1 . Are you interested in space travel? It     1     (report) that space will soon be a popular place to go on a holiday by 2050. One Japanese company is     2     (plan) a space holiday center. It will look like a bicycle wheel with a hotel and a theme park. It will travel around the Earth at a     3     (high) of 300 km. The leaders of the company say that     4     (fly) to the center will be faster than that from Hong Kong to Singapore.     5     the space trip will cost about 10,000 dollars, the company still believes lots of people can afford it. And years later, the trip will become much     6     (cheap). Of course, the tourists will be treated better as well.

Recently, an American hotel group is also thinking of building     7     unusual hotel called the Lunar Hotel. It'll probably be ready by 2049. This will be on the moon. Most of the hotel will be under the ground, so it will be     8     too hot nor too cold. The guests will eat food for lunch     9     (normal). The cooks will just mix dried food with water     10     (make) instant meals.

2 . All the planets in the solar system go around the sun. There are eight planets in the solar system. Years ago, there were nine planets. Ever since Pluto (冥王星) was demoted (使降级), we’ve had just eight planets.

Some scientists have studied the farthest reaches（研究）of our solar system. They believe there might be another planet out there. They call it Planet Nine. What would Planet Nine be like? Scientists believe it could be about three times larger and ten times heavier than the earth.

If Planet Nine is out there, why haven’t we found it yet? Scientists are still reaching for it because it’s so far away. They believe it could take Planet Nine as long as 20,000 years to go around the Sun. Scientists also think Planet Nine could be as much as 10,000 times darker than Pluto.

It is very difficult to search for such a dark planet in the whole solar system. Could our solar system have a ninth planet? We hope to know the answer in the near future.

1. From the first paragraph, we can know Pluto          .

A．goes around the Earth

B．was a planet years ago

C．was not demoted

2. Scientists think Planet Nine may be          .

A．three times larger than the sun

B．out of the solar system

C．ten times heavier than the earth

3. We haven’t found Planet Nine yet because          .

A．it’s far and dark

B．it doesn’t go around the sun

C．it’s large and heavy

4. From the passage, we know that         .

A．scientists are still reaching for Planet Nine

B．it is easy to search for such a dark planet

C．our solar system can’t have a ninth planet

5. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A．Solar System

B．Dark Pluto

C．Planet Nine

3 . Do you hope to move to another city or a foreign country? It may be interesting. But how about moving to ______ planet? A US company now has a plan: sending people to Mars ______ 20 years.

To begin with, the company plans to send ______ people to go to Mars first. It will ______ them several months to get there. When they arrive, they will build a ______ first.

But Mars is not an easy place to ______. It's rocky, cold and has lots of sandstorms(沙尘暴). Also, there is ______ air for breath. So people would have to live in a special house. They would have to ______ special clothes if they go out.

People will have to find ______ resources(资源), iron, water and so on. All these could help people live there...

Sounds interesting? You might want to go to Mars now. ______ will things go well like the company hopes? We'll wait and see.

1.

A．the other

B．another

C．one more

D．other

2.

A．at

B．on

C．in

D．for

3.

A．few

B．a few

C．little

D．a little

4.

A．take

B．cost

C．spend

D．pay

5.

A．car

B．garden

C．house

D．bus stop

6.

A．dream of

B．stay in

C．climb up

D．live on

7.

A．no

B．some

C．many

D．much

8.

A．dress

B．wear

C．wear out

D．dress up

9.

A．alone

B．useful

C．latest

D．deep

10.

A．Because

B．When

C．But

D．So

4 .

Mars is an empty planet, but that could change. Someday, it might have farms where fruit and vegetables could grow.

Growing food on Mars has always seemed hard. But scientists think they have found a way to do it. They put sheets (薄膜) of material on the ground. The sheets could change the cold, dry planet into land for farming. Robin Wordsworth worked on the sheets at Harvard University in a Massachusetts. He said the sheets could let people live on another planet. On Mars, the conditions are not good, though. Most importantly, the planet is cold and dry. The soil might have polluted parts, and the air does not have much nitrogen (氮气) that plants need to grow.

The sheets do not solve all the problems. Still, they could help to set up a place for plants. The plants would grow only under the sheets. So there is less worry about harming the rest of Mars. The sheets would cover the plants.

The scientists worked with sheets about an inch thick. Those allowed light through for plants. They also warmed the ground and trapped enough heat to melt ice on Mars. Placing the sheets over icy parts of Mars could let plants alive there. Their study was printed in Nature Astronomy. The sheets could be on the ground to grow water plants and they also could be hung. That would give room to plants to grow on land below them.

Wordsworth said, "You can imagine this being used in a number of ways. It could be used for visitors to Mars. Later it could be for people who live there. However, it's a pity that the sheets are being studied in the lab."

1. The scientists made sheets ________.

A．to change the weather of Mars	B．to grow food on Mars
C．to get materials on the ground	D．to let people live on Mars

2. The underlined word "that" refers to ________.

A．Making sheets an inch thick	B．Placing the sheets over icy parts
C．Growing many plants on the ground	D．Hanging the sheets above the land

3. From Wordsworth's words in the last paragraph, the sheets ________.

A．will be sent to Mars soon	B．are still on the way
C．can grow foods for him to eat	D．are popular for visitors to Mars

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Plants can live on Mars now	B．How do astronauts live on Mars?
C．Farming on Mars is coming true.	D．Ways of growing plants on the earth.

5 . We all know that Earth only has one moon. But did you know that Earth gets to have new friends every now and then? They are called "mini-moons".

A mini-moon is also called a Temporarily Captured Object(暂时捕获的天体) , or TCO. Earth doesn't get them very often. When Earth and other objects in space get close together, Earth's gravity(重力) will pull on the objects and change their orbits(轨道) . Then the object may move around Earth for one or two years and then leave.

             The newest mini-moon

In September, NASA scientists found an object coming into Earth's orbit. They named it 2020 SO, it will stay in our orbit until May 2021, according to Universe Today.

The new mini-moon could be a man-made object. Paul Chodas, a NASA scientist, believes that it could be an old rocket part from NASA's failed moon-landing mission(失败的登月任务) in 1966. Scientists will keep watching it to find out, as it'll get closer to us in November.

             Previous(之前的) mini-moons

We have seen two mini-moons before. One was 2006 RH120, which moved around Earth from 2006 to 2007. The other is 2020 CD3. Scientists found it in February this year, but it left in March. Both of these mini-moons were space rocks.

1. From the second paragraph we know that ___________.

A．Earth has many mini-moons	B．mini-moons stay in Earth's orbit forever
C．mini-moons will leave Earth	D．mini-moons can change Earth's orbit

2. What do we know about 2020 SO?

A．It might come from the moon.	B．It has orbited Earth for over 50 years.
C．It will enter our orbit in May 2021.	D．Scientists don't know what it is.

3. How long it might 2020 CD3 stay in Earth's orbit?

A．For 54 years.

B．For one month.

C．For one year.

D．For two years.

4. Together, how many mini-moons are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

6 . Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. Spacewalks let astronauts work outside their spaceship while still in space. Astronauts can do science experiments on a spacewalk. Experiments can be placed on the outside of a spaceship. This lets scientists learn how being in space influences different things. Spacewalks also let astronauts repair satellites or spaceship that are in space. By going on spacewalks, astronauts can fix things instead of bringing them back to Earth to fix.

When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits to keep themselves safe. Inside spacesuits, astronauts have the oxygen（氧气）they need to breathe. They have the water they need to drink.

Astronauts put on their spacesuits several hours before a spacewalk. They leave the spaceship through a special door called an airlock. The airlock has two doors. When astronauts get ready to go on a spacewalk, they go through the first door and lock it tight behind them. They can then open the second door without any air getting out of the spaceship. After the spacewalk, astronauts go back inside through the airlock.

When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to stay close to their spaceship. One end is tied to the spacewalker. The other end is connected to the spaceship. The safety tethers keep astronauts from flying away into space.

1. What is one kind of important work that astronauts do during spacewalks?

A．Watching the earth from the space.	B．Wearing spacesuits to keep warm.
C．Making repairs to objects.	D．Doing tests on their bodies.

2. Which is the correct order for Astronauts to prepare for spacewalks?
①lock the first door tight                    ②put on their spacesuits
③go through the first door                       ④open the second door

A．②④③①

B．①②③④

C．②③①④

D．③①②④

3. The underlined word "tethers" in the last paragraph means__________ in Chinese.

A．绳；链

B．工具

C．措施

D．头盔

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Astronauts wear spacesuits to breathe and move in space.

B．Astronauts need special machines to study other space.

C．Astronauts do important experiments in space.

D．Astronauts have special tools to stay safe and work in space.

7 . 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.

8 . 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

9 . 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

10 . 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