Antarctica（南極洲）is in the in the southern part of the world．It is like nowhere else on the earth．It is much larger than Europe，and nearly twice the size of Australia．The South Pole（南極）is at its center．Antarctica is the coldest and windiest place in the world，even colder and windier than the North Pole．In summer，the sun shines for twenty-four hours a day，but in winter it's completely dark for about three months．Very few plants grow there，but there is some wild life，including whales，seals，and penguins．

When Captain James Cook traveled around Antarctica in the 1770s by ship，be found no one living there．Today，a few scientists work in Antarctica，but they only spend a short time there．

Many scientists are studying the ozone layer，which is getting thinner and thinner worldwide．The biggest "hale" is above Antarctica，and the weather there is getting warmer．Scientists think that this cold and lonely place can teach us a lot about the earth and how to keep the earth safe．

1．When did Captain James Cook travel around Antarctica?

A．In the 1670s．                              B．In the 1760s．

C．In the 1770s．                              D．In the 1780s．

2．What does the underlined part "ozone layer" mean in Chinese?

A．凍土層                B．大氣層                C．臭氧層                D．高壓層

3．How many kinds of animals are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two．             B．Three               C．Four               D．Five

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia．

B．Scientists spend a long time in Antarctica．

C．There is no plant growing in Antarctica．

D．In winter，it's dark for about 70 days in Antarctica．

閱讀短文，根據短文內容回答問題。（共10分，每小題2分）

When we want to find out what the weather will be like tomorrow, we usually turn on the TV. But people also needed to forecast (predict) the weather before they had TV. How did they do it in the past? They’d find an outdoor space, look up, look around, and listen.

Look UP

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight!

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!

This weather poem was written a long time ago, but it still works today. Weather in many parts of the wold moves from west to east. Whatever weather is in the weat tonight will probably be with us tomorrow. So a red sky at night, as the sun is setting, usually means a sunny day for the next day.

Look Around

Animals, insects, and plants are natural weather forecasters.

   When a summer storm is coming , you may notice that dogs, cows and horses grow restless. Theses animals don’t have some mysterious sixth sense, but they do have super-sensitive hearing. Scientists think the animals can forecast thunderstorms （雷雨）because they can hear the sound waves(聲波)made by them many miles away.

   When leaves show their undersides, be very certain, rain happens.

Listen

If you hear a cricket, it can tell you the exact temperature. Just count its chirps (啾啾聲) for fourteen seconds and then add forty. This will give you the Fahrenheit temperature of the cricket within a very few degrees. Since crickets are cold-blooded, the temperature of the cricket is about the same as the air around it.

So learn to predict the weather the way people did in the past. Get outside, look up, look around, and listen. Soon you’ll be your very own weather forecaster.

64. Did people need to forecast the weather before they had TV?

65. What does a red sky at night mean for the next day?

66.Why can animals forecast thunderstorms?

67.How can we know the temperature from a cricket?

68. What does the passage mainly tell us?