When you look at the sky at night, the moon looks bigger than the stars. Actually, the moon is much smaller than the stars and the sun. It’s much smaller than the earth. But the moon is much closer to us than any star. That is why it looks so big. If you hold a coin close to your eye, it looks big. If you look at it across the moon, it looks small.
The moon moves around the earth. It makes one trip in about four weeks. The moon looks flat to us. But it is a round ball, like the earth.
People once thought the moon had fire on it. They thought the fire made it bright. Now we know the moon is like a mirror. It gets its light from the sun.
Our sunlight comes from the sun, too. What is the sun? The sun is a star. The stars we can see have their own light. There are many big stars we cannot see. Their light had burned out. Others are still bright, but they are so far away that we cannot see them. The sun looks bigger and much brighter than other stars because it is the nearest of all stars. The sun and the other stars we see are very hot, but the air around us saves us from the heat of the sun.
The sun gives us light and warmth. It makes plants grow and turns leaves green. It makes life possible on our earth. It is a life giving star.
【小题1】 It takes _______ for the moon to go around the earth.

When you look at the sky at night, the moon looks bigger than the stars. Actually, the moon is much smaller than the stars and the sun. It's much smaller than the earth. But the moon is much closer to us than any star. That is why it looks so big. If you hold a coin close to your eye, it looks big. If you look at it across the moon, it looks small.
The moon moves around the earth. It makes one trip in about four weeks. The moon looks flat to us. But it is a round ball, like the earth.
People once thought the moon had fire on it. They thought the fire made it bright. Now we know the moon is like a mirror. It gets its light from the sun.
Our sunlight comes from the sun, too. What is the sun? The sun is a star. The stars we can see have their own light. There are many big stars we cannot see. Their light had burned out. Others are still bright, but they are so far away that we cannot see them. The sun looks bigger and much brighter than other stars because it is the nearest of all stars. The sun and the other stars we see are very hot, but the air around us saves us from the heat of the sun.
The sun gives us light and warmth. It makes plants grow and turns leaves green. It makes life possible on our earth. It is a life giving star.

1. 1.

   It takes _______ for the moon to go around the earth.

   1. A.
      more than a week
   2. B.
      nearly a month
   3. C.
      half a year
   4. D.
      more than a year
2. 2.

   The moon is bright because _______.

   1. A.
      there is some fire on it
   2. B.
      it is near the sun, too
   3. C.
      there is a big mirror on it
   4. D.
      it can get light from the sun
3. 3.

   The passage tells us _______.

   1. A.
      the sun is not the biggest star
   2. B.
      the sun is bigger than any other star
   3. C.
      only the sun can shine
   4. D.
      the sun is one of the farthest stars to us
4. 4.

   Why do we call the sun "a life giving star"?

   1. A.
      Because it gives us warmth.
   2. B.
      Because there are some living things on it.
   3. C.
      Because plants and animals can't live without it.
   4. D.
      Because people have to live in the dark without it.

　　Stop reading for a mirage and think about what you see when you look up at the sky on a clear night. You probably see many stars. Long long ago, farmers watched some stars to know when to plant their crops. Travellers did so to find their ways in the dark. Today stars are still important to some people. Scientists found out that most stars are very big. In fact some stars are so far away that it would take millions of years to get to them even by spaceship. Another thing we know today about stars is that some are made up of hot gases. The gases are so hot that they send out light. If you watch a star carefully, you may notice that it twinkles（闪烁）sometimes. As you may understand, light from a star must shine through the air before you can see the star. Air is always moving, it makes fight from the star move back and forth. When the light moves, it makes the star twinkle. Stars also have different colors. The color of a star depends on how hot it is. To our surprise, the cool stars are red and the hottest are blue white

A．to stop looking up at the sky for a minute on a clear night

B．to think about what we saw when we looked up at the sky on a clear night

C．to stop to have a rest and look up at the sky

A．its light travels through the moving air

B．its light is too bright

C．it is made up of hot gases