When we look at the sky and see a bright light moving quickly across it or coming towards the earth, we talk about seeing a “shooting star” or a “falling star”. These moving lights are not, in fact, stars at all. They are small pieces of matter from outer space, which burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. The correct name of them is meteoroids. Any pieces that make it to the Earth’s surface without completely burning up are known as meteorites. A meteor is actually the name given to the light we see when a meteoroid is burning up.
When a meteorite hits the Earth at speeds between 11 and 72 kilometers a second, it can do amazing damage. A very large meteorite could knock the earth out of its orbit. If this happened, all life on Earth would probably become extinct(灭绝). The path we follow around the Sun would change and as a result the Earth would become either much hotter or much colder. This change in temperature would affect sea levels and the amount of water in rivers. There would either be huge floods, which would cover most of the land with water, or the oceans would dry up and there would be a drought, which means a long period of time without rain. Either way, nothing could survive. If a large meteorite landed in the sea it would almost certainly cause tsunamis, which would race towards the land, destroying everything in their paths.
Although it is unlikely the Earth will be struck by a meteorite large enough to do that kind of damage, there is evidence of fairly large meteorites hitting the Earth in the past. In 1908 a large area of forest in Tunguska, Siberia was destroyed by a meteorite that came apart just before it hit the ground. The moon, however, has about three billion craters陨石坑caused by meteorites impacting影响 its surface. The reason more meteorites have reached the surface of the moon than the surface of the Earth is that the moon does not have enough atmosphere for the meteorites to burn up in. some of the meteorites that have reached the Earth’s surface have done considerable damage. Some scientists believe it was a change of climate caused by meteorites hitting the Earth that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs and other large prehistoric animals.
Scientists are especially interested in meteorites because they contain information about the solar system. It is widely believed by scientists that most meteorites are produced by collisions(碰撞) between asteroids (small planets). These collisions probably happened many billions of years ago. This means the physical and chemical structure of a meteorite can give scientists information about the early days of the universe.

  1. 1.

    The story is about ___.     

    1. A.
      floods caused by meteors
    2. B.
      matter from outer space
    3. C.
      life on Earth millions of years ago
    4. D.
      meteorites that have damaged the moon
  2. 2.

    The Earth has ___.                    

    1. A.
      three billion craters
    2. B.
      fewer craters than the moon
    3. C.
      more craters than the moon
    4. D.
      a thinner atmosphere than the moon
  3. 3.

    Some scientists believe the dinosaurs became extinct because ___.     

    1. A.
      they were hit by meteors
    2. B.
      meteorites landed on their nests
    3. C.
      meteorites landed and changed the climate
    4. D.
      they could no longer breathe the atmosphere
  4. 4.

    Meteors are ___.                                         

    1. A.
      small planets
    2. B.
      the same as asteroids
    3. C.
      from broken parts of asteroids
    4. D.
      the light we see when meteoroids hit our atmosphere

Years ago while lying in my hammock (吊床)and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence.Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor' s 10 - year - old daughter' s rabbit.For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard.I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.
The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower.Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as "natural caused".
Back to the hammock and JD.Within the hour the neighbor' s Volvo palled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage.Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: " D - A - D - D – Y!!!"
Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage.Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
Her father less than calmly shouted, "What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl's rabbit and put it back in its cage?"

  1. 1.

    The girl was shocked because _____.

    1. A.
      the rabbit was killed by someone
    2. B.
      the rabbit was too clean
    3. C.
      the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage
    4. D.
      the rabbit was asleep in the cage
  2. 2.

    That day the girl ran to the cage _____.

    1. A.
      because her rabbit was there
    2. B.
      because she.had a habit of going there to see her rabbit
    3. C.
      because she wanted to see her rabbit again
    4. D.
      because the rabbit was dead
  3. 3.

    We can infer that the rabbit ______.

    1. A.
      was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it
    2. B.
      was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it
    3. C.
      was in the cage playing with the dog
    4. D.
      was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog
  4. 4.

    According to the story, the writer _____.

    1. A.
      was helpful to his neighbor
    2. B.
      did a smart thing
    3. C.
      was honest
    4. D.
      made a mistake

For eighty four days old Santiago had not caught a single fish. At first a young boy, Manolin, had shared his bad fortune, but after the fortieth luckless day the boy’s father told his son to go in another boat. From that time on, Santiago worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and  always helped him with money and food. Usually, they would talk about the fish they had taken in luckier times or about American baseball after supper, while at night, alone in his cottage, Santiago dreamed of lions on the beaches of Africa, where he had gone years before. He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.
On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago set off to fish before dawn. Two of his baits(饵) were fresh tunas(金枪鱼) the boy had given him, as well as sardines(沙丁鱼) to cover his hooks. Then he set his lines which went straight down into deep dark water.
As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore. A bird showed him where dolphin were chasing some flying fish. This time Santiago saw tuna jumping in the sunlight. A small one took the hook on his line. Pulling the fish aboard, the old man thought it a good fortune.
Toward noon a marlin, a common fish in the sea, started eating the bait which was one hundred meters down. Gently the old man played the fish, a big one, as he knew from the weight on the line. At last he struck to settle the hook. The fish did not come out of the surface. Instead, it began to pull the boat to the northwest. The old man followed it. Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks. He waited patiently for the fish to be tired .
It was cold after the sunset. When something took one of his remaining baits, he cut the line with his knife. Once the marlin leaned suddenly, pulling Santiago forward on his face and cutting his cheek. By dawn his left hand was cramped(抽筋的). The fish had headed northward; there was no land in sight. Hungry, he cut pieces from the tuna and chewed them slowly.
That morning the fish jumped. Seeing it, Santiago knew he had hooked the biggest marlin he had ever seen. Then the fish went down and turned toward the east. Santiago drank a little water from the bottle during the hot afternoon.
Close to nightfall a dolphin took the small hook he had rebaited. He lifted it aboard, careful. After he had rested, he cut meat from the dolphin and kept also the two flying fish he found in its stomach. That night he slept. He awoke to feel the line running through his fingers as the fish jumped. Feeding line slowly, he tried to tire the marlin. After the fish slowed its run, he washed his cut hands in sea water and ate one of the flying fish. At sunrise the marlin began to circle. Faint, he worked to bring the big fish nearer with each turn. Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon(鱼叉). The fish was two feet longer than the boat. No fish like it had ever been seen in Havana harbor.
An hour later, he sighted the first shark, a fierce Mako, and it came in fast to chase after the dead marlin. The old man struck the shark with his harpoon. The Mako rolled and sank, carrying the harpoon with it and leaving the marlin bloody. He knew the smell would spread. Watching, he saw two sharks closing in. He struck at one with his knife and watched it sliding down into deep water. The other he killed while it tore at the flesh of the marlin. When the third appeared, he thrust(刺) it with the knife. The other sharks came at sunset. At first he tried to beat them with the tiller(舵柄) from the boat, but his hands were bleeding and there were too many in the sea. In the darkness, as he steered toward the harbor of Havana, he heard them hitting the boat again and again. But the old man thought only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of the big marlin.
All lights were out when he sailed into the little harbor and beached his boat. He could just make out the white backbone and the upstanding tail of the fish. Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on. In his cottage he fell on his bed and went to sleep.

  1. 1.

    The above story is adapted from __________.

    1. A.
      Treasure Island
    2. B.
      The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer
    3. C.
      The Old Man And The Sea
    4. D.
      The Son Of The Sea
  2. 2.

    Why did the man feel that he could be lucky this time?

    1. A.
      Because a small tuna took the hook on his line.
    2. B.
      Because he dreamed about the American lions.
    3. C.
      Because he saw many flying fish were chased by the dolphins.
    4. D.
      Because a lot of sharks followed his boat.
  3. 3.

    According to the text, which statement is NOT true about Manolin?

    1. A.
      The boy had mercy on Santiago.
    2. B.
      The boy often shared his stories with Santiago.
    3. C.
      The boy showed his great concerns to Santiago.
    4. D.
      The boy was Santiago’s adopted son.
  4. 4.

    Why does Santiago let the marlin lead his boat instead of pulling the big fish up?

    1. A.
      He wanted to kill the marlin first before he pulled it up to the boat.
    2. B.
      He was too tired and hungry to pull the big fish up.
    3. C.
      His experience told him not to do so before the fish was tired out.
    4. D.
      He wanted to use the marlin as a bait to catch the sharks.
  5. 5.

    Which sentence below can be used to best describe Santiago’s character?

    1. A.
      “He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.”(Para 1)
    2. B.
      “Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks.”(Para4)
    3. C.
      “Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon.”(Para7)
    4. D.
      “Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on .”(Para 9)
  6. 6.

    According to the text, what will be talked about in the next paragraph?

    1. A.
      the man’s action to realize his dream about the lions.
    2. B.
      people’s reflection when they saw the giant marlin outside.
    3. C.
      people’s discussion about how they ate the giant marlin.
    4. D.
      a funeral held by the boy and the local people after his death.

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