2013年12月英语六级考试阅读训练12

　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 sun's 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 sun's disc5. Everything gets darker and darker; then，at last，we cannot see any part of the sun's disc. The moon is hiding it completely. That is a total eclipse of the sun; sometimes only part of the sun's 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 isn't 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 earth's shadow falls on the moon
　　D.no light from the sun can reach the moon

　　文章精要

　　说明文。本文首先介绍了日食对动物和人类的影响，然后解释了日食发生的原因。

　　斟词酌句

　　eclipse n./vt. （日、月）食;（地位、声誉登的）消失，黯然失色

　　*Our happiness was eclipsed by the terrible news. 我们的快乐被可怕的消息蒙上了一层阴影。

　　试题解析

选B.本题为主旨归纳题。本文主要介绍了日食对动物和人类的影响以及日食发生的原因，都和日食有关。所以选B.

　　2.选D.本题为推断题。原文第一段说“Astronomers know the dates of eclipses……”，由此可知，日食发生的日期可以推测出。

　　3.选D.本题为主要细节题。从第三段可知，日偏食发生后，双方士兵以为天神发怒了，“So they stopped fighting,and ended their long war.”，所以D选项是战争结束的原因。

　　4.选C.本题为文章细节正误题。第四段说“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阳小是因为它们离我们很遥远。

　　5.选A.本题为主要细节正误题。聪最后一段可知，当月亮在地球和太阳之间，遮挡住太阳时，太阳就变黑了，这称为日食，所以A选项为正确答案。B选项为干扰项，它只是日食的现象，而不是原因。

　　全文翻译

　　不少动物在遇到日食时会感到恐惧。比如鸟儿会停止鸣唱。有时人也会感到恐慌。天文学家能预知日食和月食的日期，所以他们没有恐惧心理。古巴比伦和古埃及的天文学家没有天文望远镜，但这些国家的天空通常晴朗，所以他们能很容易地观测星体。他们研究星空中的一切现象，他们也观察到了日全食和月全食以及日偏食和月偏食。

　　由于这些天文学家能预知日食和月食的日期，他们便有着相当大的权力。当时人们相信天空是重要的，他们还相信一次日食或月食能夺去一个人的生命。

　　大约2500年以前，有一场旷日持久的战争。战役接连不断，尾声遥遥无期。一场战役中发生了日偏食。天暗下来，双方士兵都充满了恐惧，他们深信天神发怒了。结果他们停止战斗，结束了漫长的战争。

　　太阳是一颗恒星，它看上去比其他星球要大，这是因为它离我们比较近，而其他星球则很遥远。太阳会发光，这是因为它自身很热。而月亮发光却是因为它反射了太阳光。月亮就像一面大镜子。如果我们能去游览月球，我们就可以在那里看到地球。地球也像一面大镜子一样反射太阳光。

　　太阳白天也会变黑吗?答案是当月亮遮挡了它时就会变黑。有时，月亮运转到太阳的前面。当月亮慢慢地越过日轮时我们还能看到它的边缘。万物变得越来越黑，最终，日轮的所有部分从我们的视线消失。月亮把它完全遮挡住了。这就是日全食。有时候，只有部分日轮被遮挡住，那就不是日全食，而是日偏食。