Once in a blue moon,(極為罕見) there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial(天空的) neighbor. A full moon occurred on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

“Blue moons have no astronomical significance,” said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California. “`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon'(a full moon in octorber) or a `harvest moon,'” Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac(年歷) defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

1.What’s the color of blue moon?

A．blue             B．golden            C．green            D．red

2.If you are in China, in which month can you see the blue moon?

A．December, 2009                        B．November, 2009

C．January, 2010                          D．February, 2010

3.Compared with the hunters moon, the blue moon ________ .

A．is more beautiful    B．is rarer           C．is larger           D．is brighter

4.Which full moon should be called blue moon according to the original definition?

A．The second full moon in a month with two full moons.

B．The third full moon in a month with three full moons.

C．The second full moon in a season with four full moons.

D．The third full moon in a season with four full moons.

5.What would be the best title for the passage ?

A．Rare New Year’s Eve Blue Moon to Ring in 2010

B．Blue Moon to Take Us Good Fortune

C．The Best Time to Observe Blue Moon

D．The Reason for Blue Moon’s Appearing

Two Chinese living in South Africa were killed in a robbery (搶劫) on February 5, bringing the total number of Chinese killed in the country to four in less than a month.

Chen Jianqing, 35, from Southeast China's Fujian Province, who ran a shop with her husband in a small town 45 kilometers away from South African capital Johannesburg, was shot dead.

"One of her business partners died later in the hospital," the Chinese consulate (領(lǐng)事館) officials in Johannesburg said yesterday. "Local police are trying to find more information about the case. And we have told the victims' (遇難者的) relatives and are helping them come to Johannesburg," Consul Wu Gang told China Daily. Chen's husband was injured during the robbery but did not suffer seriously, said Wu.

The robbery happened at about 5:45 pm local time and the armed robbers ran away after taking more than 50,000 South African rand (US $8,200) and some jewelry,  Xinhua News Agency reported.

The killing happened just three days after Chen Jingmin, a 23-year-old man from Qingdao, Shandong Province, was shot dead north outside Johannesburg by armed robbers. On January 10, a Hong Kong businessman was attacked and robbed at his home in Johannesburg and died the next day in the hospital. All these happened just in less than a month.

According to records, there were more than 40 robberies attacking Chinese in South Africa last year, in which eight were killed. More than 100,000 Chinese are doing various kinds of businesses in South Africa, according to a Chinese official in the country. An increasing number of them are becoming targets (目標(biāo)) of robbers after buying big houses or luxury cars, the official said.

1.The passage is probably ______.

A. a business story                               B. a scientific article

C. a newspaper report                                   D. an official document

2.Who were killed on February 5 in a small town near Johannesburg?

A. Chen Jianqing and her husband.

B. Chen Jianqing and one of her partners.

C. Chen Jingmin and a Hong Kong businessman.

D. Chen Jingmin and one of his relatives.

3.How many Chinese were killed in South Africa since January ?

A. 2            B. 4.                     C. 5.           D. 8.

4._______are more likely to be robbed in South Africa.

A. Those Chinese who depend too much on local police

B. Those Chinese who live near the capital of South Africa

C. Those Chinese who open shops selling Chinese goods

D. Those Chinese who leave others the impression of being rich

Psychologists in Britain have said that the last full week of January is the most depressing time of the year, and have labeled the Monday of that week “Blue Monday”, the most depressing day of the year. Mondays are generally seen as the worst day of the week because people feel grumpy(煩躁的) and tired at having to go back to work after a weekend with a different sleep pattern.
There are various reasons why more people feel depressed at this time of year. Many people have unpaid credit card bills for the Christmas presents they bought. As the party season is over, people feel stressed because they have to go back to real life — work and commuting; they may be unhappy with their body image after eating too many cakes, chocolates, and other food at Christmas-time. People may have already failed in their New Year’s plans, such as giving up smoking. The bad weather in January can also contribute to people feeling fed up.
Some companies are taking this quite seriously and offering suggestions for all the staff who are feeling depressed. They hope that helping people as soon as there are signs of depression will keep people from taking time off. Evidence shows that unreasonable managers who contribute to their staff feeling fed up at this time can expect an uncooperative (不合作的) workforce.
However, it’s not all bad! Many people feel optimistic at this time — that things can only get better. Psychologists offer suggestions of how to fight against feeling blue. These include spending 15 minutes doing a “gratitude exercise”, thinking about and writing down what you are grateful for, such as health, family, friends and so on. Taking up a new hobby, doing some exercise, going to bed earlier, eating a healthy breakfast, and listening to some cheerful music are all recommended (推薦) as ways to feel more cheerful.
68. How many reasons are mentioned in this passage for feeling depressed in January?
A. 2.            B. 3.           C. 4.           D. 5.
69. We can learn from the passage that if we say someone is blue, we mean he is ______.
A. wearing blue clothes          B. feeling down
C. very scared                    D. very worried
70. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Everyone feels depressed during the last full week of January.
B. Many workers leave their jobs during the most depressing time of the year. 
C. Some people are not sad in January as they know that all the following months will be better.
D. Psychologists are working hard on how to solve the “Blue Monday” problem. 

       food and vegetables         southern China where people have being suffered from snow storms since mid-January.

A. Large quantities of; are sent to

B. A large quantity of; are sent to

C. Plenty of; is sent to

D. A great deal of; are sent to

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial（天體） neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse（月蝕） on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists（語言純正癖者）, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek（瞇著眼睛看） at that brilliant orb（天體） as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

(   ) 1. A. wish            B. wait                 C. hope             D. expect

(   ) 2. A. deal with       B. do with          C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred        B. came                 C. ran          D. went

(   ) 4. A. full            B. half                 C. bright       D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight        B. visible          C. big          D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until           B. when                 C. before       D. since

(   ) 7. A. part            B. all              C. any          D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon            B. eclipse          C. sun          D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each            B. every                C. either           D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole   B. Generally speaking   C. On average   D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last           B. next                 C. other            D. another

(   ) 12. A. go             B. see              C. come             D. look

(   ) 13. A. point          B. evident          C. theory       D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name           B. object           C. phenomenon   D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created        B. came about       C. made             D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named      B. called           C. introduced       D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error          B. name                 C. reality      D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue           B. red              C. yellow       D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published      B. posted           C. printed      D. written

(   ) 20. A. in             B. out              C. away             D. on