1 . 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.

2. Why does Alyssa think people should go to Mars?

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.

3. What can we learn about Alyssa Carson’s father?

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.

4. Which one is TRUE according to the text?

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.

5. What does the writer want to tell us?

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.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Humans may live on another planet one day! That     1     (seem) impossible years ago. But now the idea may come true. According to Stephen Hawking, a British     2     (science), humans only have about 1,000 years to live on the earth. It means that humans     3     (fly) to another planet in 1,000 years. In fact, we have found one red planet Mars (火星). Experts have found that there     4     (be) water on it. The idea of living there looks possible. Thanks to science, the steps to Mars are getting     5     (fast) than before. For example, in 2013, Dutch experts     6     (plan) the first plan to put humans on Mars. They offered people one-way tickets to go and build a new home on Mars.     7     it was dangerous, over 200,000 people still wanted to take part in it.     8     the evening of September 21, US experts showed another plan to get humans to Mars in six years. They are also doing many     9     (prepare) to help people get back to the earth. I’m looking forward to     10     (live) on Mars. Will you join us?

3 . Chang’e-5 has returned from the moon to Earth. The mission’s success made China the third country to bring back samples (样本) from the moon.

Chang’e-5 was China’s third mission to land on the moon, and it’s first to get samples from the moon. There were no astronauts on this trip. Scientists ran the mission with robotic machines.

Chang’e-5 was launched (发射) from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on November 24th, 2020. On December 1st, it got to the moon. During the stay on the moon, it got 1,731 grams of lunar samples. On December 3rd, our national flag was shown on the moon. After that, Chang’e-5 was ready to go home. On December 17th, Chang’e-5 landed safely in Inner Mongolia.

Chang’e-5 was the first mission to get samples from the moon in over 40 years. The samples will help scientists better understand the history of the moon and the solar system.

The Chang’e-5 mission has made many Chinese people excited and proud of their country’s success. The mission also showed that China has a first-rate (一流的) space program that is able to compete with other countries.

Answer the following questions according to what you read.
1. Was Chang’e-5 China’s first mission to get samples from the moon?
________________________________________
2. When was Chang’e-5 launched?
________________________________________
3. How long has Chang-5 been in space?
________________________________________
4. Who could use the samples to do some research?
________________________________________
5. As Chinese, how do we feel about Chang’e-5’s success?
________________________________________

4 . According to Ken Croswell, The Sun shines all the time. It shines during the day when we see it, and even at night when we don’t.

As the Earth turns, sometimes we face the Sun. That’s when we get day. When the Earth’s spin (自转) turns us away from the Sun and we are in the Earth’s shadow, we get night. When people on the opposite side of the Earth face the Sun, those people have day while we have night.

The Moon is a different story. Unlike the Sun, it doesn’t make its own light. Moonlight is actually the Sun’s light reflecting (反射) the Moon back to us.

The Sun lights up only the side of the Moon that faces the Sun. At Full Moon, the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. Then the side of the Moon facing the Earth is all lit up. During Full Moon, the Moon rises around sunset (日落), shines all night, and sets around sunrise (日出). Since the moonlight is so bright, you can sometimes see it during the day, too. A few days before Full Moon, if you look east in the afternoon, you may see the Moon in the sky. After Full Moon, you may find it if you look west in the morning.

The Moon is most difficult to see at New Moon, when its orbit (轨道) puts it between the Earth and the Sun. Then, the side of the Moon facing the Earth is dark and we can’t see the Moon at all.

1. What can we know about the Sun?

A．The Sun rules the Moon.

B．The Sun shines during both day and night.

C．The Sun lights up all the sides of the Moon.

D．The Sun shines everywhere on the Earth at the same time.

2. Which of the following in the dictionary best explains the underlined word “shadow” in Paragraph 2?

A．the shape of the Earth.	B．the force from the Sun.
C．the dark area on the Earth.	D．the opposite side of the Sun.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．How the Moon makes its light.

B．Why there is day and night on the Earth.

C．Why the Moon can be seen during the day.

D．What the difference is between Full Moon and New Moon.

4. Which following picture shows us New Moon?

A．

B．

C．

D．

5. What is the theme (主题) of the text?

A．Culture.

B．Science.

C．Education.

D．Technology.

5 . The question whether there is life on Mars (火星) has made the public think a lot for more than a century. The closest look showed Mars to be a dusty, cold world, covered by air too thin to breathe. A British spaceship and Europe’s Mars spaceship plan to land on Mars or enter orbit (轨道) around it. One of the NASA’s (美国宇航局) spaceships is expected to land on January 3, the other is going to land on the opposite side of Mars on January 24.

Since 1960, over twenty spaceships sent to Mars have failed. Most have been lost on flying up or landing because those are the most difficult times of any flights.

Scientists wanted to find out whether there was water in Mars. In October, a team of scientists reported that Mars had been a dry wasteland. But weeks later, a second team reported differently that they had found some marks showed clearly that they were made by the rivers. Such marks told us that Mars was a warmer place billions of years ago—just as life first appeared here on Earth. Scientists at once raise a question: if what they said is true, what happened on Mars? Then what about the earth?

1. Which is right about Mars?

A．It’s cold without dust.	B．There is no water or air.
C．It’s warm with some thin air.	D．It’s a dusty, cold world almost without air.

2. Two NASA’s spaceships ________.

A．will land on the different sides of Mars	B．will land on the same day
C．will enter orbit around Mars	D．will land with a man

3. A team of scientists reported that there might be ________ in Mars.

A．nothing but air	B．nothing
C．water billions of years ago	D．thick air and lakes

4. What are scientists worried about when they raise the question?

A．Life disappeared on Mars.	B．Spaceships can’t land on Mars.
C．The air on the earth gets less and less.	D．The earth might be changed like Mars.

6 . Last year I had a trip with my friend, Nancy. The weather was cloudy except for one night. Nancy and I sat in the field and we felt relaxed. We talked about the fantastic trip, looking at the stars. “It’s a pity we don’t know which stars we’re looking at, Jenny,” said Nancy. “I know some of them.” I answered. Nancy felt surprised when I finally finished telling her all the names I knew.

My interest in stars began when I was eight. My aunt took me to a planetarium (天文馆). A guide showed us the groups of stars and told us stories about how they got their names. The stories were wonderful.

Everyone knows we can see the stars better when it’s not cloudy, but lots of people don’t realize that a bright moon also stops us seeing very much. I always look for the Plough (北斗星), because once I see that, I can find the North Star and other stars.

I wanted to learn more about the stars, so I took a course at the club. There are so many lights in the city that we have to go into the countryside to see any stars. I’m planning to make videos about stars in the countryside. I’ll post them online for everyone to watch. My greatest dream is to be an astronaut and I wish I could have space travel.

1. How did Nancy feel after Jenny told her the names of stars?

A．Relaxed.

B．Surprised.

C．Angry.

D．Nervous.

2. When can we see the stars better?

A．When it’s cloudy.	B．When there are many lights.
C．When it’s fine.	D．When the moon is bright.

3. What is Jenny planning to do?

A．Have space travel.	B．Take courses online.
C．Make videos about stars.	D．Give a talk about the names of stars.

4. Which of the following would Jenny probably agree with?

A．Students should move to the countryside.

B．Children’s favorite hobby is to write stories.

C．The best place to watch stars is the city center.

D．A bright moon may stop people seeing the stars very much.

7 . If someone asks you, “    1    ” I think you will answer “Blue”. I’m afraid that you will be wrong.     2     It looks blue because we are looking at the blue sunlight. The sunlight is shining on little bits of dust (灰尘) in the air.

    3     I’m sure that you have asked this question, too. We know that there is air all around the world, but we couldn’t fly very high because as we go high, the air gets thinner. If we go far enough away from the Earth, we find there is no air.

Maybe we can answer some questions now. What is the sky? Where is it? It is all around the world.     4     In space, there is nothing, but only the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and all the other stars.

A．The sky is space.

B．Is the sky full of air?

C．The sky has no colour.

D．What colour is the sky?

E．There is no air on the Moon.

8 . If someone asks you, “What colour is the sky?” I think you will answer “blue”. I’m afraid that you are wrong. The sky has no colour. It looks blue because we are looking at the blue sunlight. It is shining on little bits of dust (灰尘) in the air.

Is the sky full of air? I’m sure that you have asked this question, too. We know there is air all around the world. But we couldn’t fly very high because as we go high, the air gets thinner (更稀薄的). If we go far enough (足够的) away from the earth, we find there is no air.

Maybe we can answer some questions now. What is the sky? Where is it? The sky is space. It’s all round the world. In space there is nothing, but only the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and all the stars.

1. What does the underlined word (划线单词) “It” refer to (指的是)?

A．The blue air.

B．The blue sunlight.

C．The sky.

D．The eye.

2. We can’t fly very high because ________.

A．there’s too much air in the sky	B．the high sky is full of dirty air
C．there’s no air in the high enough sky	D．the sun is too hot

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The sky is a big ball with air.

B．The sky is a star around the Earth.

C．In space there is nothing.

D．The sky is space with the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and all the stars.

9 . Many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars. Here is what life could be like.

First of all, transport should be much better. By 2100, spaceship can travel at half of the speed of light.     1    

Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live. Scientists should be able to find plants that can grow on Mars. These plants will provide us with food and air.

    2     We could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space. To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.

Life on Mars will be better in many ways.       3     It is possible to live in a large building with many bedrooms. Then, robots will do most of the work, so we have more time for hobbies.

    4     Every student can study, do their homework on the computer and take exams in online schools. Each student will also have their own online teacher called “E-teacher”.

However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on the earth today.     5     Meals will probably be in the shape of pills and will not be as delicious as they are today. Also, space travel will make many people feel ill.

根据材料内容，从下面五个选项中选出能填入文中空缺处的最佳选项，使短文意思通顺、内容完整。

A．Food will not be the same.

B．First, people will have more space.

C．There will probably be no schools on Mars.

D．There is a problem for us to live on Mars.

E．It might take us two or three days to get to Mars.