1 . 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.

2 . How would you like to live in space someday? Some people already do--on a space station. The station circles the Earth 2230 miles above us. It moves around our planet at over 17,000 miles per hour.

Astronauts from different countries have called the space station home since the year 2000. Groups of three people take turns living on the station. They travel between their space home and the Earth on the space shuttle(航天飞机). What's it like to live on the space station? “It's like taking a four-month camping trip--in space!" says John Charles, a NASA scientist. The members of the station crew (工作人员) eat dried food, bathe with wet cloths and sleep in sleeping bags. They have to tie the sleeping bags to a wall before they sleep. If they don't do that, they will float(漂浮)around all night.

The weightlessness (失重) of space can be fun. The crew members like to jump up and down.

They also like to play catch in slow motion.

There's work to be done, too. The space station is a busy place. The station's crew members do science experiments. They also spend a lot of their time adding new parts to the station. The space shuttle brings the parts. The astronauts sometimes make space walks outside the station to connect the new parts. Building a house can take less than a year. Building the space station will take at least eight years!

1. What have astronauts called the space station since 2000?
____________________________________________________
2. What is John Charles?
____________________________________________________
3. Why do the crew members have to tie the sleeping bags to a wall before they sleep?
____________________________________________________
4. Can the astronauts take showers on the space station?
____________________________________________________
5. How long will it take to build the space station?
____________________________________________________

3 . Have you ever seen people building houses? To build a house, you need workers. They use their hands, tools and machines to put things together. Building the ISS(国际太空站) is the same. The difference is that the workers are astronauts. They walk in space and use robots' arms and hands to do their work.

In the space station, astronauts are comfortable. The temperature there is about 21℃. But outside the station, it can be too hot or cold for people. In the sunlight, it's about 120℃. In the shadow, it's about-85℃. So when astronauts walk in space, they have to wear heavy clothes—spacesuits.

Spacesuits also keep astronauts safe from flying litter in space. Astronauts should be careful because there's a lot of rubbish. Some rubbish goes a lot faster than a plane! Space walking is not easy, and it can be dangerous. So getting ready for it takes a lot of time. Astronauts will need to do 160 space walks to finish their work in the ISS. That will take about 1,900 hours of work.

1. What is the temperature in the space station?

A．-85℃.

B．120℃

C．21℃.

D．160℃

2. Why is space walking dangerous?

A．It takes lots of time.

B．There's a lot of rubbish that goes a lot faster than a plane.

C．Astronauts will need to do 160 space walks to finish their work.

D．Astronauts will spend about 1,900 hours working.

3. What does the underlined word "spacesuit" mean in Chinese? ________

A．太空服

B．防暴服

C．羽绒服

D．雨衣

4 . Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don't know is that junk has become a problem in outer space too.

According to BBC News, there are more than 22, 000 pieces of space junk floating around the earth. Andtheseare just the things that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can't see.

Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites(卫星), move around the planet at very high speeds fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spaceship, it could damage the vehicle（轨道）.

To make things worse, when two objects in space crash, they break into many smaller pieces. For example, when a U.S. satellite hit an old Russian rocket in 2009, it broke into more than 2,000 pieces, increasing the amount of space junk.

To reduce additional space junk, countries have agreed that all new space tools can only stay in space for 25 years at most. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth's atmosphere after that time. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.

Many scientists also suggest different ways to clean up space junk. In England scientists are testing a metal net that can be fired into space junk. The net catches the junk and then pulls it into the earth's atmosphere to burn up. The Germans are building robots that can collect pieces of space junk and bring them back to Earth to be safely destroyed.

The problem is becoming more challenging because we're sending more objects into space to help people use their mobile phones and computers,” says Marco Castronuovo, an Italian space Researcher.

“The time to act is now. The longer we leave the problem, the bigger it will become,” he says.

1. What does the underlined word “these” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Telescopes.

B．Satellites.

C．Pieces of space junk.

2. Why is space junk considered a problem?

A．It burns up after it re-enters the atmosphere.

B．It could force new space tools to travel at slower speeds.

C．It may crash into other space tools causing damage or death.

3. Countries want future space tools to be able to fall back into the earth's atmosphere so that________.

A．the tools can be reused later

B．the tools don't become space junk

C．the effects of space flight can be studied

4. How do the Germans plan to deal with space junk?

A．Use robots to collect it.

B．Burn it in the earth's atmosphere.

C．Send it further away from the earth.

5. In which section of the newspaper would you probably read this article?

A．Environment.

B．Local News.

C．Education.

5 . In 1969, as US astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon, he famously declared, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’ And as many countries come together to celebrate World Space Week from Oct 4-10, it seems that there are still many leaps to take.

During ancient times, our only steps were back and forth across the surface of our own planet. We climbed to the top of mountains, or sailed in boats across oceans. But we didn’t, and couldn’t, leave the surface of our planet.

It’s not surprising that back then, the so-called heavens fascinated(使着迷) us so much. How could they not? How could people not be obsessed with the great object in the sky that arrived each day with light and then left, taking the light with it? Or the mysterious moon, stars and planets that lit up the night sky? Compared with us, these things seemed so free and exciting. Different cultures created stories about the heavens. The Chinese referred to a ‘King of the Sky’ who created the heavens and decorated them with stars; the ancient Greeks had ‘the Sky Gods’ who controlled the weather.

Few of us believe those stories anymore – science has taught us better. And yet the heavens, or what we now call ‘space’ and ‘outer space’, are still a source of mystery and fascination for us. Yes, there are space stations, satellites and trips to other planets. None of this modern science, however, has made space any less fascinating to us.

As the American scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson said, ‘The universe is under no obligation (义务) to make sense to you.’ The more we know, the more our curiosity grows.

Even today, the most popular novels and movies are set on other planets, solar systems (太阳系) or galaxies (星系). Space is still mysterious, as it was for the ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans. And perhaps it always will be.

1. The author used Neil Armstrong’s story to ______.

A．describe how the celebration of World Space Week began

B．draw attention to great achievements in space exploration

C．explain why human beings are curious about outer space

D．predict(预报) future space programs that might change history

2. The underline word ‘obsessed’ in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

A．happy

B．interested

C．satisfied

D．bored

3. Compared with modern people, ancient Greeks ______.

A．didn’t leave many records of space objects

B．believed the King of the Sky controlled the weather

C．shared a similar curiosity about the universe

D．showed little respect for the power of nature

4. What’s the article mainly about?

A．Important events in space exploration history.

B．Human’s unchangeable interest in space.

C．Ancient stories inspired(激发，产生) by the heavens.

D．What we have learned about the universe.

6 . Do you know astronauts’ everyday life in space? They also need to eat, _________, exercise and relax. They do the same thing as us, but they do them _________.

On the earth, we put food on a plate and put _________ in a glass. Gravity (重力) holds the food down and keeps the water in the glass. There is almost no gravity in space and food can fly away, _________ astronauts must eat and drink carefully.

Sleeping is very different in space. Some astronauts like to float (漂浮) in the air, but most say _________ they like to be in a sleeping bag. They tie (系) the bag to a wall so that they won’t float away at night.

Exercise is very important in space. On the earth, your legs carry your body, _________ in space, astronauts float, so they do not use _________ legs often. This is very bad _________ their legs, so they must exercise for thirty minutes every day.

After a day’s work, astronauts can’t wait _________. They may listen to music, read, watch films, play games, or __________ a few minutes talking to their friends and family on the radio. Sometimes they only enjoy floating in the air.

1.

A．study

B．sleep

C．work

D．play

2.

A．differently

B．lovely

C．lonely

D．hardly

3.

A．air

B．cloud

C．water

D．wind

4.

A．because

B．but

C．so

D．if

5.

A．when

B．if

C．that

D．why

6.

A．but

B．so

C．or

D．because

7.

A．they

B．theirs

C．them

D．their

8.

A．of

B．to

C．for

D．with

9.

A．to relax

B．relaxing

C．to laugh

D．laughing

10.

A．pay

B．spend

C．take

D．cost

7 . Do stars only appear at night? The answer is no. Venus (金星) is the only star that can be seen in daytime. It shone at its brightest in the night sky on Feb 17 this year.

Venus is the second planet from the sun. It is the second brightest natural object, behind the earth’s moon, in the night sky. Why is it so bright?

First of all, Venus is the closest planet to the earth. It is also covered by highly reflective (反射的) clouds, which can reflect about 70 percent of the sunlight striking (照射) it, almost twice as much as the earth does. Some people call 2017 the year of Venus, because the planet is at its brightest twice this year. Venus gets brighter when it goes further away from the sun, and nearer to the earth. The brightest moment happened once in February, and will happen again, during daylight, on April 30.

If Venus is so bright and close to us, isn’t it a better choice for human exploration (探索) than Mars? It is closer to the earth than Mars and it’s closer to the earth in size. The closer distance to the sun means solar power (太阳能) would be easier to generate as well.

However, with a temperature of about 465℃ on the surface, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system!

But scientists never give up. Recently, a team of NASA and Russian scientists created new computer equipment that can stand temperatures of 480℃. It can work under Venus-like conditions (环境) for almost 22 days.

The next step, according to the scientists, is to send a probe (探测器) to Venus by 2025.

1. Which of the following about Venus is NOT true?

A．It’s the only star that can be seen in daylight.	B．It’s the second planet from the sun.
C．It’s the brightest natural object in the night sky.	D．It’s the closest planet to the earth.

2. The underlined word “generate” is similar in meaning to the word “________”.

A．heat

B．produce

C．spread

D．form

3. What makes Venus a worse place for human exploration than Mars?

A．The closer distance to the earth.	B．The similar size to the earth.
C．Too much solar power to use.	D．The extremely high temperature.

4. According to the last two paragraphs, the new computer equipment ________.
a. was created by some UK scientists     b. can stand temperatures of 480℃
c. can work for about 22 days on Venus     d. will be sent to Venus by 2025

A．ab

B．bc

C．cd

D．ad

8 . The first astronauts(宇航员)

Since the earliest times, people have looked up at the stars, the moon and the planets. Today people use modern machines_______at the sky. This is very different from the situation_______years ago when people could only use their eyes. Perhaps they dreamed of _______   the universe. When did humans first go into space? The story began not so very long ago,_______the firstastronauts were not people-they were animals. Scientists wanted to make travelling to space as _______as possible for humans. So they decided to experiment with animals and test_______in spaceflights. Insects, mice, frogs, dogs and monkeys were some of the animals_______first went into space. Many of them_______, but they helped to make space travel safer for humans. For their great service, we _______forget these animals. Albert I was the first monkey to go into space in 1949. Sadly he died________   his space ship landed back on Earth.

1.

A．look

B．to look

C．looking

D．looked

2.

A．thousand

B．thousands

C．thousand of

D．thousands of

3.

A．explore

B．to explore

C．explored

D．exploring

4.

A．as

B．or

C．but

D．so

5.

A．safe

B．safer

C．safest

D．the safest

6.

A．they

B．them

C．their

D．theirs

7.

A．whom

B．what

C．that

D．whose

8.

A．die

B．died

C．have died

D．will die

9.

A．shouldn’t

B．may not

C．don’t have to

D．needn’t

10.

A．if

B．because

C．after

D．since

9 . How much do you know about the solar system?The following passage will tell you.

The earth is a planet.It as well as seven _____ planets goes around the sun.We _____ the eight planets and the sun the solar system.The first planet,_____ the sun,is Mercury(水星).It is 58 million _____ from the sun.Venus(金星)is the second planet next to the sun,and _____ planet,the earth,is the third.It is 150 million kilometres from the sun.

Jupiter(木星),Saturn(土星),Neptune(海王星)and Uranus(天王星)are all _____ than the earth,_____ Venus,Mars and Mercury are smaller than the earth.

Animals,trees and humans can only _____ on the earth—the other planets in our solar system do not _____ air or water.Do any planets in other galaxies have ______?We don't know about it.

1.

A．else

B．others

C．other

D．another

2.

A．know

B．call

C．take

D．pick

3.

A．next to

B．before

C．out of

D．in front of

4.

A．years

B．hours

C．metres

D．kilometres

5.

A．our

B．their

C．her

D．his

6.

A．lighter

B．bigger

C．shorter

D．safer

7.

A．but

B．or

C．till

D．so

8.

A．knock

B．try

C．live

D．land

9.

A．have

B．bring

C．fill

D．join

10.

A．planet

B．system

C．galaxy

D．life

10 . 用方框中所给词填空,完成短文。

one,flew,planet,time,far,that,first,million,winter,size

According to our guidebook,Uranus(天王星)was the first     1     to be discovered with a telescope.It is 2,871     2     kilometres from the sun.This is twice as     3     as the planet Saturn(土星)is from the sun.Uranus is four times the     4     of the earth,but smaller than Saturn,and it is so far away     5     we can't see what it looks like.Only     6     spacecraft has been to Uranus.It was Voyager 2,in 1986.As Voyager 2     7     close to Uranus,the world saw the     8     picture of this faraway planet.The world saw a blue planet made of gas.

Summer on Uranus lasts for 42 years.During this time it is     9     on the other side of the planet.The sun shines on each side for 42 years at a     10     as it goes around the sun.