1 . Have you ever seen the auroras (极光) in the sky? Cosmic radiation (宇宙辐射) creates these pretty lights in the North and South Pole areas. It seems that cosmic radiation is a beautiful gift from space. But for some people, it can be dangerous.
A 53-year-old fight attendant in South Korea, who spent about 1,022 hours flying each year, passed away due to cancer. A South Korean court connected his death to great exposure (暴露) to cosmic radiation. During his career, nearly half of his flights crossed the areas in and around the North Pole, where cosmic radiation is extremely strong.
① Cosmic radiation from space is hitting Earth nonstop, coming from both the sun and other stars in the Milky Way.
② Earth’s magnetic field (磁场) and atmosphere (大气层) protect us from most cosmic radiation. The magnetic field is strongest near the equator and weakest at the poles. People living at higher latitudes (纬度), like in Heilongjiang province, are exposed to a little bit more cosmic radiation than those living at lower latitudes, like in Hainan province. Also, when you go higher in an airplane, the thin atmosphere increases exposure to cosmic radiation.
③ For flight attendants crossing polar areas and for astronauts in space, cosmic radiation can create health risks. NASA reported that the radiation exposure faced by astronauts spending six months in space is the same as having 1,000 chest X-rays.
④ However, what makes cosmic radiation dangerous also makes it useful. The light speed and energy of cosmic radiation have provided wonderful ideas for treating tumors (肿瘤). Scientists can now produce man-made radiation similar to cosmic radiation. Compared to the present ways of treating tumors, it can kill tumors better with less damage to healthy parts of the body around them.
1. The death of the flight attendant is believed to have something to do with ________.| A．long flight hours | B．lower latitudes |
| C．strong cosmic radiation | D．a family history of cancer |
| A．① | B．② | C．③ | D．④ |
a. they are closer to the sun and stars b. they are at higher latitudes in space
c. space suit cannot prevent cosmic radiation d. there is not much atmosphere protecting them
| A．ac | B．bc | C．ad | D．cd |
| A．Cosmic radiation is very dangerous. | B．People can produce cosmic radiation. |
| C．Earth is filled with cosmic radiation. | D．Cosmic radiation helps fight cancer. |
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. |
| A．Saturn. | B．Venus. | C．Jupiter. | D．Mercury. |
| A．The god of beauty. | B．The king of gods. |
| C．The god of war. | D．The god of time. |
①Venus ②Jupiter ③Mercury ④Saturn
| A．①②③④ | B．④①③② | C．②④①③ | D．②③①④ |
3 . We have always been interested in the moon. 2, 000 years ago, people already knew it moves around the earth and where it would be in the sky at different times of the year. At that time, everything about the moon was learned by watching it carefully in the sky.
When scientists could use telescopes to study the moon more closely, their ideas began to change. They could see the moon was made of rocks. Most scientists thought moon rocks would be different from those on the earth. This was because they believed the moon had once been a planet that had been caught in the earth’s gravity (重力) millions of years earlier.
In 1969, moon rocks were finally brought to the earth and studied. Much to their surprise, scientists found that, except for water, the moon and the earth were made of the same things. Once again new ideas were needed for this new information.
After years of study, most scientists now think that the moon was once part of the earth. They believe very early in its history, maybe 4 billion years ago, something about the size of Mars hit the earth. This sent billions of rocks into space around our planet. These rocks slowly joined together and after many years became the moon.
In the future, though our ideas about the moon may change again, we will still be interested in it.
1. Before 1969, most scientists thought the moon was ________.| A．part of the earth billions of years earlier | B．older than the earth |
| C．caught by the earth’s gravity | D．made of the same things as the earth |
| A．The earth was once part of the moon. | B．The moon used to be part of the earth. |
| C．Mars will hit earth in the near future. | D．Rocks will join together to become another moon. |
| A．new information brings new ideas | B．scientists in the past were not clever |
| C．we now know everything about the moon | D．scientists are so clever that they know everything |
4 . It often takes astronauts days to go to the moon. But will people live there? Will people build
Some people think it is
Will it
| A．a | B．an | C．the | D．/ |
| A．difficult | B．difficultly | C．easy | D．easily |
| A．any | B．some | C．none | D．other |
| A．or | B．if | C．because | D．but |
| A．to | B．from | C．into | D．about |
| A．When | B．Who | C．Why | D．How |
| A．them | B．us | C．you | D．it |
| A．study | B．to study | C．studies | D．studying |
| A．student | B．students | C．visitor | D．visitors |
| A．catch | B．to catch | C．happen | D．to happen |
5 . 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 doesn’t have 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 kilometers 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．the Earth | C．the Moon |
| 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. |
| A．照耀 | B．反射 | C．背对着 |
| A．plane | B．train | C．spaceship |
| A．380km | B．3,800km | C．380,000km |
6 . Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is home to both the highest mountain and the deepest, longest valley (山谷) in the solar system (太阳系). Olympus Mons, the highest mountain on Mars, is about 27 kilometers high, about three times as tall as Qomolangma. And the deepest valley on Mars reaches as deep as 10 kilometers and runs through east to west for about 4,000 kilometers, about one fifth of the distance around Mars and close to the width of Australia.
Mars is much colder than Earth because it’s farther away from the sun. The highest temperature can reach 20℃ while the lowest can be as low as -140℃. Just like Earth, the sun gives Mars seasons. However, the seasons that Mars experiences are more extreme than Earth’s. For example, when Mars is farthest from the sun, the southern part of Mars experiences a very long and cold winter, about six months on Earth.
Mars lies farther from the sun than Earth does, so the red planet has a longer year—687 days compared to 365 for our home world. However, the two planets have similar day lengths, 24 hours and 40 minutes for Mars and 24 hours for Earth.
Mars is far from an easy planet to reach but many countries like the USA, Russia, China and Japan are always trying to send people there. Robots have got the tickets to Mars and it’s believed that humans will get the tickets by the 2030s, although it is still a big challenge now. And scientists say it will take at least six months for people to travel to Mars.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。1. The height of the highest mountain in the solar system is ________.
| A．10 kilometers | B．27 kilometers | C．800 kilometers | D．4,000 kilometers |
| A．Serious. | B．Impossible. | C．Beautiful. | D．Peaceful. |
| A．Mars lies closer to the sun | B．Mars is farther away from the sun |
| C．Mars lies closer to Earth | D．Mars is farther away from Earth |
| A．No robots have arrived on Mars. | B．Humans have got to Mars. |
| C．It’s a long way to Mars from Earth. | D．There is no season on Mars. |
| A．facts about Mars | B．ways to Mars | C．opinions on Mars | D．mountains on Mars |
7 . Thousands of miles from the Earth, in outer space, is a small planet, far from the Sun, behind a much bigger planet. Little green aliens live there. They use torches to see.
One day, a young alien, Neila, put the wrong batteries in her torch.
Suddenly, there was bright light. It went up into the sky, around the Sun and reached the Earth.
The light hit a boy called Billy and his dog. Neila quickly turned the torch off, but the pair were caught by the light. They flew through space and landed near Neila.
“ Hello,” said Billy. Neila smiled.
“ Wow!” said Billy, “Everything’s made of ice cream!”
“The ice cream never melts (融化), and nobody eats it. It’s too cold here,” said Neila.
Neila looked sad. “Can you help us?” she said, “We need sunshine to make things grow.”
“No problem,” said Billy, “Can you get us home? I have an idea.”
“Wait there!” said Neila.
She got her torch, put the wrong batteries in again—ZOOM! Billy and his dog flew back to the Earth.
Billy pointed his bedroom mirror between the Sun and Fliptune. The sunlight bounced off the mirror and up onto Neila’s planet.
Thanks to Billy, Fliptune is not cold any more. Billy moves the mirror every day to keep the sun shining there. Now Neila and her friends sit in the sun and enjoy all the free ice cream.
1. What does the underlined phrase “the pair” refer to in paragraph 4?| A．The batteries. | B．Billy and his dog. | C．Billy and Neila. | D．The torch and the batteries. |
| A．By moving the mirror. | B．By turning off the torch. |
| C．By pointing the bedroom mirror. | D．By putting the wrong batteries in the torch. |
a. Neila asked Billy for help.
b. Billy and his dog flew to Fliptune.
c. Neila helped Billy and his dog back to the Earth.
d. Billy moved the mirror every day to warm Fliptune.
| A．c-a-d-b | B．c-a-b-d | C．b-a-d-c | D．b-a-c-d |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Clever and kind. | B．Brave but forgetful. | C．Kind and strong. | D．Clever but careless. |
8 . Venus (金星), Jupiter (木星), Mercury (水星) and Saturn (土星) 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, the goddess (女神) of beauty.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Its surface is colorful, and it also has a planetary (行星的) 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 (传递) 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. When you look up into the night sky, ________is the brightest planet.| A．Saturn | B．Venus | C．Jupiter | D．Mercury |
| A．coming from | B．being made of | C．being used for | D．being divided into |
| A．The god of war. | B．The god of time. | C．The king of gods. | D．The god of beauty. |
①Venus ②Jupiter ③Mercury ④Saturn
| A．①②③④ | B．②④①③ | C．④①③② | D．②③①④ |
9 . Venus (金星) is the second closest planet to the sun. It is different from the earth in many ways. Here are four ways we think Venus is different:
Volcanoes (火山)
There are more volcanoes on Venus than those on the earth.
There are more than 1, 600 volcanoes on its surface (表面) , but there are possibly many more smaller ones that we can’t see. Scientists believe that most of these are not active, though a few may still be active.
Longer day than year
A day on Venus lasts 243 earth days, while a year on Venus is shorter, at just 224.7 earth days, If that’s just one day, think about what a work week would be like!
High temperatures and pressure
Temperatures on the surface can reach up to 470 degrees.
The air pressure on the surface of Venus is very high-about 90 times higher than the pressure on the earth, In other words, the pressure on Venus is about the same as the water pressure on the earth.
Russia sent a special machine to Venus. It took many photos of the land on Venus. But it did not stay long after landing because of the temperature and pressure.
A windy planet
Winds on Venus are strong and fast. They are faster than the fastest tornado (龙卷风) on the earth. Scientists say the winds on Venus blow so fast that they can drive clouds around the whole planet in four earth days.
根据文章内容，给下列的问题选择最佳选项，并将其字母标号在答题卡上涂黑。1. How many ways that Venus is different from the earth do the writer mention ?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. |
| A．The earth has more volcanoes than those on Venus. |
| B．Most of the volcanoes on Venus are active. |
| C．Some of the volcanoes on Venus are very small. |
| A．Russia. | B．China. | C．America. |
| A．Because the winds are slow. |
| B．Because the temperatures are high. |
| C．Because the winds are very fast. |
| A．Differences Between Venus and the Earth |
| B．Some Facts about the Earth |
| C．How Venus Appears |
Except Pluto, there
| A．be | B．is | C．are |
| A．to | B．up | C．on |
| A．small | B．smaller | C．smallest |
| A．is discovered | B．was discovered | C．will be discovered |
| A．wide | B．wider | C．widest |
| A．travel | B．traveling | C．to travel |
| A．spend | B．cost | C．take |
| A．who | B．which | C．why |
| A．so | B．as | C．for |
| A．this | B．that | C．it |
