“红月亮”邂逅“红火星”,上演本世纪最长月全食
“红月亮”邂逅“红火星”,上演本世纪最长月全食

                                                                                                         

First, the good news: This week's lunar eclipse(食) will be coming very soon. The bad news: North America is the only continent on Earth where it won't be visible. The best views will be in Africa and Asia, but people in Europe, South America and Australia will still get partial views.
The eclipse will occur on the night of July 27 into the early hours of July 28. It's the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. "The total time the eclipse – called the totality – lasts 1 hour 42 minutes and 57 seconds," said Earth Sky's Bruce McClure. During the eclipse, the moon will appear red, giving it the nickname "blood moon." 
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth, according to NASA. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally reaches the moon. Instead of that sunlight hitting the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it.
Although the moon is in Earth's shadow, some sunlight still reaches the moon. The sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, which causes Earth’s atmosphere to remove most of the blue light. This makes the moon appear red to people on Earth.
An added treat next week: July's total lunar eclipse occurs on the same day the planet Mars reaches its opposition, when it will shine at its best in the night sky. A Mars opposition happens when the Earth lies between Mars and the sun, making the sun and Mars appear in opposite directions as viewed from the Earth. This month, Mars will be at its closest to Earth since 2003.
As for a solar eclipse, you've got a longer wait. Although there are three partial solar eclipses this year, none are visible in the U.S.

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1.The underlined word “visible” means _______.

A can be reached

B can be seen

C can be felt

D can be told

解析:选B。词义猜测题。根据第一段第三句的The best views will be in Africa and Asia可知最佳的观测点在非洲和亚洲,因此该词的意思为“可以看到的”。故选B。

2.What is the character of the eclipse on the night of July 27?

A It will have the longest totality in this century.

B The moon will be on exact opposite sides of Earth.

C The earth will appear red, called "blood earth".

D Earth will send the light to the moon directly.

解析:选A。细节理解题。根据第二段第二句的It's the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century可知该月食是本世纪持续时间最长的。故选A。

3.What causes the blood moon?

A The blue light.

B The sunlight.

C Earth's shadow.

D Earth's atmosphere.

解析:选D。推理判断题。根据第四段第二句的which causes Earth’s atmosphere to remove most of the blue light可知是地球的大气层过滤了大多数的蓝光才导致了红月亮的出现。故选D。

4.When will Mars shine at its best?

A The moon will be between Mars and the sun.

B The earth will stay between Mars and the sun.

C Mars will be at its closest position to the earth.

D The moon will shine at its best in the night sky.

解析:选B。细节理解题。根据第五段第一、二句的...the planet Mars reaches its opposition,when it will shine at its best in the night sky. A Mars opposition happens when the Earth lies between Mars and the sun, making the sun and Mars appear in opposite directions as viewed from the Earth. 可知当地球位于火星和太阳之间的时候,会发生火星冲日现象,这时火星在天空中看起来最亮。故选B。