1 . 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
4 . 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 |
5 . What’s the most important thing you need to live on? Without water, humans, plants and animals cannot live. NASA scientists have been studying Mars (火星) to see if humans could make a home there in the future. So the first thing they must look for is water.
Well, after years of studies, NASA scientists have found that there is water on the planet! But you would not want to drink it. The water would be too salty for humans to drink, but this is a step in the right direction.
“To ‘follow the water’ isn’t an easy job. We have spent such a long time on our studies,” said NASA astronaut John Grunsfeld. “Now we have science that shows what we’ve thought.”
Scientists found frozen (结冰的) water on Mars back in 2008, but for things to live on the planet, there has to be liquid (液体的) water.
The first time they thought there could be water on Mars was two years later. At that time dark long marks appeared going downhill when the temperature went up on the planet. But why do they think it is water?
“The finding of hydrated (含水的) salts means that water plays an important part in forming these marks,” said Lujendra, author of the NASA study.
What they found is too salty, so it might not be the best for living things. But this gives NASA scientists hope that there could be living things on the planet.
Do you think it might be possible for humans to fly to Mars and build another home there one day? Do you want to be a scientist who might make it come true?
根据短文内容，判断下列句子正（T）、误（F）。1. NASA scientists have been studying Mars to look for living things.
2. It took NASA scientists many years to find that there is water on Mars.
3. The dark long marks appeared going downhill when the temperature rose.
4. According to NASA scientists, salts play an important part in forming the dark marks.
5. The hydrated salts make NASA scientists hope there could be living things on Mars.
6 . 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 |
7 . 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)
8 . 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. |
9 . 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. |
10 . For thousands of years, humans have explored (探索) the Earth. Nowadays, we are exploring space. Astronomers are the modern-day explorers. Now, many astronomers are looking for new planets and new places for humans to live in the future. But where do astronomers start exploring?
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. However, 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 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 581g 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, for example, Gliese 581g is bigger than the Earth. A year on Gliese 581g is only 37 Earth days, not 365 Earth days. But astronomers do not think these are big differences and some of them think Gliese 581g will be a new Earth. However, Gliese 581g is twenty light years from the Earth.
1. How do astronomers discover a new planet for humans to live on? Choose the right order.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．Water. | B．Air. | C．Rock. | D．Food. |
| A．the Earth | B．Gliese 581g | C．the Sun | D．Gliese |
| A．37 | B．365 | C．10 | D．15 |
| A．Gliese 581g 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. |
