1 . ①On a clear night, go outside and look for the moon. Do the same thing again a week later, and the moon you see will look different. So why does it always seem to change its shape?
②Sometimes, the moon is a bright disk that lights up the night sky. Other times, it is just a white sliver. Sometimes, the moon can be seen during the day. Other times, it can not be seen. These different kinds of visibility (可见度) are called the phases of the moon (月相).
③They appear because the sun, the moon and the Earth are always moving. One thing that almost never changes is that the sun lights one side of the moon.
④A lunar eclipse (月食) is the only time the sun can’t face the moon. This appears when the sun, the moon and the Earth are in a straight line with the Earth in the middle. As the moon travels into the darkness of the Earth’s shadow (影子), it seems as though all or part of it disappears.
⑤Many scientists believe that the moon was once part of the Earth. Millions of years ago, something hit into the Earth and broke off a large part of the planet. Gravity (地球引力) kept this huge block from going away into space, and it became our moon.
1. The first paragraph is mainly written to ________.| A．draw the readers’ interest | B．tell a moving story to readers |
| C．list some examples for readers | D．help readers finish the exam |
| A．the stories of the phases of the moon | B．the meaning of the phases of the moon |
| C．the reasons for the phases of the moon | D．the time when the phases of the moon happen |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．①②③④；⑤ | B．①；②③④⑤ | C．①②③；④；⑤ | D．①；②③④；⑤ |
2 . Astronauts (宇航员) may soon be going to the moon again. NASA plans to build bases (基地) there. Astronauts will not be able to take all the food they will need. So they may have to grow some of it on moon farms.
But can plants grow on the moon? Maybe. That is according to a new study. Scientists used soil (土壤) brought back from the moon. They used it to grow plants on Earth. It turned out that success could depend on where on the moon you do your planting.
In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA ran the Apollo program. It sent astronauts to the moon. In the new study, scientists used soil that astronauts collected there.
Scientists put this soil in little cups. Each cup got about a teaspoon of moon soil. Other cups got Earth soil. The scientists planted seeds (种子). They watered the soil and put the cups under growth lights.
In the Earth soil, plants grew healthy leaves. In the moon soil, plants grew leaves, too. But those plants were smaller. And they were less healthy. The older the moon soil was, the worse the plants grew.
Stephen Elardo is one of the scientists. He says it still might be possible to grow plants on the moon. The key could be finding the right place. Scientists still have much to learn. But this study brings humans one step closer to calling the moon home.
What might a moon farm look like? Tyler Jones helps us imagine it. He created a model moon farm. He also used the same kinds of plants that scientists grew in moon soil. His pictures show how moon farms might work.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. What’s the background of the study?
| A．The bases on the moon are being built. |
| B．Scientists have discovered plants that can grow on the moon. |
| C．Astronauts successfully landed on the moon for the first time. |
| D．Astronauts can’t take all the food they need to the moon. |
| A．The plan of the study. | B．The steps of the study. |
| C．The result of the study | D．The preparation of the study. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The time. | B．The method. | C．The number | D．The place. |
| A．Space plants | B．Living on the moon |
| C．How to grow plants | D．The history of moon farms |
3 . How many things can you see in the night sky? A lot!
You can see even
But scientists believe there are some things in the sky that we
So the next time you stare up at the night sky, remember: there’s more in the sky than that meets the eye.
| A．On | B．In | C．At | D．For |
| A．thousand | B．thousands | C．thousand of | D．thousands of |
| A．see | B．were see | C．can be seen | D．will be seen |
| A．much | B．many | C．most | D．more |
| A．what | B．which | C．who | D．where |
| A．be | B．is | C．am | D．are |
| A．never see | B．never saw | C．will never see | D．had never seen |
| A．when | B．how | C．because | D．so |
| A．are called | B．called | C．call | D．is called |
| A．it | B．you | C．yourself | D．itself |
| A．to be | B．being | C．been | D．is |
| A．and | B．but | C．so | D．or |
| A．around | B．off | C．away | D．out |
| A．burning | B．to burn | C．burn | D．burnt |
| A．How | B．What | C．What an | D．How an |
4 . Is there intelligent (有智力的) life on other planets? For years, scientists said “no” or “we don’t know”. But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers (天文学家). They believe intelligent life exists (存在) somewhere in the universe. They also think we will soon contact these beings(人；生物).
Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets? The first reason is time. Scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. “This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life,” say Shostak and Barnett. The second reason is size—the universe is huge. “Tools like the Hubble Telescope (哈勃望远镜) have shown that there are at least 100 billion galaxies,” says Shostak. “And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has at least 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth.”
In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But now, powerful telescopes(高倍望远镜) allow scientists to discover smaller planets. These planets might have intelligent life.
Have beings from space already visited Earth? “Probably not,” says Shostak. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other way, such as radio signals (信号). In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don’t have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other.
1. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are ______.| A．astronomers | B．farmers | C．singers | D．drivers |
| A．There were not any smaller planets. |
| B．The Milky Way didn’t exist at that time. |
| C．The astronomers were not interested in them. |
| D．There were not any powerful telescopes. |
| A．messages | B．tools | C．intelligent beings | D．radio signals |
| A．The Age and Size of Earth | B．Why Intelligent Life Might Exist |
| C．Our Galaxy: The Milky Way | D．Earth: The Only Planet with Intelligent Life |
5 . What will life be like in 100 years? Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. The Earth will be crowded and there will be more
Humans can’t live without water, air or food. So far, nobody
Compared
Life on Mars would be interesting
6 . Do you know Venus (金星)? Of the eight planets, Venus is the nearest one to us. Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. In Greek her name was Aphrodite. Venus and the Earth are almost the same size, and you would weigh almost the same on both planets. If you were 70 pounds on Earth, you would be 63 pounds on Venus. Venus is an “unfriendly” planet. Because of its thick cloud, you can’t see the surface (表面). In many ways, Venus is like the Earth. It has active volcanoes (火山), mountains and valleys, too. But Venus is too hot for life. It has the highest temperature of the planets in our solar system, about 480°C. Besides, the Earth lets heat out through volcanoes, hot springs. But Venus lets heat out in a different way. Venus has no moons. Scientists call Venus the Earth’s sister planet because Venus and the Earth are almost the same size. For a long time, most scientists thought that Venus probably had plants, animals, and possibly even human beings. However, because Venus is so hot, it is impossible for anything to live there.
1. Aphrodite is the goddess of ________ in Greek.| A．love and beauty | B．danger and thought |
| C．love and thought | D．beauty and danger |
| A．70kg | B．63kg | C．54kg | D．20kg |
| A．It’s the nearest planet to us. |
| B．It’s almost the same size as the Earth. |
| C．People can’t see it clearly from the outside. |
| D．Anything can’t live there. |
| A．The surface of Venus is much hotter than that of the Earth. |
| B．Venus has the same way to let heat out as the Earth. |
| C．The Earth and Venus are similar in size. |
| D．Both the Earth and Venus have active volcanoes. |
| A．The Introduction to Venus | B．The Story of Venus |
| C．Life on Other Planets | D．Planets Around Us |
7 . Alysaa Carson is a 17-year-old girl. She dreams of going to Mars. She was first interested in becoming an astronaut at the age of three. At that time, she was watching a cartoon called The Backyardigans. The characters in the cartoon went to Mars many times for different tasks. She also wanted to be one of them.
After knowing the serious pollution and the large population on Earth. Alyssa thinks people may look for another planet to live on in the future. She thinks humans may choose to live on Mars in the future. That’s because it’s a planet similar to the earth in some aspects (方面). What’s more, people will be able to use the technologies to get there at that time. Alyssa dreams of going to Mars and working in the field of astrobiology (天体生物学).
Her father believes that parents should help children achieve their dreams. He thinks that it doesn’t matter if the dreams change a lot or how crazy they are. And he doesn’t think it’s too young to get a pilot’s license (执照) for a 17-year-old girl. Perhaps it’s very dangerous for his daughter to go to Mars. But he believes that she can achieve her dream one day. What he can do is to let his daughter work hard for her dream.
1. What does the underlined word “them” refer to?| A．Alyssa’s family. | B．Alyssa’s classmates. | C．The characters in the cartoon. |
| A．Because people can live a happier life there. |
| B．Because mars has something in common with the earth. |
| C．Because it’s a planet with many new lives. |
| A．He respects his daughter’s dream. |
| B．He used to be a pilot when he was young. |
| C．He works in the field of astrobiology now. |
| A．It’s easy for a 17-year-old girl to get a pilot’s license. |
| B．Alyssa’s dream of going to Mars lasts for a long time. |
| C．We can ask parents for help when we meet trouble. |
| A．Interest is the best teacher for every child. |
| B．It’s never too late for people to learn something new. |
| C．Parents should work hard for their children’s dreams. |
Maybe many people know the universe is very big. If you stand in space, you will see many beautiful stars, like the sun and
We’re
| impossible; discover; different; get; close；call; might; although; larger; send |
Lots of scientists believe that there’s life on other planets. Because of this, they keep doing research about the universe. They have sent astronauts to the moon. And they have
Venus (金星) is close to the Earth. It is the second planet from the Sun. The Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Venus is similar (相似的) to the Earth in size and mass (质量). So people often describe it as “the Earth’s sister planet”.
Scientists have been learning about Venus for a long time. First, they looked at Venus through telescopes (望远镜). But Venus is covered with thick clouds. Scientists could not see Venus well through the clouds. So they made guesses at it.
For a long time, scientists thought that Venus had water and plants. They thought Venus might have animals too. But they didn’t know for sure.
Then scientists found a way to learn more about Venus. In the 1960s, they began sending probes (航天探测器) to Venus. The probes flew through the thick clouds. They took pictures of Venus up close. They found out many things too. The probes sent the pictures and things they found out back to the scientists.
阅读短文，回答问题。
1. Why do people often describe Venus as “the Earth’s sister planet”?(不超过10个词)
2. What did scientists think Venus may have?(不超过5个词)
3. When did scientists begin sending probes to Venus?(不超过5个词)
