We often talk about the weather. If we want to know about the weather, we can turn on the radio and   1.   the weather report. We can also turn on the TV and watch the Weather   2.  . And we can ask other people in two different  3.  , “What’s the weather like today?” or “How is the weather today?” You can also call at 96121 for the weather.

  When it’s cold, we need to wear   4.   clothes. When it’s   5.  , we need raincoats or umbrellas. When it’s hot, we need a cool place and a cold drink.

 

What’s the red star in the sky through a telescope(望遠(yuǎn)鏡)? It is Mars. Do you want to know more about it? Take the “Mars Orbit Express”!

    “Mars Orbit Express” is a space probe (探測(cè)器). It was sent towards Mars by American scientists on August 12th，2005. Its tasks are to study Mars’ atmosphere and return photos to Earth. But before that “Mars Orbit Express” must travel about 100 hundred million kilometers and seven months. It reached Mars’ orbit(軌道)in March，2006.

     Mars and Earth have similar weight and size. However，Mars is closer to the sun than Earth. Mars is very cold. The average temperature is below 50℃. The temperature at noon only reaches 20℃ during a Mars day. Its atmosphere is mostly CO2. It has much sand and two moons---Phobos and Deimos.

     Scientists think Earth and Mars had similar beginnings 4.6 billion years ago. But while Earth supports millions of lives，Mars becomes bad. “Earth easily could have turned out like that.” said an scientist, “It is important for us to find out why and Mars Orbit Express’ should do that.” “Mars Orbit Express” also would help scientists to learn what might happen to Earth in the future.  “Mars Orbit Express” would work for about four years.

1. What can you see through a telescope when watching Mars? ________.

  A. Much sand           B.A red star         C. Its atmosphere         D. Its size

2.One of the tasks of Mars Orbit Express is _______.

A. taking pictures of Mars         

B. studying the weight of Mars

C. finding out distance between Earth and Mars

D. telling the time it takes to go from Earth to Mars

3.Compared with Earth，_______.

  A. Mars has a long history           B. Mars is big and heavy

  C. Mars is close to the sun           D. Mars’ atmosphere is mainly O2.

4. Which might be the proper title for the passage?

A. Mars：differences from Earth      B. A probe：to learn more about Mars

C. Mars: change of temperature       D. A probe：to tell the future of Earth

 

One of my favorite things to do is hiking in mountains．Because

nobody likes the idea of getting lost，I always prepare before every

trip．But what’s the best navigation tool，a Global Positioning Sys-

tem(GPS)or a good old map and compass?

  Five of my friends and I hiked through the mountains on a trail

(路線)I marked．One team of three carried a GPS，and the other[來(lái)源:Z+xx+k.Com]

team used a map and compass．

    It took the GPS team 3 hours and 1 1 minutes to get through the

whole hike，however，it took the map and compass team only 2

hours and 49 minutes．The biggest problem the GPS team met was

that they lost the satellite signal(衛(wèi)星信號(hào))in some places．With

no map or compass，they had to walk around until they were in a

place where the signal was good．The map and compass team was

able to spot different landmarks，compare them to their maps and then use the compass to point them in the right direction．

    When I head out on my future hikes，I'm bringing a map，a compass and a GPS to show me the way．

(    ) 1.The two teams____．

    A．had the same navigation tool  B．went along the same trail    C．had the same problem

(    ) 2.The GPS team spent ____ time than the map and compass team in the whole hike．

    A．1ess    B．more    C．the same

(    ) 3.In the end，the writer found out____．

    A．the map and compass were too old navigation tools to use any more

    B．it wasn’t necessary to bring a map and a compass together with a GPS

C．the GPS had some disadvantages in hiking in mountains

 

A rich man was ill in hospital, and the doctor feared that his life was ending soon. He called together his three sons and gave them the challenge, ‘One of you will get all my money. To decide which of you can get the money, I am going to give each of you a dollar. Go today and buy something that can fill this room.”

     In the evening, they all came back. Child number one went to his friend’s farm and bought two bales of hay (兩捆干草) with the dollar. He brought the hay and threw it up into the air. But it couldn’t fill the room.

Child number two went to a shop and bought two pillows made with feathers(羽毛). He then opened them and threw the feathers all over the room. All the feathers settled down on the floor and the room was still not filled.

The third son took out a candle and said, “I bought a box of matches and a candle then I gave the rest to a charity.” He lit the candle and turned off the lights, and the room was filled.

“ Well done, my son. You will get all my money because you understand a very important lesson about life. You understand how to let your light shine. That is good.” said the father.

1.The rich man wanted to give all his money to one of his sons because _______.

A. he was dying

B. he was too old to work

C. he wanted to know which son was the cleverest

D. he want something special

2.Child number two ________.

A. asked his father for help        B. bought nothing

C. gave the money to charity       D. got feathers in a shop

3.From the passage we can know _______.

A. the third son is honest and friendly  

B. the father is satisfied with the third son

C. child number one is the cleverest     

D. candle is a good gift for family

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Let Your Light Shine      B. A Rich Man and His Three Sons

C. How to Get Money        D. The Cleverest Son

 

Indian boy Piscine Patel is troubled by his first name. It sounds like a rude word, and his classmates laughed at him. He decides to change his name to “Pi”.

But Pi’s name problems are nothing compared to what is waiting for him.

Pi’s father owns a zoo. He decides to move to Canada. The family, together with all the zoo animals, set sail across the Pacific. One day, a huge storm hits the ship. The next morning, Pi finds his family has sunk with the ship. He is the only person still alive.

He finds himself on a lifeboat with several animals, one of which is a tiger called Richard Parker. Soon, all the animals are killed and Pi is left alone with the tiger.

As the tiger becomes hungrier, Pi starts to fish to feed him. Otherwise, he himself will become the food.

The boy and the tiger develop an amazing relationship on the sea. Although he feels hopeless, Pi never gives up. After 227 days, the lifeboat finally lands on a beach in Mexico, but Richard Parker runs away into the forest.

The ship company finds Pi and asks what happened. Pi tells them about Richard Parker but the company doesn’t believe him. Pi then tells another story in which there is no tiger, but some other shocking details(細(xì)節(jié)).

Is there really another story? If so, which one is the truth? Maybe you will have your own answer after watching The Life of Pi(《少年派的奇幻漂流》), the latest 3D movie from American Chinese director Ang Lee.

1.What’s the first trouble of the Indian boy Piscine Patel?

A．His classmates laughed at his name.

B．His family set sail across the Pacific to Canada.

C．A huge storm hits the ship with his family.

D．The tiger nearly killed him on the lifeboat.

2.Why are all the other animals on the lifeboat killed? Because     .

A．they are hunted by others

B．they are eaten by the tiger

C．they are sunk under the sea

D．they are killed and cooked by Pi

3.The passage mainly tells us     .

A．how Pi’s lifeboat sank in the sea

B．how the tiger ran away from the sea to the forest

C．what happened to Pi on the lifeboat with a tiger

D．what happened to the animals in Pi’s father’s zoo

4.Which would be true according to the passage?

A．The tiger was killed at last.

B．Pi was saved by another ship.

C．The ship company believed Pi’s tiger story

D．Pi told two stories in the movie.