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.
小题1: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 |
小题2: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 |
小题3: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 |
小题4: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 |
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小题1:A
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:B |
试题分析：这篇短文主要介绍人们对彗星的认识。文章介绍，古时候人们害怕看见彗星，认为这是不祥的征兆。现在，人类已经开始对其进行深入的研究，并且不再像以前那样害怕彗星了。西方国家甚至把它发展成为一个传统，即看见流星划过天空，要许下一个心愿。
小题1:细节理解题。根据短文第二段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的描述可知，古时候人们认为彗星是上帝发送的警示标志。故选A。
小题2:细节理解题。根据短文第三段It was hoped that comet Ison would survive this trip around the sun的描述可知应选B。
小题3:细节理解题。根据短文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.的描述可知，太阳风会吹走一些气体和尘土。故选A。
小题4:细节理解题。根据短文最后一段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的描述可知，看见流星就许愿的传统至今流传。故选B。 |
核心考点
试题【 AN ice ball shoots across the night sky, lighting up its path along the way, li】；主要考察你对
科普环保类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
Cities and towns in 35 countries took part. The year 2012 saw 6,950 towns and cities in more than 152 countries took part in Earth Hour movement. Last year 7,000 towns and cities in more than 154 countries took part in Earth Hour. This year, WWF is calling for people across the world to take part in Earth Hour 2014 – the biggest switch-off in history.
For the eighth year, people are being asked to turn off their lights for one hour to call attention to the issue of climate change. The WWF’s organizers say climate change is one of the greatest threats(威胁) facing wildlife and nature. They also say when it comes to save energy and money, big changes start with small steps like turning out the lights.
Earth Hour supporter Jamie Oliver has some great ideas of his own for helping the environment: “We can all make simple changes to help, like always choosinghigher-welfare(规模化养殖的) meat, and even trying to have a couple of meat-free days a week. More little steps, such as taking a shower instead of a bath, leaving the car behind and walking to work, not leaving electrical appliances on standby（备用的） and so on are the beginning of a low carbon lifestyle and a healthier world.
This year, Earth Hour is asking people to take the movement “beyond the hour”. Earth Hour is a call to stand up and get involved. We hope everyone will join us in turning off for a brighter future.
小题1:What’s the main idea of Paragraph 1?| A．The first Earth Hour movement | | B．History of Earth Hour and its tasks. | | C．Earth Hour has changed our lives. | | D．Everyone can make a difference. |
小题2:Which of the following is Wrong?| A．The first Earth Hour started in 2007 in Australia. | | B．This year people are expected to turn off their lights for over one hour. | | C．For seven years , Earth Hour calls for action on climate change. | | D．7,000 towns and cities in over 154 countries took part in Earth Hour 2013. |
小题3: According to the passage, all the following are small steps we can take Except_____.| A．Turning off our lights in Earth Hour. | | B．Taking a bath instead of a shower | | C．Going to work on foot instead of by car | | D．Choosing higher-welfare meat |
小题4:The best title of the passage is_________________.| A．Climate Change: the greatest threat | | B．WWF: a global charity | | C．Earth Hour: small steps big difference. | | D．Climate Action: a global call |
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It is December 25th, 2050. The people in the city are all celebrating Christmas. I’m the mayor of our city. My citizens and I are holding a big party under the sea, though you wouldn’t believe it. But please do not feel excited, you should feel sad because we have to live under the sea. Because of the pollution, the earth has been completely destroyed, from top to bottom. The atmosphere has no oxygen and moisture. As a result, the plants are burned by the strong sunlight with a great number of harmful rays. Of course, none of them are still alive. Not only no green, but also the temperature reaches about 121℃ all day even in winter because there is too much CO2 circling the earth.
On the land, there is no life. Luckily, the sea is not destroyed by human. So, we have to move into the sea. At the bottom of the water, people have built many new cities. There is a lot of advanced(高深的，先进的) equipment in each city. Computers are used to control all the machines, even the people’s life. We can also make the seawater into fresh water. There are two machines making oxygen. If they stop working for only one minute, more than 10 million people will die.
The population of our city is over 30 million and, of course, it is quite crowded. We have lots of high buildings and bridges. The roads are wide, too. Our cars are small UFOs, don’t be surprised, it is true. At the bottom of the sea you can’t see anything, because there is no light all day. However, we have advanced lighting equipment so that we can see the “sun” under the sea. Of course, the advanced lighting equipment is very expensive. And if it doesn’t work, we can see nothing under the sea. What should we do then?
小题1:Where are they holding a big Christmas party?| A．On the land | B．Under the sea | | C．In high buildings | D．On the road |
小题2:What controls people’s life under the sea?| A．Machines | B．Advanced equipment | | C．Computers | D．Human beings |
小题3: Why do people have to live under the sea in 2050 according to the passage?| A．It is interesting to build cities and live under the sea. | | B．We have advanced lighting equipment so that we can see the “sun” under the sea. | | C．We can make oxygen under the sea with the high technology. | | D．There is no oxygen and moisture around the earth as it is destroyed. |
小题4:What can we learn from this article?| A．We should protect our environment instead of destroying it. | | B．There will be no lives in the world in 2050. | | C．People prefer to live under the sea in 2050. | | D．The plants are burned by the strong sunlight with a great number of useful rays. |
小题5:. The best title for this passage might be___________.| A．A Christmas In The Future | | B．A City Under The Sea | | C．The Underwater Life | | D．The Future Life Under The Sea |
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Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friend, cheer up and smile all the time．If you see the world with your warm heart, you"ll find that the whole world smiles to you．
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher"s face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine．Just before you want to go out, it suddenly starts to rain．Maybe you would feel very sad and start complaining about the weather．But dear friends, why don"t you sit down and listen to the free concert that the nature offers you? And with the timely rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest．
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failures can"t be avoided．I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is that we are afraid of it and give up hope．When we face failure, we must be confident in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do．As a popular saying goes," Failure is the mother of success．"
Attitude decides everything. With an optimistic attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let"s smile to whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.
小题1:People sometimes complain_______| A．the sky is always dark | | B．their studies are successful | | C．they see the world with their heart | | D．life is tiring |
小题2:According to the passage, in school, _______| A．the students don"t like their lessons | | B．the teachers will be happy if the students do good jobs | | C．the teachers don"t like their teaching | | D．the teachers are tired of their work |
小题3:When we face failure, we_______| A．must be confident in ourselves | B．shouldn"t be afraid of it | | C．shouldn"t give up hope | D．all of the above |
小题4:If there is a timely rain,_______| A．you want to go out | | B．you can listen to a concert | | C．crops in the fields will grow better | | D．farmers can"t have a good harvest． |
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“People so often take out their cameras almost mindlessly to catch a moment, to the point that they are missing what is happening right in front of them,” Henkel and her team decided to perform an experiment. They wanted to find out whether taking photos in a museum weakened(减弱) a visitor’s memory of what they had seen. So they simply told a group to look around the museum, and either take photos of the items on display, or try to remember what they had seen. In addition(另外), the amount(数量) of detail(细节) they remembered was worse than those who didn’t take photos. “These results show how the mind’s eye and the camera’s eye are not the same,” said Henkel.
But don’t put your camera down just yet. Other studies have found that looking back at old photos helps us remember an event, compared to just taking a photo and forgetting about it. So next time you’re thinking of taking a photo, just think: is it better to look at the beauty around you with your own eyes, or behind the eye of the camera?
小题1: When we take photos, we _________.| A．fail to focus on the event itself | | B．can’t record the details | | C．remember what we have seen | | D．are likely to have a poor memory |
小题2:Which of the following is NOT true about the experiment?| A．People who didn’t take photos did better in the experiment. | | B．They asked a group to try to remember what they had seen. | | C．The experiment aimed to learn what people were interested in at the museum. | | D．People who took photos in the museum could remember less details. |
小题3:According to the passage, we’d better _________.| A．never use our cameras | | B．remember an event by heart | | C．always remember an event with the help of a camera | | D．see everything only with our own eyes |
小题4:What do the results of the experiment show us?| A．The mind’s eye and the camera’s eye are not the same. | | B．People remember happiest moments by taking photos. | | C．Looking back at old photos helps us remember an event. | | D．People don’t like taking photos. |
小题5:Where can we probably read this passage?| A．The entrance of a museum. | | B．A guidebook on how to take good pictures. | | C．An instruction of how to use a camera. | | D．A scientific report. |
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This week we asked students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn more English. Many said they learned by __ English. Some students had more specific ____. Lillian Li, for example, said the best way to learn new words was ___ reading English magazines. She said that memorizing the words of pop songs also ____ a little. When we asked about studying grammar, she said, “ I ____ study grammar. It’s too boring.”
Wei Ming feels differently. He’s been leaning English for six years and really loves it He ____ studying grammar is a great way to learn a ____. He also thinks that watching English movies ____ a bad way because he can watch the actor ____ the words. Sometimes, however, he finds watching movies frustrating ____ the people speak too quickly.
Liu Chang said that ____ the English club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students get lots of practice and they also have fun. She added that having conversations with friends was not helpful at all. “We get ____ about something and then end up speaking in Chinese,” she said.
| 小题1: | | A．using | B．speaking | C．reading | D．writing |
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| 小题2: | | A．ways | B．plans | C．subjects | D．suggestions |
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| 小题4: | | A．learned | B．helped | C．tried | D．worried |
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| 小题5: | | A．sometimes | B．usually | C．never | D．always |
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| 小题6: | | A．asks | B．thinks | C．asked | D．thought |
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| 小题7: | | A．language | B．English | C．lesson | D．word |
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| 小题9: | | A．to say | B．saying | C．say | D．said |
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| 小题10: | | A．when | B．after | C．though | D．because |
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| 小题11: | | A．joining | B．having | C．enjoying | D．studying |
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| 小题12: | | A．interested | B．interesting | C．excited | D．exciting |
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