Section I 缤纷自然篇
Passage 1
We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons: most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded.
When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration¹ (迁移) is probably the migration of fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mouse. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.
Recently (近来), scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobster² (龙虾). Every year,
when the season of the bad weather arrives, the lobsters³ get into a long line and start to walk
across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go.
So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other
times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.
1.Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to _______.
A.give birth B. enjoy warmer weather
C. find food more easily D. find beautiful places
2.The fish called “salmon” spends a long time in ______.
A. salt water B. rivers C. fresh water D. its birthplace
3.The mice in northern Europe move when _______.
A. they give birth B. the place gets too crowded
C. the weather is bad D. they haven’t enough food
4.The lobsters move ________.
A. to the fresh water B. at a certain time C. to the undersea D. to find more food
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Animals move to find food more easily.
B.The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration.
C.Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel.
D. Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t.
Passage 2
If you look at the sky one night and see something moving and shining that you have never seen before, it might be a comet⁴ (彗星).
A comet sometimes looks like a star. Like a planet⁵, a comet has no light of its own. It shines from the sunlight⁶ it reflects (反射). Like the earth, a comet goes round the sun, but on a much longer path (轨道) than the earth travels.
If a comet isn’t a star, what is it then?
Some scientists think that a large part of a comet is water frozen⁷ into pieces of ice and mixed with iron⁸ and rock dust and perhaps a few big pieces of rock. When sunshine melts⁹ (融化) the ice in the comet, great clouds of gas go trailing¹⁰ after it. These clouds, together with the dust, form a long tail.
Many people perhaps have seen a comet. However no one knows how many comets there are. There may be millions of comets, but only a few come close enough for us to see.
An Englishman¹¹ named Edmund Halley, who lived from 1656 to 1742, found out a lot about the paths that comets take through the sky. Some comets move out of our sight and never come back. Others keep coming back at regular times. A big comet that keeps coming back was named after Halley because he was the one who worked out when it would come back again. Maybe you have ever seen Halley’s Comets because the last time it came close to the sun and the earth was in the year 1986. Then people all over the world were outside at night to look at it. You will probably be able to see Halley’s Comets when it comes near the earth again.
1.A comet is like ________.
A. sun B. moon C. sunlight D. the earth
2.A large part of a comet is ______.
A.water and rock B. water frozen into pieces of ice and mixed with iron
C. ice, iron and rock dust D. only a few big pieces of rock
3.Maybe many people _______.
A. haven’t seen any comets B. have seen all comets
C. have seen a comet at daytime D. have seen a comet
4.Some comets keep coming back ________.
A. at any time B. at noon C. at regular times D. at daytime
5.Halley’s Comets came back _____.
A. in 1990 B. in 1980 C. in 1986 D. in 1989
Passage 3
Do you know something about tree rings (年轮)? Do you know they can tell us what the weather was like, sometimes even hundreds of years ago?
A tree will grow well in a climate (气候)with lots of sunshine and rainfall. And little sunshine or rainfall will limit (限制)the growth¹² of climate by studying the tree rings. For example, to find out the weather of ten years ago, count the rings of a tree from the outside to the inside. If the tenth ring is far from the eleventh ring, then we’re sure that it was sunny and rainy most of that year. If it is near to the eleventh ring, then the climate that year was bad.
Tree rings are important not only for studying the history of weather but also for studying the history of man. Many centuries ago there lived a lot of people at a place in New Mexico. But now you can find only sand there—no trees and no people. What happened?
A scientist studied the rings of dead trees there. He found that the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees to make fires and buildings. As all the trees had gone, the people there had to move.
1._____ in good climate.
A. Tree rings grow far from each other B. Tree rings become thinner
C. Trees don’t need sunshine or rainfall D. People can cut down most of the trees
2.The scientists are interested in studying tree rings because tree rings can tell ______.
A.whether a tree was strong or not B. whether people took good care of the trees or not
C. whether the climate was good or not D. how old the trees were
3.If you want to find out the weather of twenty years ago, you should study _______.
A. the twentieth ring B. the tenth ring
C. the nineteenth ring D. the twenty-first ring
4.Why did people usually live in places with lots of trees?
A.Trees could tell the change of the weather
B.Trees brought lots of sunshine and rain
C.Trees could make weather not too hot or too cold
D.Trees could be used for burning and for building house
5.The people had to leave the place in New Mexico because _______.
A.had weather stopped the growth of trees
B.they no longer had water and the land became sand
C.they didn’t have enough trees for burning
D.there was too much rain there
Passage 4
All our food comes from the soil (土壤). Some of us eat meat, but animals live on plants. If these were no plants, we should have no animals and meat. So the soil is necessary for life.
The top of ground is usually covered with grass or other plants. Plants grow in soil, which has a dark color. This dark soil is humus, dead leaves, dead plants and animal waste make it, but this takes a long time. When the humus has been made, plants can grow well in it.
All soil needs food. If we don’t give it any, the plants will be weak. Animals waste is the best food for the soil, but chemical fertilizers¹⁵ (化肥) are also very useful. The same crop should not be grown in the same place every year; it is better to have a different crop. A change of crop and the use of a good fertilizer¹⁴ will keep the land in good condition.
When the soil is dry, the wind blows it away. Sometimes heavy rain carries the humus down to a river. People should grow more and more trees and grass to stop wind from carrying the humus away. It takes hundreds of years to make humus, and so we must save every bit of it. Without soil, where can we grow food?
1.From the text, we know people live on _______.
A. animal B. plant C. meat D. soil
2.The word “humus” means¹⁶ _____ in Chinese.
A.微生物 B.土壤 C.腐殖土 D.粘土
3.We should _______ to keep the soil.
A. give more fertilizers B. kill more animals
C. make more humus D. grow more trees and grass
4.We should save every bit of humus, because ______.
A.it takes a long time to make humus
B.the more humus in the soil, the better plants grow
C.the chemical fertilizers are expensive
D.A and B
5.The best title of this text should be ______.
A.Soil is necessary to people
B.The same crop can’t be grown in the same place every year
C.Soil’s food is chemical fertilizers
D.Humus is hard to make
Passage 5
In the sea there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them “coral¹⁷ Islands”.
A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land (一圈陆地) with trees, grass, and flowers on it. One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island.
If you look into this lake, you will see beautiful coral. You say think they are flowers. If you look at a piece of coral, you will see many little holes in it. In each of these holes a very small sea animal has lived. These sea animals make the coral.
They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher. At last it grew out of the water.
Then the sea brought it small trees and something else. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds (种子) to this earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island.
The little seeds grew. In a few years there were plants all over the island. In a few more years there were trees growing there.
So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Do they not teach us a lesson? Can you think what the lesson is?
1.In the sea ________.
A. there are coral islands in all places B. there are some coral islands
C. the water is always warm D. we can see many flowers
2.A coral island looks like __________.
A. a round cake B. trees, grass and flowers
C. a ring of land D. a round lake
3.There are _______ in the holes in corals¹⁸.
A. flowers B. little corals C. grass D. sea animals
4.How did seeds of trees, grass and flowers come to the coral islands? ________
A.The wind and birds brought them to the coral islands
B.Only the wind brought them there
C.People brought them there
D.Fishes brought them there
5.From the story we learn that ___________.
A.small workers can’t do big things
B.only big workers can do big things
C.small workers can do big things if they work hard work and work a long time
D.all small things can do big things
Passage 6
When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the earth. They often happen near the mountains.
During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack²⁰ (断裂) open. Houses fall, people are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed.
Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and make maps that show the “earthquake belts”. In areas (地区) in these belts, it’s possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes.
In the future, scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will be before they happen. They can also tell people what to do and how to do it.
1.A large number of earthquakes often happens ________.
A. in the area B. on land C. at night D. next to mountains
2.The reason for an earthquake is _______.
A.the result of rock plate sudden¹⁹ movement
B.that there are so many plates on the earth
C.that the sea is too deep
D.rocks’ cracking²¹ open
3.A map showing the earthquake belts will tell people ______.
A.what kind of houses to build
B.what kind of houses can stay up in an earthquake
C.where earthquake may happen
D.how to keep themselves safe during an earthquake
4.In the future we’ll be no longer so afraid of earthquakes ______.
A.with the help of scientists’ exact prediction²² (预报)
B.because of a map showing the “earthquake belts”
C.because we can guess the date and place of earthquakes
D.as scientists know what to do and how to do it
5.Choose the best title fro the passage.
A.An Earthquake B. A Scientist and an Earthquake
C. How to Fight Against Earthquake D. Earthquakes Today and Tomorrow
Passage 7
It seems to us that the earth stands quite still (静止的). But it is really moving all the time. It turns around a make-believe line through its center. We call this make-believe line the earth’s axis²³ (地轴). The two ends of the earth’s axis are called its poles (极). The earth travels twenty-four hours around its axis once.
We look at the sun and say it “travels” across the sky, but the sun doesn’t really do so. The turning of the earth makes us feel as if the sun were moving across the sky. We can’t see that the earth is moving because everything else on the earth is turning with us. As the earth turns around every twenty-four hours, first one half faces the sun and then the other half. When our half of the earth is facing the sun, we say it is “day”. When our half is away from the sun, we say it is “night”. It is the turning of the earth that tells us when to go to bed and when to get up.
1.The meaning of “a make-believe line” is “a line that ______”.
A. is called pole B. we can’t see
C. anyone can see D. we can make and believe
2.It takes the earth ______ to turn around its axis once.
A. a week B. a month C. 12 hours D. 24 hours
3.Usually we say, “The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.” In fact, the sun _______.
A. does not move B. is moving all the time
C. moves sometimes D. is too heavy to move
4.We can’t see the earth moving because _________.
A. the earth stands still B. everything on the earth is moving with us
C. the earth is smaller than the sun D. the earth goes only at night
5.When our part of the earth turns away from the sun we have “______”, and when our part faces the sun we have “_____”.
A.day; night B. day; day C. night; day D. night; night

Passage 8
We know the mosquito²⁴ very well. Mosquitoes²⁵ fly everywhere. They can be found almost all over the world, and there are more than 2,500 kinds of them.
No one likes the mosquito. But the mosquito may decide that she loves you. She? Yes, she. It’s true that male mosquito doesn’t bite (咬)and only the female²⁶ mosquito bites because she needs blood to lay eggs. She is always looking for things or people she wants to bite. If she likes what she finds, she bites. But if she doesn’t like your blood, she will turn to someone else for more delicious blood. Next time a mosquito bites you, just remember you are chosen. You’re different from the others!
If the mosquito likes you, she lands on your body without letting you know. She bites you so quickly and quietly that you may not feel anything different. After she bites, you will have an itch²⁷ (痒) on your body because she puts something from her mouth together with your blood. By the time the itching²⁸ begins, and she has flown away.
And then what happens? Well, after her delicious dinner, the mosquito feels tired. She just wants to find a place to have a good rest. There, on a leaf or a wall, she begins to lay eggs, hundreds of eggs.
1.“Mosquito” means _______ in Chinese.
A.苍蝇 B.蜻蜓 C. 跳蚤 D.蚊子
2.We know mosquitoes very well because ___________.
A. they can be found easily B. they fly here and there
C. there are many kinds of them D. they can fly
3.If the mosquito doesn’t bite you, it will ________.
A. get angry with you B. be afraid of you
C. make a lot of noise D. choose another one
4.The mosquito bites you _________.
A. when you’re asleep B. because you have choose it
C. too quickly to let you know D. but doesn’t like you
5.Which of the following sentences is wrong?
A. The itching begins after the mosquito bites you . B. You feel terrible when the mosquito bites you.
C. Mosquitoes use blood to lay eggs. D. All the mosquitoes don’t like to bite people for blood.
Passage 9
We’ve talked about snails³⁰ (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells³² (壳) —sleeping.
Hot sun will dry out a snail²⁹’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell³¹. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.
In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.
A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.
1.A snail _________.
A.moves more slowly at night　B.has thousands of feet
C.doesn’t move at all D.sleeps much of the time
2.In the sentence “A snail draws its body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.
A. to make with a pencil B. to push　C. to pull D. to move away
3.From the story, we know _________.
A. a snail’s shell is very thin B. a snail can’t see well
C. a snail’s nose is quite short D. a snail’s body changes in different seasons
4.A snail goes to sleep when _____.
A. it feels hungry B. it is put into a paper box
C. spring is coming D. it rains heavily
5.Which of the following is wrong?
A.In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move.　B.A snail doesn’t like living under the sun.
C.The snail’s teeth can’t be worn³³ out.　D.The snail’s nose helps to find food.
Passage 10
Jupiter³⁴’s Moons and How They Travel
The many moons of Jupiter travel around the planet in different directions (方向).
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Over the years, scientists have found that Jupiter has its own small solar system. Earth has one moon. Jupiter has at least sixteen and probably more.
Since there are so many moons, scientists began to number them. The numerals(numbers)tell the sequence³⁵, or order, in which the moons were found. They were slower to name the moons. All of Jupiter’s moons now have a name as well as a number.
The first five moons to be discovered are known³⁶ as the “inner¹³ moons”. But they are not the closest to the planet. The closest is only 127,600 kilometers away from Jupiter. All the inner moons circle the planet in counter-clockwise³⁷ direction, that is, opposite of the hands of a clock.
Jupiter’s middle group of moons are at least 11,100,000 kilometers from the planet. They also move in a counter-clockwise motion³⁸ (moving). The four farthest moons are at least 20,700,000 kilometers away. These are called “outer moons”. They circle in a clockwise motion.
How many more moons do you think will be discovered？
1.What does “solar system” in this article mean？______
A. 银河系 B. 宇宙空间 C. 流星雨 D. 太阳系
2.Things that travel in the same direction as the hands of a clock are said to be traveling in a______.
A. clockwise direction B. counter-clockwise direction
C. same direction D. different direction
3.Jupiter’s _____group of moons travel in a clockwise direction.
A. planets³⁹ B. inner C. middle D. outer
4.The numbers given to Jupiter’s moons tell ______.
A. the order in which they were discovered B. the order in which they travel
C. the order of their distance from Jupiter D. the order of names
5.According⁴⁰ to the passage，which of the following statements⁴¹ is true？
A. None of Jupiter’s moons have names.　B. Most of Jupiter's moons circle clockwise.
C. Jupiter's inner moons were discovered first.　D. Jupiter is the nearest planet to the earth.
6.How far away are the middle group of moons from Jupiter？
A. It’s not mentioned. B. 11,100,000 kilometers away.
C. 127,600 kilometers away. D. 20,700,000 kilometers away.
Passage 11
WHY IS THE SUN IMPORTANT？
The sun is a huge, hot, bright star. It is important because without it there would be no life on Earth. The sun gives us light and heat.
All living things need light and heat from the sun to live. Plants need light and heat to grow. They use the light from the sun to make food. We cannot make our own food, but plants can. All the food we eat comes from plants in a food chain(链)which starts with the sun. For example, Animals need sunlight, too. Just like us, their food comes from a food chain which begins with the sun and the plants.
sun→ leaf→ caterpillar(毛虫)→bird
sun→ seaweed(海藻)→small fish→ whale(鲸)
Sunlight means we can see during the day. If there was no sun, it would be dark all the time. Even when the sky is cloudy, the sunlight is very strong and it shines through the clouds.
1.Which words tell us what the sun is like？
A. Huge. B. Hot. C. Bright. D. All above.
2.What are the two main things the sun gives us？
A. Light and heat. B. Heat and eggs.　C. Corn and light. D. Wheat and bread.
3.Why can we still see during the day when the sky is cloudy？
A. Because we can see all day and all night.
B. Because the sun can't give us light all day long.
C. Because the sunlight can shine through the clouds.
D. Because we can't see at night.
4.All the food we eat comes from ______. And it starts with the _____.
A. plants; earth B. a food chain; sun
C. food; sun D. plants; star
5.In what way do you think the sun cannot be harmful(有害的)？
A. The sun can do harm to your eyes and skin.
B. It can make rivers too dry.
C. Without it there would be no life on Earth.
D. Hot sun on dry land can cause fires.
Passage 12
Most animals only have animals of a different kind for food. But sometimes two kinds of animals come together in a partnership⁴² (伙伴关系) which is good for them. You may have noticed some birds on the backs of sheep. This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites⁴³ (寄生虫) on sheep. The sheep let the birds do so because they can stop the parasites from troubling them. So though they can do with it by themselves, they can do better together with each other.
Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot do without each other. This is so in corals of the sea. Inside their bodies they have very small plants, which act as “cleaners”, taking the useless things from the coral and giving oxygen in return. That is what the animal needs to live. If the plants are killed, or are even kept from receiving light so that they cannot live as usual, the corals will die.
1.Some birds like to sit on a sheep because ________.
A. they can eat its parasites B. they enjoy traveling with the sheep
C. they can’t live without its parasites D. they want to find the warm place
2.The underlined⁴⁴ word “they” in the first paragraph⁴⁵ means _________.
A. birds and parasites B. birds and sheep
C. parasites and sheep D. birds, parasites and sheep
3.We learn from the passage that corals need plants for _______.
A. friends B. light C. food D. oxygen
4.The Chinese for the word “oxygen” is _________.
A. 氧气 B. 空气 C. 废气 D.二氧化碳
5.What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A. Some animals and plants cannot live without each other.
B. Some animals and plants cannot develop their friendship easily.
C. Some plants eat each other.
D. Some animals live better together.