An old saying used for forecasting the weather says, “Red sky at night, sailors’ (水手) delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” Is the saying true? It turns out that it is.
Forecasting the weather has been practised for thousands of years. In the 5th century BCE, the Greeks used signs in nature to forecast the weather and sent out forecasts to sailors. But today, meteorologists send exact forecasts further in advance (提前). They use scientific instruments to study weather conditions around the world and make forecasts. Pilots, farmers and many other people depend on these forecasts. Luckily, most of us can simply check the smartphone or turn on the TV to find out what kind of weather is coming.
If you are looking for some signs of the weather, pay attention to nature. There are two basic rules in weather forecasting: weather generally moves from west to east, and low air pressure (压力) usually means rain or snow. Smell the flowers—their smells are stronger in wet air. What are the ants doing? Are they moving to higher ground? This could mean a drop in air pressure. Are the birds flying low or high? Falling air pressure may influence birds’ ears, so they fly low. And if the sky is red at sunset, you might plan a picnic for the next day!
(
A. The beauty of sunrise.
B. The night sky.
C. The signs of the weather.
D. The sailors’ work.
(
A. It is only for sailors.
B. It uses scientific tools.
C. It studies birds and ants.
D. It is less accurate.
(
A. give weather reports on TV
B. carry out research on natural history
C. are interested in forecasts
D. study scientific weather conditions
(
A. The smells of flowers are stronger in wet air.
B. It will be sunny if ants move to higher places.
C. Birds fly higher because of the low air pressure.
D. It will be a fine day if the sky is red at sunrise.
(
A. History of weather forecasting
B. Why low air pressure causes rain
C. Nature and rules for weather forecasting
D. Checking weather on phones and TVs
Forecasting the weather has been practised for thousands of years. In the 5th century BCE, the Greeks used signs in nature to forecast the weather and sent out forecasts to sailors. But today, meteorologists send exact forecasts further in advance (提前). They use scientific instruments to study weather conditions around the world and make forecasts. Pilots, farmers and many other people depend on these forecasts. Luckily, most of us can simply check the smartphone or turn on the TV to find out what kind of weather is coming.
If you are looking for some signs of the weather, pay attention to nature. There are two basic rules in weather forecasting: weather generally moves from west to east, and low air pressure (压力) usually means rain or snow. Smell the flowers—their smells are stronger in wet air. What are the ants doing? Are they moving to higher ground? This could mean a drop in air pressure. Are the birds flying low or high? Falling air pressure may influence birds’ ears, so they fly low. And if the sky is red at sunset, you might plan a picnic for the next day!
(
C
) 36. What is the old saying in Paragraph 1 about?A. The beauty of sunrise.
B. The night sky.
C. The signs of the weather.
D. The sailors’ work.
(
B
) 37. How is modern weather forecasting different from the ancient Greek way?A. It is only for sailors.
B. It uses scientific tools.
C. It studies birds and ants.
D. It is less accurate.
(
D
) 38. The underlined word “meteorologists” means the people who .A. give weather reports on TV
B. carry out research on natural history
C. are interested in forecasts
D. study scientific weather conditions
(
A
) 39. What can we know from the last paragraph?A. The smells of flowers are stronger in wet air.
B. It will be sunny if ants move to higher places.
C. Birds fly higher because of the low air pressure.
D. It will be a fine day if the sky is red at sunrise.
(
C
) 40. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?A. History of weather forecasting
B. Why low air pressure causes rain
C. Nature and rules for weather forecasting
D. Checking weather on phones and TVs
答案：36-40 CBDAC
解析：
翻译：
有一句用来预报天气的古话是这样说的：“夜天红，水手乐。”早晨天空红彤彤，水手们采取警戒。”这句话是真的吗？事实证明是这样的。
预报天气已经有几千年的历史。公元前5世纪，希腊人利用自然界的迹象来预测天气，并将天气预报发给水手。但是今天，气象学家会提前更准确地发布预报。他们使用科学仪器研究世界各地的天气状况并做出预测。飞行员、农民和其他许多人都依赖这些预报。幸运的是，我们大多数人只要看看智能手机或打开电视就能知道天气如何。
如果你正在寻找一些天气的迹象，请注意大自然。天气预报有两个基本规则：天气通常从西向东移动，低气压通常意味着下雨或下雪。闻闻花——它们的气味在潮湿的空气中更强烈。蚂蚁在做什么？他们搬到高地去了吗？这可能意味着气压下降。鸟儿飞得低还是高？下降的气压可能影响鸟类的耳朵，所以它们飞得很低。如果日落时天空是红色的，你可以计划第二天的野餐！
【解析】
36. 根据第一段第一句“An old saying used for forecasting the weather says...”可知，这句谚语是关于天气征兆的，故选C。
37. 根据第二段内容，古希腊人用自然征兆预报天气，而现代气象学家使用科学仪器研究天气并做预报，二者的不同在于现代使用科学工具，故选B。
38. 根据第二段“They use scientific instruments to study weather conditions around the world and make forecasts.”可知，meteorologists指的是研究科学天气状况的人，故选D。
39. 根据最后一段“Smell the flowers—their smells are stronger in wet air.”可知，A选项表述正确；B选项中蚂蚁搬去高处意味着气压下降，可能有降雨，并非晴天；C选项低气压时鸟会飞低而非飞高；D选项日出时天空泛红是天气不佳的预兆，并非晴天，故选A。
40. 文章介绍了古今天气预报的方式、自然征兆与天气的关联以及天气预报的基本规则，C选项“Nature and rules for weather forecasting”最能概括全文主旨；A仅涉及预报历史，B只提及低气压与降雨的关系，D仅为现代查天气的方式，均不全面，故选C。
【答案】
36-40 CBDAC
【知识点】
阅读理解推理判断，词义猜测，主旨大意
【点评】
本文围绕天气预报展开，涵盖古今预报方法、自然征兆与天气的联系等内容，题目考查细节提取、词义推测和主旨归纳能力，能帮助学生提升英语阅读的综合能力。
【难度系数】
0.7