When you look up into the sky at night, have you ever felt that your eyes are playing tricks on (捉弄) you? It seems that the stars are moving all the time.
Actually, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. This twinkling effect is called scintillation (交光). Scintillation happens because of air movements in the earth’s atmosphere (大气). Light is “bent (弯曲的)” when it travels through different parts of the earth’s atmosphere. As the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving all the time, the light from the stars looks as if it is moving too.
The same thing also happens to things on the ground. On a very hot and shiny day, if you look at the road, the image in the distance is not clear and things move slightly. You can also see the same effect if you drop a rock into water. The rock appears a little unclear under the moving water.
This twinkling effect causes a lot of problems for astronomers (天文学家) since they cannot observe the stars clearly. A telescope (望远镜) was sent into space so that the air movements in the atmosphere could be avoided (避免). It took a long time to build the space telescope but finally in 1990, a huge space telescope called the Hubble Space Telescope was successfully sent into space. Since then, astronomers have many important observations that have helped people understand space better.
根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。 What happens to the light from the stars we see when the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving?
| A．It looks even brighter. |
| B．It looks as if it is bent. |
| C．It looks as if it is moving. |
| D．It looks like drops of rain. |
Scintillation also happens on according to the passage.
| A．rainy days | B．shiny days |
| C．cloudy days | D．windy days |
What can you see when you drop a rock into the water?
| A．The rock gets broken. |
| B．The rock becomes unclear. |
| C．The water becomes much polluted. |
| D．The water does not move anymore. |
The underlined word “observe” means “ ”.
| A．watch | B．listen | C．draw | D．explain |
Why is scintillation a problem for astronomers?
| A．The stars never stay still. |
| B．It makes the stars too dark to see. |
| C．It makes astronomers feel too hot to work. |
| D．Astronomers cannot observe the stars clearly. |
Small talks
A small talk is a good way to kill time and make friends. When you are in other countries, do you know how to have small talks with people?
In England, people like to talk about the weather, because the weather there changes very often. In the morning, it is sunny, but in can be cloudy or rainy in the afternoon. It often rains, but sometimes it’s sunny. And the winter isn’t very cold and the summer isn’t very hot.
English people are kind of quiet. They don’t often talk to others first, but when you ask them about the weather, they are usually happy and want to talk with you, so you can start a small talk by saying, “ It’s a fine day, isn’t it?”
They also like to talk about their pets, so it’s nice to say “A lovely dog! What’s its name?” to them. But American people like to talk about sports like football and basketball. They also talk about clothes. The weather is a great talk in America, too.
A good small talk can make you feel great, so when you are in England or America, please follow these rules.These passage talks about __________ countries.
| A．four | B．two | C．three | D．one |
The underlined（下划线）word “changes” means “___________” in Chinese.
| A．发现 | B．停留 | C．变化 | D．零钱 |
What don’t Americans like to talk?
| A．Pets | B．Sports | C．Clothes | D．Weather |
Which of the following is TRUE about English people?
| A．They are kind of quiet. |
| B．They like to play sports. |
| C．They always talk to others first. |
| D．They like talking about money. |
From the passage, we can know __________.
| A．the weather in England is very cold |
| B．a small talk is important to many people |
| C．only English people like talking about the weather |
| D．English people don’t like pets |
| Leo: a musician What can you play? I am smart. I can play the piano and the violin. And I’m learning Chinese erhu, but I can’t play it well now. It’s kind of difficult for me. Why do you like music so much? I think it’s relaxing and interesting. I can make many friends through music. What are you doing these days? I’ m having concert（音乐会）. I want to get some money to help animals in danger. I really like them. |
| Sally: a vet（兽医） What do you think of animals? I think all of them are cute and smart. Some look kind of scary, but they’re really friendly. I love animals. To help them is my job. What’s your life like? I usually ride a bike to work. I think it can keep me healthy. Sometimes, I like to walk with my animals. What are you doing these days? I’m writing a story about my favorite dog. He is smart and can do many things. |
Leo and Sally both like ____________.
| A．music | B．money | C．friends | D．animals |
What does Leo think of music?
| A．Boring and difficult. | B．Relaxing and interesting. |
| C．Easy and relaxing. | D．Easy and interesting. |
Why does Sally usually go to work by bike?
| A．Because she wants to save money. |
| B．Because she wants to be healthy. |
| C．Because she likes riding a bike. |
| D．Because her home is near her workplace. |
What is Sally’s story about?
| A．A dog. | B．A cat. | C．A giraffe. | D．A lion. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Leo is smart and friendly. |
| B．Sally is good at playing music. |
| C．Leo can play the erhu very well. |
| D．Sally wants to have a concert. |
An old farmer spent all his life on his farm in the country in the southeast of England. One day he decided to visit the big city. Everything was new and strange to him， because he had never traveled to the city before.
The old farmer visited a lot of interesting places in the city.
He rushed into a large tall building and saw a lift. When he was watching， an old woman got into the lift and closed the door. After a while， the door opened again and a very perfect young girl came out.
The old farmer was very surprised， “What a funny little room!” He said to himself， “It’s magic. It can change an old woman into a young girl. The next time I come here， I’m going to bring my wife to take the lift. ”
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。The old farmer lived ____.
| A．near the city |
| B．in the city |
| C．in the southeast of England |
| D．in a large tall building |
The old farmer decided ____ one day.
| A．to visit a building | B．to visit a city |
| C．to visit a factory | D．to visit a farm |
The old farmer ____.
| A．came to the city for the first time |
| B．had traveled to the city several times |
| C．found nothing new and strange in the city |
| D．only visited the large tall building |
When the old farmer was in a large tall building， he saw ____ get into the lift.
| A．a young girl | B．an old man | C．his wife | D．an old woman |
From the passage， we can guess the old farmer ____.
| A．knew the lift well |
| B．didn’t know anything about the lift |
| C．wanted to buy a lift |
| D．didn’t like the lift |
Last Sunday the Greens went to the movies. They got home very late. Father opened the front door and went into the house. It was very dark， so mother turned on the light. On the way to their bedroom， mother said， “Listen， John! I can hear someone in the bedroom. ” They all stood quietly outside the bedroom. They could hear some voices in the room.
“You are right. ” father said， “There are two men in it. They are talking. ” Then he shouted， “Who’s there?” But no one answered. Father opened the door quickly and turned on the light. The room was empty. Then father found something and laughed. “The TV is still on. I forgot to turn it off this morning!” father said.
根据短文内容，判断正(A)误(B)。The Greens got home very early.
On the way to their bedroom， mother heard someone in the bedroom.
They all stood quietly in the bedroom.
Father opened the door slowly and turned on the light.
There were really two men talking in the room.
Happiness is for everyone. In fact， happiness is always around you if you care about it. When you are in at school， your classmates will help you; when you study hard at your ， your parents are always taking good of you; when you get success(成功)， your friends congratulations（祝贺） to you; when you do something ， people around you will help you correct（改正） it; and when you do something good to ， you will feel happy， too. All these things are . If you pay attention to them， you can see happiness is always you. Happiness is not the same as money. When you are poor， you can say you are very happy， because people can’t buy happiness money. When you meet problems， you can also say loudly you are very happy， because you have many friends to help you. So you can’t always say you are poor and you have bad luck. If you agree with me， you can be a happy and person.A. pupils B. trouble C. room
A. newspapers B. cards C. lessons
A. friendship B. knowledge C. care
A.will say B. say C.said
A. wrong B. right C. badly
A. us B. them C. others
A. teacher B. happiness C. friends
A. among B. between C. around
A. without B. with C. by
A. lucky B. good C. able