A lot of animals are afraid during an eclipse1 of the sun. Birds stop singing. Sometimes people too are afraid. Astronomers2 know the dates of eclipses and they are not afraid. The old astronomers of Babylon and Egypt had no telescopes3; but the sky in those countries is usually clear，and so they could watch the stars easily. They studied everything in the sky and they also noticed both total and partial eclipses.

　　Because they knew the dates of eclipses，they had great power. People believed that the sky was important. They believed that an eclipse could kill a man.

　　About 2500 years ago there was a very long war. One battle followed another， and the end never came. During one of the battles， there was a partial eclipse of the sun. The day got very dark，and the soldiers on both sides were filled with fear. They believed that the gods were angry. So they stopped fighting，and ended their long war.

　　The sun is a star. It appears to be bigger than any other star. That is because it is near us; but the other stars are far away. The sun shines because it is very hot，but the moon shines because it reflects the suns light. It is like a big mirror. If we visited the moon，we should see the earth. It is also like a mirror and it reflects the light of the sun.

　　Does the sun ever get dark during the day? It does so when the moon hides it. Sometimes the moon goes in front of the sun. We can watch its edge when it slowly crosses the suns disc5. Everything gets darker and darker; then，at last，we cannot see any part of the suns disc. The moon is hiding it completely. That is a total eclipse of the sun; sometimes only part of the suns disc is hidden; that is not a total eclipse. It is a partial eclipse of the sun.

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage above.

　　The passage is mainly about____.

　　A.the old astronomers

　　B.eclipse of the sun

　　C.the eclipses in Babylon and Egypt

　　D.the correlation between the sun and the earth

　　2.We can conclude from the passage that_____.

　　A.all people are afraid of eclipse of the sun

　　B.the old astronomers could watch the stars easily with telescopes

　　C.the old astronomers had mo interest in the sky

　　D.the date of eclipse could be forecast

　　3.The war mentioned in the third paragraph ended because_____.

　　A.the astronomers used their great power to stop it

　　B.an eclipse killed the soldiers on both sides

　　C.the war took so long time that the soldiers felt tired

　　D.a partial eclipse of the sun happened during one of the battles

　　4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A.The sun is very hot because it shines.

　　B.The moon can shine because it is a star.

　　C.Other stars appear to be smaller than the sun because they are far away.

　　D.The earth cannot reflect the light of the sun because it isnt a real mirror.

　　5.It can be concluded that an eclipse of the sun happens because_____.

　　A.the moon passes between the sun and the earth

　　B.the sun gets dark during the day

　　C.the earths shadow falls on the moon

　　D.no light from the sun can reach the moon

　　文章精要

　　說明文。本文首先介紹了日食對動物和人類的影響，然后解釋了日食發生的原因。

　　斟詞酌句

　　eclipse n./vt. 食;消失，黯然失色

　　Our happiness was eclipsed by the terrible news. 我們的快樂被可怕的消息蒙上了一層陰影。

　　試題解析

　　選B.本題為主旨歸納題。本文主要介紹了日食對動物和人類的影響以及日食發生的原因，都和日食有關。所以選B.

　　2.選D.本題為推斷題。原文第一段說Astronomers know the dates of eclipses，由此可知，日食發生的日期可以推測出。

　　3.選D.本題為主要細節題。從第三段可知，日偏食發生后，雙方士兵以為天神發怒了，So they stopped fighting,and ended their long war.，所以D選項是戰爭結束的原因。

　　4.選C.本題為文章細節正誤題。第四段說It appears to be bigger than any other star.That is because it is near us;but the other stars are far away.，由此可知他星球看上去比太陽小是因為它們離我們很遙遠。

　　5.選A.本題為主要細節正誤題。聰最后一段可知，當月亮在地球和太陽之間，遮擋住太陽時，太陽就變黑了，這稱為日食，所以A選項為正確答案。B選項為干擾項，它只是日食的現象，而不是原因。

　　A lot of animals are afraid during an eclipse1 of the sun. Birds stop singing. Sometimes people too are afraid. Astronomers2 know the dates of eclipses and they are not afraid. The old astronomers of Babylon and Egypt had no telescopes3; but the sky in those countries is usually clear，and so they could watch the stars easily. They studied everything in the sky and they also noticed both total and partial eclipses.

　　Because they knew the dates of eclipses，they had great power. People believed that the sky was important. They believed that an eclipse could kill a man.

　　About 2500 years ago there was a very long war. One battle followed another， and the end never came. During one of the battles， there was a partial eclipse of the sun. The day got very dark，and the soldiers on both sides were filled with fear. They believed that the gods were angry. So they stopped fighting，and ended their long war.

　　The sun is a star. It appears to be bigger than any other star. That is because it is near us; but the other stars are far away. The sun shines because it is very hot，but the moon shines because it reflects the suns light. It is like a big mirror. If we visited the moon，we should see the earth. It is also like a mirror and it reflects the light of the sun.

　　Does the sun ever get dark during the day? It does so when the moon hides it. Sometimes the moon goes in front of the sun. We can watch its edge when it slowly crosses the suns disc5. Everything gets darker and darker; then，at last，we cannot see any part of the suns disc. The moon is hiding it completely. That is a total eclipse of the sun; sometimes only part of the suns disc is hidden; that is not a total eclipse. It is a partial eclipse of the sun.

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage above.

　　The passage is mainly about____.

　　A.the old astronomers

　　B.eclipse of the sun

　　C.the eclipses in Babylon and Egypt

　　D.the correlation between the sun and the earth

　　2.We can conclude from the passage that_____.

　　A.all people are afraid of eclipse of the sun

　　B.the old astronomers could watch the stars easily with telescopes

　　C.the old astronomers had mo interest in the sky

　　D.the date of eclipse could be forecast

　　3.The war mentioned in the third paragraph ended because_____.

　　A.the astronomers used their great power to stop it

　　B.an eclipse killed the soldiers on both sides

　　C.the war took so long time that the soldiers felt tired

　　D.a partial eclipse of the sun happened during one of the battles

　　4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A.The sun is very hot because it shines.

　　B.The moon can shine because it is a star.

　　C.Other stars appear to be smaller than the sun because they are far away.

　　D.The earth cannot reflect the light of the sun because it isnt a real mirror.

　　5.It can be concluded that an eclipse of the sun happens because_____.

　　A.the moon passes between the sun and the earth

　　B.the sun gets dark during the day

　　C.the earths shadow falls on the moon

　　D.no light from the sun can reach the moon

　　文章精要

　　說明文。本文首先介紹了日食對動物和人類的影響，然后解釋了日食發生的原因。

　　斟詞酌句

　　eclipse n./vt. 食;消失，黯然失色

　　Our happiness was eclipsed by the terrible news. 我們的快樂被可怕的消息蒙上了一層陰影。

　　試題解析

　　選B.本題為主旨歸納題。本文主要介紹了日食對動物和人類的影響以及日食發生的原因，都和日食有關。所以選B.

　　2.選D.本題為推斷題。原文第一段說Astronomers know the dates of eclipses，由此可知，日食發生的日期可以推測出。

　　3.選D.本題為主要細節題。從第三段可知，日偏食發生后，雙方士兵以為天神發怒了，So they stopped fighting,and ended their long war.，所以D選項是戰爭結束的原因。

　　4.選C.本題為文章細節正誤題。第四段說It appears to be bigger than any other star.That is because it is near us;but the other stars are far away.，由此可知他星球看上去比太陽小是因為它們離我們很遙遠。

　　5.選A.本題為主要細節正誤題。聰最后一段可知，當月亮在地球和太陽之間，遮擋住太陽時，太陽就變黑了，這稱為日食，所以A選項為正確答案。B選項為干擾項，它只是日食的現象，而不是原因。