Now satellites are helping to forecast（预报）the weather. They are in space, and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere, because this is where the weather forms. They send these pictures to the weather stations. So meteorologists（气象学家）can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.

Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.

So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead.

1.Satellites travel _____________.

A. in space                              B. in the atmosphere

C. above the ground                   D. above space

2.Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because __________.

A. the weather satellites can do it easily          

B. clouds form there

C. the weather forms there                     

D. the pictures can forecast the weather

3.Meteorologists forecast the weather __________.

A. when they have received satellite pictures

B. after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

C. before they received satellite pictures

D. during they study satellite pictures

4.Maybe we’ll soon be able to forecast the weather for ________.

A. one day                              B. two days

C. five days                            D. seven days or even longer

5.The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in _________.

A. taking pictures of the atmosphere           

B. receiving pictures of the atmosphere

C. doing other work in many ways             

D. weather forecasting

Before you can start speaking and writing in English, your brain must get enough correct English sentences. This is obvious（显而易见的）.
There are two ways to get correct English sentences: listening and reading. Both are good, but reading is much easier than listening. With the help of a good dictionary, you will be able to understand English texts much more easily than movies. If you just read one book in English, you will see that your English has become much better. English phrases will just come to you without thinking when you are writing or speaking.
This is true for hundreds of words and grammar structures（结构）. If you read in English, you can forget about grammar rules. Throw away your grammar book! You needn’t know the rules for the present perfect tense(现在完成时). Instead, read a few books in English, and soon you will feel that “I have seen Paul yesterday” is wrong. The only difference between you and native speakers is that they have heard and read more English sentences than you have.
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we know that ________.

Growing mushrooms（蘑菇）is probably the easiest thing you can do even if you are new to mushroom growing. It is becoming more common because restaurants are starting to create more dishes that include mushrooms.

Mushroom growing is easy. To start, you need to have a space where you are going to grow these mushrooms. It does not have to be a huge space but just enough for you to grow as many mushrooms as you need. When you have found the space perfect for you, you can start researching what kind of mushrooms you want to grow. There are a lot of mushrooms to choose from and not all of them are suitable to eat.

When you decide what kind of mushrooms you want to grow, you can start getting ready to plant the mushrooms. Sometimes you may want to hire some workers to help if you have a large mushroom farm, or if you are trying to start a professional mushroom growing business. Trying to have a business by yourself can be stressful. If you don’t have enough time to spend taking care of everything yourself, some helpers may be the best choice.

After you have started the mushroom growing, you should regularly check that your mushrooms grow properly and that they are not being attacked by any pesticides（农药）or any other animals or something that could be dangerous to them. That is the worst part of mushroom developing. Protect your mushroom farm well with a fence（围栏）or a gate so that only you and your workers can get in and out.

Mushroom growing is not difficult and it is easy to get stared in the world of farming. You will soon possibly be able to provide some of the great cooks of the world with high quality mushrooms that will be enjoyed by thousands of people all over the world.

1.According to the passage, many people begin to plant mushrooms probably _________.

A．because they are in great need.            B．because they look very beautiful

C．because they are healthy food             D．because they are very expensive

2.Which of the following is the right order of planting mushrooms?

a. Choose suitable mushrooms.           b. Protect your mushrooms well.

c. Find some workers to help you.       d. Start to grow the mushrooms.

e. Find a place to plant your mushrooms.

A．c—a—d—b—e     B．e—a—c—d—b     C．c—a—e—b—d     D．e—a—d—b—c

3.It can be inferred（推断）from the passage that __________.

A．pesticides can be used in mushroom growing

B．anyone can produce high quality mushrooms.

C．after starting, you should always take care of the mushrooms

D．having a mushroom business is not so difficult

4.According to the passage, which sentence is NOT true?

A．Although you don’t know much about growing mushrooms, you can do it easily.

B．you can choose a suitable space, just big enough for you to grow mushrooms.

C．All mushrooms aren’t suitable to eat.

D．The worst part of mushroom developing is to protect your mushrooms farm well with fence.

5.The best title of the passage is __________.

A．Healthy mushrooms                     B．The value of mushrooms

C．How to choose mushrooms                D．Suggestions on growing mushrooms

A recent survey of 2000 parents in Britain showed that they are often afraid of science questions asked by their curious children only because they have no idea what the answer is. Here is a list of some simple questions that you can ask your parents to see if they know the answers.

    Q: Why is the sky blue?

    A: You probably know white sunlight is made up of seven colors. While it moves in a straight line when going through space, it starts to divide as it hits “raised area” in the atmosphere. The ones with longest wavelengths pass through easily. The blue , however , can be taken in by the gas molecules (分子) because it has a shorter wavelength , which in turn scatters (使分散) it in different directions. That’s why when you look up at the sky, it appears to be blue.

    Q:Why does the moon sometimes appear during the daytime?

    A: The simple answer to that is because just like any other object it is being lit by the sun. As long as it is around 45 degrees or even 90 degrees off the sun, it will receive light and be able to be seen. The only time it is not able to be seen during its 28-day orbit (轨道) around the earth is when it is right between the earth and the sun. That’s because its back , which is not lit by the sun, is facing us.

    Q: Where do birds/ honeybees go in winter?

    A: While the bird part is quite easy, since a lot of them get together and travel, the honeybee part is likely to puzzle your parents. It turns out that these busy insects stop being that active when the temperature drops below 50°F. Instead ,they get together in the lower central area of the hive （蜂巢）and form a ball around their queen. This helps keep both warm enough to survive the cold winter months.

1.The sky looks blue mainly because the color blue in the sunlight_______.

A. has the longest wavelength among all the colors

B. cannot be taken in by the gas molecules

C. doesn’t hit “raised area” in the atmosphere

D. cannot pass through space successfully

2.How long can’t the moon be seen during the daytime in a month?

A. 2                             B. 28                           C.30                                      D. 31

3.What do honeybees choose to do when the temperature drops below 50°F?

A. They choose to be active in the wild.

B. They choose to keep themselves warm.

C. They choose to travel to a warm place.

D. They choose to get together in the upper central area of the hive.

4.What is NOT explained in the passage?

A. Why is the sky blue?

B. Why is the moon able to be seen during the daytime?

C. Why do birds travel in winter?

D. Where do honeybees go in winter?

根据短文内容,完成下列表格,每空一词。
Some people succeed, while others may not. This is because some people have certain qualities, which others do not.
The first thing you must remember is that in order to succeed, you must be optimistic（乐观）. If you do not expect to win, you will not try as hard as people who do expect to win. You also need to have a clear aim and a reason for doing something because motivation（动机） is a key to getting success. If you do not have an aim, then you won’t work hard and put your performance under the microscope（显微镜） to make sure that every detail is right.
Another quality that helps people succeed is creativity---thinking about things in a different way and wondering how others would do the same thing. Think about some successful people you know. They might be successful with a little creativity, but the most successful people are the most creative ones.
Reading is another to success, as it will help you learn about how other people have got success. If you want to learn how to set up a successful business, you should read books about people like Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, who have got amazing success in their areas of business.
Practicing is equally important if you want to be successful because practice makes perfect. Practise every day at whatever career you are in, and by doing so, you will see yourself, your business and your self-confidence begin to grow. If you feel confident about what you do, this confidence will make other people believe in you as well. Your workmates will be happy to work with you, and your boss will give you more responsibility（责任）. Finally if you are a successful person, you will be able to look people in the eye and smile confidently.
Success is yours for the taking! Cheers!
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