初中英语专项阅读——科普小品.doc

初中英语专项阅读—科普小品

A
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 some 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 migration is probably the migration of one kind of fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends most of its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mouse. They leave their mountain home when it becomes 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, scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobster(龙虾). Every year, when the season of the bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the bottom 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.
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
( )1. The main reason why animals move from one place to another is ________.
A. to find food more easily
B. that they are afraid of humans
C. that they feel too crowded
D. that they don’t like the same place
( )2. The salmon is born in ________ and live in ________ most of the time.
A. warm water; fresh water
B. cold water; salt water
C. fresh water; salt water
D. warm water; cold water
( )3. The underlined word “migration” in the second paragraph means “______” in Chinese.
A. 撤退 B. 迁徙 C. 活动 D. 游动
( )4. The lobsters usually move when ________.
A. the place is crowded B. winter comes
C. the bad weather arrives D. they give birth
( )5. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. The migration of some animals.
B. Why living things like to travel.
C. Some interesting fishes.

B
What is life on Pluto(冥王星) like? Is it any different to life on the earth?
If you lived on Pluto, you’d have to live 248 earth years to celebrate your first birthday in Pluto years. It takes Pluto much longer to make one lap (circle) around the sun. One Pluto year is the same as 248 earth years.
If you weigh 45 kilograms on the earth, you would weigh only 3.6 kilograms on Pluto! Pluto is much smaller than the earth. Gravity(重力) on Pluto is only 8 percent of that on the earth.
Remember to bring plenty of clothes if you visit the star. Pluto is cold. Because it is far away from the sun, the temperature on it is about 200 degrees centigrade below zero. It gets even colder as it moves farther from the sun in its orbit(轨道). From Pluto, the sun looks like a dot in the sky, and it is the brightest star you can see. The light from the sun is as bright on Pluto as the light from the full moon on the earth.
Complete the table below according to the passage.

A 1-5 ACBCA
B 1. 248 2. 3.6 kg 3. 100% 4. 200℃ below zero
5. The light from the sun is as bright on Pluto as the light from the full moon on the earth.

C
Bananas don’t grow on trees. They grow on a thick stalk(茎) that looks just a little like a stalk of corn. The stalk is soft enough to be cut with a knife.
It takes about a year before bananas are ready to be picked. Some are as small as fingers. Others are as long and thick as men’s arms. Some banana plants grow as tall as a house — even taller!
Not all bananas are eaten as fruit. Some never get sweet, and they are cooked as a kind of vegetable.
People in most countries never see a banana until it reaches the store. But if you visited a country where it’s hot and rains a lot all the year, you might see a banana plantation(种植园), a large farm where bananas grow.
The tasty fruit doesn’t come from a seed but from a root planted deep in the ground. First a stalk pushes up into the air. Then leaves appear In the beginning the banana plant grows very fast—sometimes as much as the length of your feet in one night. Soon, sweet-smelling flowers appear, and when their flowers drop off, bananas begin to grow.
As they get bigger, bananas start turning up. It looks as if they’re growing upside down!

Bananas are ready to eat when they turn soft and yellow. But they’re picked long before this — when they’re hard and bright green. This is because bananas have to travel many miles before they arrive at a store. On trucks and boats and trains bananas travel all over the world. There are special boats just for bananas and special trains that keep them just cool enough so that they will get ripe while traveling. If bananas are picked when they are ripe, they will spoil(变坏) on the way.
Complete the following sentences according to the passage.
1. Bananas grow ________ instead of ________.
2. You’d better ________ the bananas until they grow for ________.
3. Some bananas can ________ a kind of vegetable and some can ________.
4. We might visit a banana plantation in a place ________.
5. Bananas are usually picked long before they _________.

D
Are you bored with learning about insects in books? Why not find a few and take a close look by yourself? It’s easy. Insects are everywhere: not just at home or around lights at night, but also in flowers and vegetable gardens, near lakes, parks and in forests.
To have fun watching insects, you need:
Start by reading books about the insects you’re after. Where can you 1 them? Do they live beside a lake or in trees? When you go out to watch insects, bring along an insect guide 2 pictures with you. A good choice would be “Souvenirs Entomologiques(《昆虫记》)” by Jean Henri Fabre.
　　Dress properly because some insects bite! Don’t 3 trousers and shirts with long sleeves(袖子). Bring a first-aid box.
　　Once you’re ready, an early morning and a nearby park would be a good 4 to start.
　　Insects like to hide in 5 and humid places. Try moving stones and checking flowers, leaves and the soil. Collect insects 6 using a piece of card to pick them up. You may use a magnifier(放大镜) to 7 what insects do. Or, you can put them on a piece of clean paper to look 8 at them. How many legs do they have? What color are they?
　　You also can swing(晃动) your net across the top of the grass. You’ll 9 small bugs (insects) at the end of your net. To catch a bigger bug, 10 the net over the insects and down to the ground. Then raise the end of it 11 the insect can fly to the closed top. Put your bug into a clear bottle, then you can 12 watching it with the magnifier.
If you can’t find bugs, try to lure(引诱) them! Place a small jar into the ground so the mouth is even(平的) with the ground. Put a small piece of meat into the jar at the end of the day and check your jar 13 — many insects are active at night. Put new things into the jar every few days and empty it if it 14 .
After watching, remember to put insects back 15 you found them.
Watch bees only from a distance. They are good insects, but you must be careful not to get stung(螫).
Choose the best word or phrase to complete the passage.
( )1. A. find B. invent
C. discover D. search
( )2. A. for B. by C. of D. with
( )3. A. take B. forget C. wear D. bring
( )4. A. time or place B. place or time
C. time and place D. place and time
( )5. A. hot B. cool C. warm D. cold
( )6. A. at B. for C. though D. by
( )7. A. watch B. look for
C. read D. see
( )8. A. easily B. happily
C. closely D. comfortably
( )9. A. notice B. hurt C. catch D. feel
( )10. A. bring B. take off C. make D. sign
( )11. A. that B. so that C. so as to D. when
( )12. A. practice B. finish C. keep on D. enjoy
( )13. A. during the day B. at night
C. in the morning D. in the afternoon
( )14. A. rains B. will rain
C. rained D. has rained
( )15. A. when B. where C. how D. that

Key:
C 1. on thick stalks, growing on trees
2. not pick, about a year
3. be cooked as, be eaten as fruit
4. where it’s hot and rains a lot all the year
5. turn soft and yellow / are ripe
D 1-5 ADBCB 6-10 DACCA 11-15 BDCAB

4