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（滅絕）. 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隕石坑caused by meteorites impacting影響 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.
小題1:The story is about ___.     
A．floods caused by meteors
B．matter from outer space
C．life on Earth millions of years ago
D．meteorites that have damaged the moon
小題2:The Earth has ___.                    
A．three billion craters
B．fewer craters than the moon
C．more craters than the moon
D．a(chǎn) thinner atmosphere than the moon
小題3:Some scientists believe the dinosaurs became extinct because ___.     
A．they were hit by meteors
B．meteorites landed on their nests
C．meteorites landed and changed the climate
D．they could no longer breathe the atmosphere
小題4:Meteors are ___.                                         
A．small planets
B．the same as asteroids
C．from broken parts of asteroids
D．the light we see when meteoroids hit our atmosphere

小題1:B
小題2:B
小題3:C
小題4:D
文章介紹了來(lái)自外太空的隕石撞擊地球可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致地球環(huán)境的巨大變化，導(dǎo)致物種滅絕。
小題1:B 主旨大意題 文章講述的是來(lái)自外太空的物質(zhì)——隕石。故B正確。
小題2:B 細(xì)節(jié)題 根據(jù)第三段五，六行. 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.可知地球的隕石坑比月球要少。
小題3:C 推理題、根據(jù)文章第三段第五行開始的內(nèi)容可知人們認(rèn)為恐龍的滅絕是因?yàn)殡E石撞擊地球，導(dǎo)致地球的環(huán)境發(fā)生巨大變化，最后恐龍滅絕了。
小題4:D 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第一段最后一句. A meteor is actually the name given to the light we see when a meteoroid is burning up.可知D正確。
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

If you ask some people, “How did you learn English so well?” you may get a surprising answer: “In my sleep!”
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments (實(shí)驗(yàn)) to test “the learn while you sleep” method (方法), which is now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects. English is among them.
Scientists say that this sleep study method greatly speeds language learning. They say that the ordinary person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day—and this does not affect (影響) his rest in any way. However, sleep teaching will only put into your head what you have studied already while you are awake.
In one experiment, ten lessons were broadcast over the radio for two weeks. Each lesson lasted twelve hours — from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary (詞匯) were given with the students awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby (催眠曲) was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio in a soft and low voice broadcast the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to go over the lesson. The soft music sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 o’clock his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast.
小題1:In the experiment, lessons were given____ .
A．in the night timeB．a(chǎn)fter lullabies were broadcast
C．while the student was awakeD．a(chǎn)ll through the twelve hours
小題2:Before each lesson finishes, the student has to____ .
A．get up and take breakfast
B．be woken up by a loud voice
C．listen to the lesson again in sleep
D．review (復(fù)習(xí)) the lesson by himself
小題3:The sleep study method is being tried in many countries to teach____ .
A．the English languageB．grammar and vocabulary
C．a(chǎn) number of subjectsD．foreign languages

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
小題1:Why did the boy start his job young?
A．He wanted to be famous in the future.B．The job was quite easy for him.
C．His mother had high hopes for him.D．The competition for the job was fierce.
小題2:From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
A．excitedB．interestedC．a(chǎn)shamedD．disappointed
小題3:What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
A．She forced him to continue.B．She punished him.
C．She gave him some money.D．She changed her plan.
小題4:What is the text mainly about?
A．The early life of a journalist.
B．The early success of a journalist.
C．The happy childhood of the writer.
D．The important role of the writer in his family.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There are some places in the world where great cities once stood. There were trees, gardens and grass. But now these cities have gone and the places are like deserts. Scientists began to study this land to find out what happened. Many of them believed the land died when the trees were cut down.
Trees help other plants grow and help hold the soil in place. They keep the soil from blowing away. The leaves of trees on the ground keep rainwater from running off. Trees near farms protect growing plants from strong winds.
Once there were hundreds of farms in the southwestern United States. Then the farms turned into fields of dry dust. Trees might have saved these farms. But few trees grow in the dry southwest now.
Now we try to save trees. In many places, when a tree is cut down , a new tree is planted in its place . We do not want the land to die.
小題1:Places where great cities once stood are now like ______ .
A．farmsB．gardensC．desertsD．fields
小題2:What can trees do according to the passage ?
A．Trees can keep other plants green
B．Trees can help other plants grow .
C．Trees can help the land grow .
D．Trees can keep other plants in place .
小題3:Which is true ?
A．Trees let the rainwater run off .
B．All the farms in the United States have turned into deserts .
C．There aren’t any trees in the dry southwest now .
D．Land will die if there are no trees .
小題4:The main idea of this passage is _________ .
A．that farms are better than cities
B．how farms turned into deserts
C．that trees are important to the land
D．how people save trees
小題5:From the passage we know that _______ .
A．trees can blow soil away
B．man should protect the land
C．trees grow only in deserts
D．trees die easily

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.
After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.
So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.
One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.
Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.
Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.
Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.
小題1:According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.
A．long-term speaking practice and much reading
B．speaking practice for ten years only
C．long-term speaking practice, much reading and certain qualities
D．cramming new words every day
小題2:The author put forward the 4/3/2 technique just to show that _____.
A．you should speak to 3 different people
B．you should speak to 3 different people at 3 different times
C．it can prevent you from making grammar mistakes
D．it is really a good way to make you a better speaker
小題3:The example of a 27-year-old student of French in the passage mainly means that _____.
A．reading can enlarge your vocabulary for your speaking
B．reading can make you memorize just 65 percent of the new words
C．the 27-year-old student of French is very clever
D．in one month, you can improve your speaking ability
小題4:The underlined phrase “l(fā)inguistics expert” means a person who is quite expert at _____.
A．languagesB．spoken language
C．scientific researchD．teaching English

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach(菠菜) to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid(葉酸).
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.   
小題1:A good title for this reading passage is______.
A．Popeye the Sailor
B．The Truth About Spinach
C．A Mistake with Numbers
D．Folic Acid Makes You Strong
小題2:Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?
A．They thought spinach made them strong.
B．They thought Popeye was funny.
C．Spinach had a lot of iron.
D．People liked folic acid.
小題3:A research group told people that spinach______.
A．made Popeye strong
B．was a green vegetable
C．had less iron than other green vegetables
D．had more iron than other green vegetables
小題4:Folic acid is ______.
A．something in food
B．a(chǎn) vegetable
C．dangerous
D．a(chǎn) certain kind of spinach

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap. Some call it the summer learning setback. Simply speaking, it means the longer kids are out of school, the more they forget. The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar. Students get winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation. Some schools follow a year-round calendar. They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time, with a few weeks off in between. The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than three thousand such schools at last count. They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school. Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said, "Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback. They simply spread it out across the year."
Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students. Experts say this can be prevented. They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them "summer school" could be a problem. The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild, said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term summer school”. In American culture, the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood. The parents welcomed other terms like "summer camp," "enrichment," "extra time" and "hands-on learning."
小題1:According to the first paragraph the summer learning gap         .
A．helps children to gain weight
B．leads children to work harder
C．improves children’s memories
D．a(chǎn)ffects children’s regular studies
小題2:Compared to traditional schools, students in the year-round ones          .
A．perform better and have more learning gains
B．have much less time for relaxation every year
C．have generally the same number of class days
D．hold more classes with more free weeks off
小題3:Which of the following statements is true?
A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vacation.
B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap.
C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar.
D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vocation.
小題4:Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”?
A．They cherish the children’s rights of freedom very much.
B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school”.
C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap.
D．They can’t afford to the further study during vacation.
小題5:What would be the best title of this passage?
A．Opening Summer Camps
B．Forbidding Summer Schools
C．Spreading Year-Round Education
D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

What would life be like without rich, creamy, mouthwatering, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate?
Life would be bitter for most Americans. They spend about $13 billion a year buying all sorts of chocolate treats.
However, for the African children who toil under slavelike conditions on cacao plantations, life is not sweet. The cacao bean is the main ingredient in the chocolate. According to a 2002 survey by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the US Agency for International Development, about 284,000 children work in dangerous conditions on cacao farms in western Africa.
More than half those children are younger than 14. Many were sold into forced labor to work 12 hours or more a day on the cacao plantations.
A number of international organizations, including several African governments, recently began a program to eliminate(消除) child labor on cacao plantations. Under the program, government officials will remove children from abusive working situations while teaching farmers about child labor issues.
The program will also make borrowing money easier for cacao farmers. Officials hope farmers will use the money to invest in their farms and hire paid laborers.
小題1:The cacao bean is the main ingredient in _______.
A．treats
B．coffee
C．chocolate
D．cigarettes
小題2:How many children under 14 work on cacao farms in western Africa?
A．About 284,000.
B．About 142,000.
C．About 467,000.
D．About 876,000.
小題3:From the passage, you can reasonably conclude that _______.
A．cacao farms in western Africa rely heavily on child labor
B．children in Africa know how to make the best chocolate
C．candy bars sold in the United States are made on plantations in Africa
D．eating too much chocolate is bad for your health

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Recently Dr. Cleiman has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle. During the hours when you labor (work) through your work, you may say that you are “hot”. That is true, the time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak (頂峰). For some people the peak comes during the forenoon (上午前). For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so.
Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what this energy cycle means and which cycle each member of the family has.
You cannot change your cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. “Habits can help,” Dr. Cleiman believes. If your energy cycle is low in the morning but you have an important job early in the day, rise before your usual hour, and then you will work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a lazy yawn(哈欠) and stretch(伸展). Sit on the edge of bed before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome searching for clean clothes by laying them out the night before.
小題1:Dr. Cleiman did not explain in the passage ___________.
A．how people can make their life fit their cycle
B．whether everyone has a daily cycle or not
C．why people have their energy cycle at different times
D．what will happen in the family if the couple fail to realize which cycle each member has
小題2:For what reason may husbands and wives quarrel with each other?
A．Either of them gets up late in the morning.
B．Husbands and wives have different cycles of energy.
C．Either of them wants to change the cycle of the other’s.
D．They do not know which cycle they themselves have.
小題3:According to the passage, ____________.
A．one works better at one’s peak energy point
B．if you know your cycle you can change it to fit your life.
C．whenever you feel hot, your energy cycle reaches the highest
D．your energy cycle must be in the morning if you can get up early
小題4:Which of the following can save your energy in the morning?
A．Getting up late.
B．Jumping out of bed as quickly as possible.
C．Looking for clean clothes.
D．Sitting for a while before getting out of bed.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案