Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial(天体) neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse(月蚀) on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists(语言纯正癖者), however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek(眯着眼睛看) at that brilliant orb(天体) as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

(   ) 1. A. wish            B. wait                 C. hope             D. expect

(   ) 2. A. deal with       B. do with          C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred        B. came                 C. ran          D. went

(   ) 4. A. full            B. half                 C. bright       D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight        B. visible          C. big          D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until           B. when                 C. before       D. since

(   ) 7. A. part            B. all              C. any          D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon            B. eclipse          C. sun          D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each            B. every                C. either           D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole   B. Generally speaking   C. On average   D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last           B. next                 C. other            D. another

(   ) 12. A. go             B. see              C. come             D. look

(   ) 13. A. point          B. evident          C. theory       D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name           B. object           C. phenomenon   D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created        B. came about       C. made             D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named      B. called           C. introduced       D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error          B. name                 C. reality      D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue           B. red              C. yellow       D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published      B. posted           C. printed      D. written

(   ) 20. A. in             B. out              C. away             D. on

It was four o'clock when we left Micatlan,and we traveled quickly until it became almost completely dark.It was our intention to return to our general quarters in Atlacomulco that night.We had a long journey ahead of us,especially because it had been decided there was no way we would try to cross the ravines again at night,since they were considered far too dangerous.Futhermore,an eclipse of the moon was expected,and,in fact,while we were crossing an open field,the moon appeared on the horizon,half in shadow,a rare and beautiful sight.

After a few hours of riding,we suddenly realized that we had lost our way,and worse still,had no way of finding it again.Night had fallen and there was not a single hut in sight,only great plains and mountains and the lowing of distant bulls all around us.We continued on ahead,trusting in luck,though it was difficult to say where she had brought us.By good fortune,our advance riders ran into two Indians,a man and a boy,who agreed to guide us their village and no further.

After an interminable and exhausting road,which we traveled at a brisk trot,the barking of several dogs announced an Indian village.In the dying light,we could just make out cane huts,firmly situated between the banana trees,with fenced gardens in front of each one.Our convoy stopped in front of one particular hut,a kind of inn or shop for alcohol,where a naked goblin-like figure,the ideal husband for a witch,was serving cheap brandy to the Indians,most of whom were already drunk.

We dismounted and threw ourselves to the ground,too tired to even think.Someone found us,God knows how,a cup of dreadful hot chocolate.We began to realize that we were completely lost,and so it was agreed to give up our attempt to reach Atlacomulco that night.Instead,we should head for the village of “E1 Puente”,where our guides know a Spanish family,made up of several unmarried brothers,who,without any doubt,would be delighted to offer us a safe refuge for the rest of the night.We remounted and began our journey,a little restored after the pause in our journey and the dreadful hot chocolate.

Where did we travel to?

A.El Puente.                                                           B.The cane huts.            C.Atlacomulco.                                                       D.An Indian Village.

When we traveled at night_________.

A.there was a good guide leading us           

B.there was a full moon in the sky

C.we could hardly see anything                  

D.we could see everything around clearly

When we lost our way we believed that_________.

A.we should stay where we were for rescue

B.we should go on to seek after our fortune

C.we should go back where we started

D.we should ask the Indians for help

When we reached the inn-like hut_________.

A.someone served alcohol and hot chocolate at once

B.we had a good sleep

C.we had a good drink

D.we were too exhausted to ask for anything

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial(天体) neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse(月蚀) on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists(语言纯正癖者), however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek(眯着眼睛看) at that brilliant orb(天体) as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

(   ) 1. A. wish                  B. wait                        C. hope               D. expect

(   ) 2. A. deal with            B. do with                   C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred            B. came                      C. ran                   D. went

(   ) 4. A. full                   B. half                         C. bright               D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight               B. visible                     C. big                   D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until                  B. when                      C. before              D. since

(   ) 7. A. part                   B. all                           C. any                  D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon                 B. eclipse                     C. sun                  D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each                  B. every                             C. either                      D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole    B. Generally speaking   C. On average       D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last                  B. next                        C. other               D. another

(   ) 12. A. go                   B. see                          C. come               D. look

(   ) 13. A. point               B. evident                    C. theory              D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name                      B. object                      C. phenomenon     D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created             B. came about              C. made               D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named              B. called                      C. introduced               D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error               B. name                      C. reality              D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue                 B. red                          C. yellow              D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published        B. posted                     C. printed             D. written

(   ) 20. A. in                    B. out                          C. away               D. on

New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week—schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts (停电) and heavy snow.
Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.
Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported.
The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).
“The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. “With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we’re very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas.”
Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop. 
“The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making.” Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist.
【小题1】The author mentioned the disorder in New York city at the beginning of the article to _______.

A.remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes
B.introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy
C.criticize the poor management of the city by the New York government
D.prove New York suffered most from hurricane Sandy
【小题2】According to the text, hurricane Sandy _______.
A.only got its power from the warm ocean water
B.grew stronger than other hurricanes because of the full moon
C.led to flooding in many cities around the US
D.brought with it strong winds, high tides, blackouts and heavy snowfall
【小题3】From the article, we learn that areas hurricane Sandy targeted _______.
A.were mostly high land
B.were mostly near the sea
C.were far away from important cities
D.were empty as people were evacuated (疏散)
【小题4】What is the main point of the article?
A.To show how a super-storm comes into being.
B.To explain why hurricane Sandy was so destructive.
C.To show that big cities in the US are easily affected by huge hurricanes.
D.To explore the best ways to avoid loss when a hurricane hits.

Why is a full moon, yellower and bigger when it is coming up than when it is higher in the sky?

That's a good question about something that we all can see. Let's talk about the moon's color first.

We see the moon only because of the sunlight that falls on it and is reflected. Actually, the moon is not a very good reflector, because its surface is all rocks and dirt. We see it in almost its true color when it is high in the sky.

When the moon first comes up, its light reaches our eyes after an extra-long path through the atmosphere (大气). There are lots of particles (微粒) scattering (分散) light in that long path. Blue light is scattered more than other colors, which means that it doesn't reach your eyes. The light that is left over looks yellow to your eye.

Now about the other question—why the moon seems to change in size. That's more complicated. It's not an effect of the atmosphere, the way color is; it's not caused by something fooling your eyes. It seems, instead, to be caused by something that fools your brain—an illusion(错觉).

Here's a drawing that creates an illusion. The two cones(圆锥体) are really the same size. But the rest of the drawing makes the right-hand cone seem farther away. Your brain knows that faraway objects are really larger than they look. It decides that the right-hand cone must be larger because it seems to be farther away.

Similarly, when you see the moon just come up over a line of trees or houses—or whatever makes the horizon(地平线)—it may be that your brain decides that the moon must be larger because it seems to be farther away.

1.The moon doesn't reflect the sunlight very well because________________.

A.it is high in the sky                       B.its surface is rough

C.its surface is white                       D.it isn't a good reflector

2.Which statement is true according to the passage?

A.In the course of its rising, the moon is getting smaller and smaller

B.The size of the moon is more complicated than its color

C.The atmosphere has the same effect on the moon's size as on its color

D.The change in the moon's size is caused by an illusion while that in its color is caused by the atmosphere

3.After reading this passage, you can possibly answer one of the following questions. Which one? ______.

A.Why is the sun bigger when it rises over the horizon?

B.Why does the sun look bigger when it rises over the horizon?

C.Why does the sun look golden?

D.Why does the sun rise in the east?

4.Who do you think probably wrote this passage?________.

A.A novelist                             B.A reporter

C.A science editor                        D.An English teacher.

 

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