If your cellphone suddenly stops working, don’t blame the service provider．The malfunction（故障） might well have been caused by something bigger -- a solar storm．Experts expect that Earth will see more solar activity in the near future．The malfunction of electronic devices will just one of the effects．
Sunspots（太阳黑子） serve as an indicator of the sun’s activity．For the past two years, sunspots have mostly been missing．Their absence, the most prolonged in nearly 100 years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise．
When the number of sunspots drops at the end of each 11-year cycle, solar storms die down and all become much calmer. This “solar minimum” doesn’t last long. Within a year, sunspots and solar storms begin to build toward a new crescendo, the next solar maximum.
What’s special about this latest cycle is that the sun is having trouble starting the next solar cycle. The sun began to calm down in late 2007, so no one expected many sunspots in 2008. They should return in 2010. Scientists have predicted that the next solar cycle could be the most active on record: more sunspots and more solar storms. However, sunspots are mostly missing now.
Since the earth is in close contact with the sun, strong solar activities can bring trouble to our life. People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Air travel and radio communications can be affected by strong solar activities. A big solar storm could cause 20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
What the sun will do next is beyond our ability to predict. Most astronomers think that the solar cycle will go on but at low level. However, there is also evidence that the sun is losing its ability to produce sunspots. By 2015, they could be gone altogether

1. 1.

   The sun watcher feel surprised at______.

   1. A.
      the longest sunspots’ absence
   2. B.
      the largest sunspot number
   3. C.
      the malfunction of electronic devices
   4. D.
      the serious damage by sunspots
2. 2.

   What does the underlined word “crescendo” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

   1. A.
      small number
   2. B.
      high level
   3. C.
      usual cycle
   4. D.
      fresh start
3. 3.

   We can infer that in the past two years______.

   1. A.
      solar activities have brought much trouble to our life
   2. B.
      the number of sunspots has increased to a large extent
   3. C.
      the solar minimum took the place of the solar maximum
   4. D.
      our cellphones have seldom been interrupted by the solar storm
4. 4.

   Which statement does the text lead you to believe?

   1. A.
      Solar activities do no harm to our daily life
   2. B.
      Hurricane Katrina is also a type of solar storms
   3. C.
      It’s difficult to predict sunspots
   4. D.
      From now on there’ re no sunspots
5. 5.

   What is the passage mainly about?

   1. A.
      The earth is in close contact with the sun
   2. B.
      Sunspots can cause trouble to our life
   3. C.
      Introduction of sunspots
   4. D.
      Introduction of the solar storm．

In the second half of each year ,many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea .Of these , only about half a dozen produce the strong , circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.

The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent circling disturbances (扰乱) hundreds or thousands of miles out to sea . As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds（信风）When con­ditions are just right , warm , moist air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance , moves upward through it and comes out at the top . In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat is changed into energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases , the young hurricane begins to swirl (旋转)in a counterclockwise（逆时针方向） motion.

The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but is contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane's rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, rather than wind is the main source of death and destruction in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea —the mountains of water moving toward the low—pressure hurricane center, the water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.

1．When does an ordinary tropical storm turn into a hurricane?

    A．When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.

    B．When it hits the coastline.

    C．When it is more than 75 miles per hour.

    D．When its wind reaches 75 miles per hour.

2．What is the worst thing about the hurricane?

    A．The destructive effect of water.            B．The heat it releases.

    C．It lasts about nine days.                        D．Strong winds.

3．The counterclockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by_________.

    A．the low pressure center of the storm      B．the force of waves of water

    C．the trade winds                                    D．the increasing heat

4．Which of the following about the hurricane is true?

    A．It often occurs around June.

    B．It is not so powerful as that of storm born in the Caribbean Sea.

    C．It usually lasts about nine days.

       D．It can be easily detected and prevented.

If your cellphone suddenly stops working, don’t blame the service provider．The malfunction（故障） might well have been caused by something bigger -- a solar storm．Experts expect that Earth will see more solar activity in the near future．The malfunction of electronic devices will just one of the effects．

Sunspots（太阳黑子） serve as an indicator of the sun’s activity．For the past two years, sunspots have mostly been missing．Their absence, the most prolonged in nearly 100 years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise．

When the number of sunspots drops at the end of each 11-year cycle, solar storms die down and all become much calmer. This “solar minimum” doesn’t last long. Within a year, sunspots and solar storms begin to build toward a new crescendo, the next solar maximum.

What’s special about this latest cycle is that the sun is having trouble starting the next solar cycle. The sun began to calm down in late 2007, so no one expected many sunspots in 2008. They should return in 2010. Scientists have predicted that the next solar cycle could be the most active on record: more sunspots and more solar storms. However, sunspots are mostly missing now.

Since the earth is in close contact with the sun, strong solar activities can bring trouble to our life. People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Air travel and radio communications can be affected by strong solar activities. A big solar storm could cause 20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.

What the sun will do next is beyond our ability to predict. Most astronomers think that the solar cycle will go on but at low level. However, there is also evidence that the sun is losing its ability to produce sunspots. By 2015, they could be gone altogether.

1.The sun watcher feel surprised at            .

    A．the longest sunspots’ absence   B．the largest sunspot number

    C．the malfunction of electronic devices              D．the serious damage by sunspots

2.What does the underlined word “crescendo” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?    A．small number         B．high level

    C．usual cycle                      D．fresh start

3.We can infer that in the past two years         .

    A．solar activities have brought much trouble to our life

    B．the number of sunspots has increased to a large extent

    C．the solar minimum took the place of the solar maximum

    D．our cellphones have seldom been interrupted by the solar storm

4.Which statement does the text lead you to believe?

    A．Solar activities do no harm to our daily life.

    B．Hurricane Katrina is also a type of solar storms.

    C．It’s difficult to predict sunspots.

    D．From  now on there’ re no sunspots.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

    A．The earth is in close contact with the sun.

    B．Sunspots can cause trouble to our life.

    C．Introduction of sunspots.

    D．Introduction of the solar storm．

If your cellphone suddenly stops working, don’t blame the service provider．The malfunction（故障） might well have been caused by something bigger -- a solar storm．Experts expect that Earth will see more solar activity in the near future．The malfunction of electronic devices will just one of the effects．
Sunspots（太阳黑子） serve as an indicator of the sun’s activity．For the past two years, sunspots have mostly been missing．Their absence, the most prolonged in nearly 100 years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise．
When the number of sunspots drops at the end of each 11-year cycle, solar storms die down and all become much calmer. This “solar minimum” doesn’t last long. Within a year, sunspots and solar storms begin to build toward a new crescendo, the next solar maximum.
What’s special about this latest cycle is that the sun is having trouble starting the next solar cycle. The sun began to calm down in late 2007, so no one expected many sunspots in 2008. They should return in 2010. Scientists have predicted that the next solar cycle could be the most active on record: more sunspots and more solar storms. However, sunspots are mostly missing now.
Since the earth is in close contact with the sun, strong solar activities can bring trouble to our life. People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Air travel and radio communications can be affected by strong solar activities. A big solar storm could cause 20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
What the sun will do next is beyond our ability to predict. Most astronomers think that the solar cycle will go on but at low level. However, there is also evidence that the sun is losing its ability to produce sunspots. By 2015, they could be gone altogether.
【小题1】The sun watcher feel surprised at            .

In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about a half a dozen generate the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.

The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent circling disturbances (气旋) hundreds — even thousands — of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds. When conditions are just right, warm, moist (潮湿的) air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance, moves upward through it and comes out at the top. In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat that is switched to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to turn around in a counter-clockwise motion (反时针方向).

The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released (释放) by a hurricane’s rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months.

Water, rather than wind, is the main source of death and destroying in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6-to-12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea — the mountains of water moving toward the low-pressure hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.

43. An ordinary tropical storm is called a hurricane when ______.

A.      it occurs in the Caribbean seas

B. its winds reach 75 miles per hour

C. it makes its way to the coastline

D. its winds   begin to circle on the sea

44. What is the worst thing about hurricane?

A. The rough water.                                                                                                                                B. The violent winds.

C. The heat it gives out.                                                                                                                    D. The length of its life.   

45. What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A. The hurricane is extraordinarily powerful.

B. The hurricane is used to generate electricity.

C. The hurricane can otherwise offer an unusual sight.

D. The hurricane can give people an unforgettable experience.

46. The counter-clockwise movement of the hurricane is caused by ______.

A. the low-pressure area in the center of the storm

B. the force of waves of water

C. the increasing heat

D. the trade winds