their light has to travel for many years to reach us. So how large is the universe? It is impossible to imagine.
Scientists have sent spaceships to the planet Mars to take photos. They have even sent spaceships to travel outside the solar system. However, no spaceship has travelled far enough to reach other stars in our Galaxy.
Scientists have always asked the questions: with so many stars in the universe, are we alone, or is there life out there in space? Have there been visitors to the earth from other planets? Why has no one communicated with us? We do not know the answers yet.
1. We have already found life on other planets.| A．Right. | B．Wrong. |
| A．Right. | B．Wrong. |
| A．Right. | B．Wrong. |
| A．Right. | B．Wrong. |
| A．Right. | B．Wrong. |
5 . How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot! On a clear night you can see the moon, some planets, and thousands of sparking (闪烁的) stars.
You can see even more with a telescope (望远镜). You might see that many stars look larger than others. You might see that some stars that look white are really red or blue. With bigger and bigger telescopes you can see more and more objects in the sky. And you can see those objects in more and more detail.
But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won’t see them with the biggest telescope in the world on the clearest night of the year. That’s because they’re invisible. They’re the mysterious dead stars called black holes.
You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all, our sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly and giving us heat and light. The sun certainly doesn’t seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.
As a star’s gases (气体) burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gases run out, the star stops burning and begins to die.
So next time you look up at the night sky, remember: there’s more in the sky than we can see!
1. The underlined word “invisible” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.
| A．听不见的 | B．看不见的 | C．摸不着的 | D．闻不见的 |
| A．a planet | B．a sky | C．a star | D．a moon |
| A．give off heat | B．get weak | C．run out | D．burn |
| A．The sun certainly seems to be getting old and weak. |
| B．We might see that some stars that look white are really red and blue with a telescope. |
| C．We might see that many stars look larger than others with a telescope. |
| D．There’s more in the sky than we can see. |
| A．How stars burn out | B．What dead stars are |
| C．How we can see more stars | D．How telescopes develop |
6 . ① Man has known more and more about space today. Space is not only wonderful but also dangerous. While working in space, astronauts are facing danger.
② Scientists have found out that radiation (辐射) is the greatest danger to astronauts in space. When astronauts are working in space, they are in danger of radiation from the sun and other stars, which is bad for their health. The damage of radiation is difficult to discover until their children or even grandchildren are born. Some special medicine may work a little, but there isn’t really helpful medicine.
③ Space rubbish is also a great danger to astronauts. There are 9000 man-made (人造) things flying in space. About 30% of these are man-made satellites (卫星), 10% are spaceships, and others are space rubbish. Even a small piece of these knocked against a spaceship window and did some damage. Scientists are watching and telling any possible danger all the time. They are working on helpful ways to do with space rubbish.
④ Although space is really dangerous, everyone on the earth is interested in it. In the near future, it may become usual for people to spend a few days in a space hotel. We may even choose to leave the earth and live in space for a few years. So we should care for space and do something to help improve the space environment.
1. Who is in danger of radiation in space?| A．Scientists’ children. |
| B．People on the earth. |
| C．Astronauts working in space. |
| A．保护 | B．伤害 | C．竞争 |
A．  | B． | C．  |
A． | B． | C． |
| A．Rubbish: possible danger! |
| B．Radiation: the most dangerous! |
| C．Space: wonderful but dangerous! |
7 . The Moon is attracting much attention these days as NASA is ready to send space rockets there and preparing for more to follow. The mission’s objectives are clear: to create a long-lasting base on its surface and prepare to go to Mars one day.
What’s the next great move in humans’ quest for the secrets of the universe? When it comes to the near future scientific research in space, there are a few areas in the solar system that will receive some special attention.
First of all, there’s Venus, a planet which was like a paradise to human with oceans and a pleasant atmosphere. However, something went terribly wrong there a few billion years ago, and NASA has scheduled a series of missions to explore what exactly is going on there.
At the other end of the solar system are the gas planets. Several of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered in thick sheets of ice, and underneath the ice are oceans of liquid water. NASA has missions planned to investigate those mysterious worlds, hunting for any sign of possible life hidden deep within.
As for us humans, Mars is certainly the grand prize in the coming decades. If we have enough money for the trips, we can perhaps keep astronauts working and studying on the surface of Mars for quite a long time. The other planets in our solar system are not so suitable for people to settle on. For example, Mercury is too close to the Sun and too far away from the Earth.
In the coming decades, humans expect to see a rise of “space hotels” set up for visiting tourists and scientific explorations. Because of our current level of technology, it is not very practical to turn the space rock into a place suitable for humans. But it may be the next easiest thing to achieve after going to the Moon and Mars.
1. Why does the author mention the Moon in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the space station on the Moon. |
| B．To highlight the difficulty of going to the Moon. |
| C．To explain the relationship between the Moon and Mars. |
| D．To show the Moon’s important role in space exploration. |
| A．love | B．achievement | C．difficulty | D．exploration |
| A．To find new locations for space hotels. |
| B．To search for potential life and possible living places. |
| C．To compete with other countries in space exploration. |
| D．To prepare for the construction of a new space station. |
| A．Because Mars is three times bigger than the Earth. |
| B．Because it’s far from the Earth and close to the Sun. |
| C．Because people might be able to live and work there. |
| D．Because there are enough resources to help humans develop. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Positive. | C．Negative. | D．Indifferent. |
8 . In our solar system (太阳系), some planets have a great number of moons (卫 星) while some have none. Recently scientists have discovered 12 more moons going around Jupiter (木星). That means Jupiter now has a total of 92 moons, more than any other planet in our solar system.
Scott Sheppard was a member of the team that made the latest discoveries. The new moons were found using telescopes (望远镜) in Hawaii and Chile. Sheppard said, “I hope we can take clear photos of one of these moons in the near future to better understand it.”
Jupiter’s newly discovered moons are between one and three kilometers in size. They have not yet been named, as half of them are too small — less than 1.5 kilometers—to own a name.
Sheppard has already taken part in 70 moon discoveries for Jupiter. He also discovered moons going around Saturn (土星). Saturn had been the planet with the most moons until the most recent announcement. Saturn held the top position since 2019 when Sheppard’s team discovered 20 more moons. Saturn now is known to have 83 moons. Before that, Jupiter was the solar system’s leader with 79 moons.
Sheppard expects to keep adding moons to both Jupiter and Saturn in the future. Uranus and Neptune also have many small moons. But they are much farther from Earth. So discovering new moons around those planets is more difficult.
This year, the European Space Agency has sent a spaceship to explore Jupiter. The spaceship, called JUICE, took off in April. The task is to make further research on Jupiter and its three large moons.
1. Which of the following has the most moons in the solar system?| A．Uranus. | B．Neptune. | C．Saturn. | D．Jupiter. |
| A．Because they are hard to study. | B．Because they are far from Jupiter. |
| C．Because they are newly discovered. | D．Because some of them are not big enough. |
| A．59. | B．63. | C．79. | D．83. |
| A．It is difficult to discover new moons. | B．JUICE is trying to find out new planets. |
| C．More research is being done on Jupiter. | D．To find large moons is more important. |
9 . Saturn (土星) has beautiful rings. Of 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? Scientists have no sure answer. But there’s a popular theory (理论): Some comets (彗星) or small planets ran into Saturn’s moons (卫星). Saturn had at least 60 moons. And this left behind a large number of ice and rock pieces. These pieces were different in size. Some were as small as grains of sand, Others were as large as houses.
These small pieces began to travel around Saturn. Saturn’s gravity (引力) pulled them towards 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 disappear completely 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 the 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．When did Saturn’s rings form? |
| B．Why did Saturn have so many moons? |
| C．How did Saturn’s rings come into being? |
| D．What is the difference between Saturn and Earth? |
| 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 know for sure how Saturn’s rings were formed. |
| B．About ten tons of Saturn’s ring matter disappears every minute. |
| C．Saturn’s rings are the biggest and brightest in the solar system. |
| D．According to scientists, Saturn’s rings are between 10 and 100 million years old. |
Do you know anything about the Moon?
Scientists have told us so much about the Moon.
The Moon is an unfriendly place.
But from the Moon, you can see our beautiful Earth. It is shining more brightly than the other stars in the dark.
| A．There is no air or water. |
| B．How much do you know about it? |
| C．The Moon is also a very quiet world. |
| D．You can take some photos with your camera. |
| E．It’s meaningless for us to have the idea of going to the Moon. |
| F．When the Sun shines in the day, the temperature is very high. |
| G．It’s hard for us to live on the Moon. |
