AN ice ball shoots across the night sky, lighting up its path along the way, like a flying sun.
Ancient humans were afraid of the sight of comets(彗星). Many cultures believed that comets were messages sent by gods, and people thought these messages were warning signs for bad behavior. But today science and technology give us a better understanding of comets.
Last week, comet Ison ended its million-year-long journey as it flew straight toward the sun, melting most of the comet. It was hoped that comet Ison would survive this trip around the sun. Because once it got near Earth, it would have produced a great show of lights for us.
In ancient times, the coming of comet Ison might have scared people. However, now we can track a comet’s journey in our solar system. We can also study what they’re made of. There is even a project to launch a spacecraft onto a comet to study them further.
Although from the sky they look like great giant fireballs, comets are a collection of gas, ice, dust and small rocks. As a comet goes into our solar system, the sun’s solar winds blow some of the dust and gas away, giving the comet a tail. The average size of comets is about 10 kilometers in diameter(直径). But amazingly, their tails can be 150 kilometers long! Comet Ison’s diameter was about 5 kilometers.
Today, people don’t fear comets as much as they did before. Western countries have even developed and old tradition. When people see a comet or meteoroid(流星) shooting across the sky, they call it a shooting star, People who get the chance to see one get to make a wish. It is a tradition that lives on today.In ancient times, people thought comets were _____.
| A．warning signs sent by gods |
| B．lucky signs for good behavior |
| C．great shows of lights |
| D．flying suns |
We can tell from the third paragraph that comet Ison ___.
| A．finished its long journey to Mars |
| B．survived its trip around the sun |
| C．has reached the Earth |
| D．was melted by the sun |
When a comet travels near the sun, some of the __ will be blown away by the solar winds.
| A．gas and dust | B．ice and rocks |
| C．dust and rocks | D．rocks and tail |
According to the last paragraph, what tradition lives on today?
| A．Being scared by comets and meteoroids. |
| B．Making a wish when seeing a shooting star |
| C．Launching spacecrafts onto comets to study them further. |
| D．Having a better understanding of comets |
500 years ago in Britain, the burning of coal (煤) was increasing in cities like London. Coal was used in factories and also used to heat homes. Coal, when burnt makes a lot of smoke, which makes the air very dirty.
About 200 years ago, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) began in Britain. Factories were built, and even more coal was burnt. Air pollution was becoming a really big problem.
Smoke and fog together make smog (烟雾). Smog was a big problem in London's winter. Because of the cold weather, more coal was burnt to warm houses and this made more smoke.
When smog stayed over a city, it became really hard to breathe and see clearly. In 1952, the Great London Smog happened and more than 4,000 people died because of the smog.
New laws (法律) were made in 1956 and 1968 to stop such sad things from happening again. These laws were called the Clean Air Acts.
These laws were made so that air would become cleaner. The laws encouraged people to use less coal or switch to other fuels such as gas. Factories started using tall chimneys (烟囱) so that the smoke would go high up in the sky and no longer cover cities, and new factories were built in the countryside. Smog appeared less often and the air became cleaner.From the passage, we learn that smog was a big problem in ______ in London.
| A．spring | B．summer | C．autumn | D．winter |
The underlined words "switch to" mean "______" in Chinese.
| A．发明 | B．换用 | C．拒绝 | D．节省 |
Which was NOT a way people in Britain used to make the air cleaner, according to the passage?
| A．Factories built higher chimneys. |
| B．People began to use less coal. |
| C．More People began to ride bikes. |
| D．New factories were built outside cities. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Air Pollution in Britain in the Past. |
| B．How to Make the Air Cleaner. |
| C．Smog Is Bad for the Environment. |
| D．New Laws to Stop Air Pollution. |
The high school years are a key period. The things we learn during this time really shape our lives. Liu Changrning, principal of Beijing No. 4 High School made 18 suggestions for students just starting high school on how to get the best out of high school. Here are ten of them.
1) Read 50 books. But choose them from ten different fields.
2) Help a person. Look for a classmate, an elderly person, in fact anyone who could benefit (获益) from your help. You'll find you benefit too!
3) Research. Research a particular area, such as science, history or art.
4) Make a foreign friend. Try to be friend someone from a foreign country. It's an ideal way to learn about a foreign country.
5) Publish (出版) an article. Whether it appears in a newspaper, your school magazine or in your own blog, an article will be something to look back on in pride in later years.
6) Take up a new sport. Choose one you've never played before. If you find you like it, you'll have a hobby for life.
7) Join a club. Working hard in a club or other activities will give you a life outside of your studies.
8) Find a part-time job. Try and do the job for at least a month.
9) Find a person to learn from. Choose someone with unusual experience or special talent. Try to learn all you can from him or her.
10) Learn to cook four Chinese dishes. Learning how to cook is not only a practical skill but a way of building a bridge to other people.According to the passage, by making a foreign friend you can _______.
| A．learn about another culture |
| B．practice spoken English |
| C．discuss the international situation |
| D．share your happiness and sadness |
Besides learning a practical skill, another purpose of learning to cook is ______.
| A．to help your parents with housework |
| B．to kill time |
| C．to have communication with others |
| D．to make friends |
Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
| A．You should read fifty books of the same field. |
| B．Do a part-time job for less than a month. |
| C．Try to publish an article to make you famous. |
| D．You can benefit a lot by helping others. |
The principal made the suggestions in order for the students to ______.
A. make contributions to society
B. achieve great progress in high school
C love high school life
D. finish high school
I was woken up by a strange sound. I saw something moving by my window. I was terrified and ran downstairs. I found my mom in the kitchen, getting my brother ready for school.
"Mum, did you hear anything? I, uh. I thought I saw an alien."
"Are you all right? Just a dream ! "Mum answered.
Then I went back to my room. As I walked to the window, I cried, I saw a little alien, no more than three feet tall, with big and black eyes. It tried to run between my legs and escape through the window. Although I was scared, for some reason, I squeezed (挤) my legs together in time to catch it. It took out something and hurt me. I felt a terrible sense of nothingness and fainted (晕倒). Then I woke up.
At first, I could hardly move. I wasn't sure whether it was a dream or not. I pulled myself out of the bed and walked downstairs. I saw my mum in the kitchen. She was really getting my brother ready for school, wearing her pink clothes. Then I realized it was just a dream because in my dream she was wearing her work clothes.
From then on, I always dreamt about aliens and all the dreams felt so real. At that time, I really thought maybe I had some kind of relationship with aliens. About two months later, I stopped having such dreams. Later I realized that l used to have those dreams because I always read books or watched TV programs about aliens before I fell asleep!What did the writer first do when he saw the alien?
| A．He was too scared to move. |
| B．He knew it was a dream and wasn't afraid. |
| C．He was so scared that he fainted. |
| D．He thought against the alien. |
The writer found that it was just a dream _____.
| A．as soon as he woke up |
| B．before he went downstairs |
| C．when he saw his mother |
| D．when he was hurt by the alien |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The writer had the dream at night. |
| B．The writer's mother's work clothes might not be pink. |
| C．The writer's mother was worried about his dream. |
| D．When the writer had the dream, his family were sleeping. |
Why did the writer use to have dreams about aliens?
| A．He had some kind of relationship with aliens. |
| B．He was terribly ill. |
| C．He often did something about aliens before going to bed. |
| D．The dreams were all about the writer's real experiences. |
| The Longest Bicycle The longest true bicycle was 28.1 meters long and had two wheels. It was built by the students at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The bicycle was ridden more than 100 meters in Delft on December 11, 2002. |
The Most Expensive Jeans A pair of Levis jeans which was over 115 years old then was sold by Randy Knight to a Japanese buyer over the Internet on June 15, 2005. The jeans cost the buyer $60,000. |
| The Heaviest Apple The heaviest apple weighed 1.849 kilos. It was grown by Chisato Iwasaki on his apple farm in Japan. Chisato picked the apple on October 24, 2005. |
The Largest Mobile Phone The Iargest mobile phone was the Sony Ericsson W810i. It was 2.50×1.14×0.49m and was measured (量) at the MTN Scien Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, on September 20, 2007. |
The longest bicycle ______.
A. was made in the USA.
B. couldn't be ridden
C. was about 100 meters long
D. had only two wheelsWhich of the following is NOT true about the most expensive pair of jeans?
| A．It was sold over the Internet. |
| B．It cost the buyer $60,000. |
| C．It was sold to an American buyer. |
| D．It is more than 100 years old now. |
According to the passage, what happened on October 24, 2005?
| A．The heaviest apple was grown. |
| B．The longest bicycle was built. |
| C．The largest mobile phone was made. |
| D．The heaviest apple was picked. |
A famous magician (魔术师) came to our city. He gave some 41 . Most of his shows had educational 42 . He taught lessons about health, history and some other things about life through his magic tricks (魔术). Both children and parents 43 his shows, for the fun as well as the 44 .
My mother 45 me to watch one of his shows the day before yesterday. The show taught children not to steal (偷) by describing 46 a person might feel when his or her thing was stolen. In the show, there was a shark. He often stole things and never 47 the owners' feelings. Then one day he found his 48 things were stolen. He was angry and 49 . From that experience, he 50 how worried and angry others would be when their things were 51 . From then on he decided to 52 stealing.
The show was 53 . It made me understand why we shouldn't take what didn't 54 us, I also learned that we shouldn't get happiness from 55 others. Later I recommended (推荐) it to some of my friends, hoping they would also learn something from it while enjoying the wonderful magic.
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