What is the sky？ Where is it？ How bright is it？ What lies above it？ These questions are difficult to answer, aren’t they？

　　Is the sky blue？ The sky has no color. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes can’t fly very high because the air gets thinner when they go up higher. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we’ll find no air there.

　　When we talk about the sky, we usually mean the atmosphere around the earth. It is like a very thick “cover” over the earth and keeps it warm. Without the “cover”, the earth would be a very cold place and nothing could live on it.

　　Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue, but the sky would be dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains. And you will see fewer clouds between you and the sun.

　　And if you sit in a spaceship high above the earth, there is no air at all. The sky would be so dark that its color would be black.

　　Sometimes the sky doesn’t look blue. When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. These are the most beautiful moments of the day.

　　Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters (散射) the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no light and no colors.

1.Planes can’t fly very high because ____________.

A．there is air around the world

B．the air gets thinner when they go up higher

C．it’s warmer in the sky

D．the air gets thicker when they go up higher

2.We can see colors of the sky because ____________.

A．the sun rises and falls every day

B．the sky has lots of colors

C．the air scatters the sunlight

D．the sunlight has many colors

3.Which of the following is TRUE？

A．There is little air without light and colors in the sky.

B．The sky will look red, orange and other colors at noon.

C．The sky has only one color when the sun rises and falls.

D．The sky is dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains.

 

At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a hold-up,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part --- close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave. Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly. The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（晕倒）. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were checking the bank’s records, George was asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
　　“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our small bank can be robbed, too. I have retired （退休）, but I am always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.”
【小题1】 Which of the following do you think is TRUE?

A．George wanted to protect the money for the bank.

B．George had been thinking of taking money away.

C．This bank had been robbed several times.

D．Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day.

【小题2】Why was George asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office?

A．His stealing money was known to all.

B．Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him.

C．Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him.

D．Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back.

【小题3】 In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means _________.

A．to make everyone work hard

B．to keep everyone standing straight

C．to make everyone do a kind of exercise

D．to keep everyone preparing for the coming danger

【小题4】 Which sentence can be used to end this story?

A．George turned cold with fear.

B．George turned red with anger（愤怒）.

C．George was pleased with the end.

D．George was excited with the end.

Sophia Wu, 25, is a young Chinese woman who does business with her family in Santiago, Chile (智利). On February 27, she experienced a night that she will never forget.

　　"I was asleep and was woken up by powerful shaking at around 3:30 in the morning. My whole room was moving and I couldn't stand still. I wanted to run downstairs and go outside, but suddenly the wall got broken and the lights in the room went out. The room became so shaky that I couldn't move at all."

　　That night an 8.8-magnitude (震级) earthquake hit Chile. Buildings and bridges fell down. Electricity (电) and water services shut down. The Chilean Red Cross reported that about 500,000 homes were destroyed and more than 800 people died.

　　The earthquake has been the fifth strongest since 1900. More than 90 aftershocks (余震) followed the earthquake. A tsunami (海啸) was set off in the Pacific Ocean by the earthquake.

　　Scientists say that there are about 500,000 earthquakes in the world each year. Of these, only 20% are felt, and 100 of them cause damage.

　　So far, scientists haven't found a way to predict earthquakes. But you can learn to protect yourself during an earthquake. The most important thing to remember is to drop, cover and hold on. So remember to drop to the floor, get under something for cover and hold onto something strong during the shaking.

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。（10分）

1. What happened to Sophia Wu on February 27?

A．Her house was burned in a fire.

B．She dreamed a terrible dream.

C．Her family died in a terrible accident.

D．A serious earthquake hit the city she was in.

2. Which is the correct order (顺序)?

a. Wu got up and found her whole room was moving.

b. Wu wanted to run downstairs and go out.

c. The wall got broken and the lights went out.

d. Wu was woken up by shaking.

A．a-b-c-d	B．d-a-b-c
C．d-b-a-c	D．c-a-b-d

3. Which is TRUE about the Chile Earthquake？

A．It had no aftershocks.

B．It destroyed five million homes.

C．It caused a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean.

D．It has been the fourth strongest earthquake since 1900.

4. From the passage, we know that about 　　　 of the earthquakes cause damage every year.

A．20%

B．10%

C．1%

D．0.02%

5. How should we protect ourselves during an earthquake?

A．We should run outside as quickly as possible.

B．We should drop, cover and hold on.

C．We should shout loudly for help.

D．We should call 120 quickly.