The “dog days”, I always thought, were those summer days so hot that even dogs would lie around on the ground, breathing loudly. Originally, the phrase actually had nothing to do with dogs, or even with the lazy days of summer. The dog days refer to the dog star — Sirius（天狼星）.

To the Greeks and Romans, the dog days occurred around the day when Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun，in late July. They referred to these days as the hottest time of the year. If you go back to even a book The Iliad, it describes the star as something dealing with the war and disaster. All throughout Greek and Roman literature, you found these things. The phrase “dog days” was translated from Latin to English about 500 years ago. Since then, it has taken on new meanings.

Are the dog days, when Sirius rises, really the hottest days of the year? Although July and August are generally known as the hottest months of the year in Europe, the hottest period can vary from year to year. In Athens, for instance, Sirius rises around the middle of August this year. But it'll happen earlier in the next year.

There's another reason that the dog days don't correspond（与……一致）completely with the heat. “Our Earth is like a spinning top（陀螺）,” said Bradley Schaefer, professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University. “If you throw it onto a table，after it slows down the pointing direction of the top will slowly go around in circles. Similarly to a ball, the Earth's movement is kind of wobbling （摇摆）around. ”

The calendar is fixed according to certain events, but the stars have shifted according to the way that the Earth wobbles. So in about 50 years, the sky shifts about one degree. This means that the dog days of ancient Greece aren't the dog days of today. What it also means is that thousands of years from now, this event won't even occur during the summer.

【小题1】What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The origin of the dog days.

B．The influence of the dog days.

C．The occurrence of the dog days.

D．The misunderstanding of the dog days.

【小题2】From Paragraph 3, we know______.

A．people in Europe don't like Sirius

B．the dog days appear earlier in Athens

C．the dog days appear at different time every year

D．people in Europe believe Sirius brings the hottest days

【小题3】Bradley uses the spinning top in order to______.

A．explain the movement of the Earth

B．study how the Earth is affected by the heat

C．introduce the reason why the Earth moves

D．predict how the Earth will move when it slows down

【小题4】What's the purpose of the passage?

A．To study the relations between the Earth and Sirius.

B．To explain why hot days are called “dog days”.

C．To introduce some information about “dog days”.

D．To show the changes of Sirius throughout the years.

单句改错
【小题1】My first impression on him was that he was a kind and thoughtful young man.
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【小题2】This is where my father has taught me—to always face difficulties and hope for the best.
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【小题3】I would appreciate that if you let me know the result in advance.
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【小题4】Tom complained his parents about the difficult exam.
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【小题5】Great changes have been taken place in our hometown during the past ten years.
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【小题6】How can we persuade him of attending the wedding ceremony?
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【小题7】In tests, one car we built has been averaged over 40 kph, even in cloudy weather.
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【小题8】No agreement had been reached so far between the two sides.
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单句语法填空
【小题1】This is the first time I _______ (see) such a moving film.
【小题2】Since 8 o'clock this morning I _______ (interpret) the article but haven't finished it yet.
【小题3】Do you agree that first _______ (impress) of a person are always right?
【小题4】Do the following to ensure the safe _______ (operate) of your smoke detector.
【小题5】I've only recently started _______ (practice) French.
【小题6】I appreciate _______ (give) the opportunity to work in your company.
【小题7】_______ (inspire) by what the lecturer had addressed made him set a higher goal for his job.
【小题8】You don't have to be worried _______ his safety, for he called me just now.
【小题9】Have you heard of the newly-issued song _______ (appreciate) by the teenagers?
【小题10】Judged by the ordinary standard, he was _______ (rely).

短文改错

In the past two years, our school had organized many activities. What impressed me most was an activity calling “Learning to Farm”. On a autumn afternoon, we went to a farm, which we learned to plant potatoes. Having in the city for such a long time, we were so happily to go to the countryside. After we got there, we were divided into three groups, but we started to work. Some students cut potato plants （马铃薯秧）into pieces, some dug hole, and the others put the pieces of potato plants into the holes, put the soil back and pushed them down hard. We were all busy working until all the work was done. Though we were tired out, we felt pleased on our way back to home.

选词填空（可变换形式，其中有两项是多余的）

【小题1】The Olympic Stadium will hold an audience of ____________ 80,000 one time.
【小题2】In short, we cannot please everyone ____________.
【小题3】She ____________ him，because he is polite and humorous.
【小题4】The opening ceremony of the sports meeting will ____________ in October.
【小题5】He can always ____________ his classmates due to his good temper.
【小题6】I find this method of learning English to be the most efficient one that I've tried____________.
【小题7】I failed to ____________ him ____________ my point of view about the matter.
【小题8】When I arrived, the concert had ____________ for several minutes.
【小题9】Even though the task was too challenging, none of us ____________ it.
【小题10】How many countries will ____________ the World Cup?