四、阅读理解(共15小题，每题3分，共45分)

　　阅读下列短文，然后根据短文的内容从每小题的四个选项中选出最佳的一项。

　　A

　　On Christmas Eve-- the night before Christmas Day-- children all over Britain put a stocking at the end of their beds before they go to sleep. Their parents usually tell them that Father Christmas will come during the night.

　　Father Christmas is very kind and hearted. He lands on the top of each house and climbs down the chimney and out of the fireplace. Then he fills each of the stockings with Christmas presents.

　　Of course, Father Christmas isn't real. In Jim and Kate's house," Father Christmas" is really Mr.Green. Mr. Green doesn't climb down the chimney. He waits until the children are asleep. Then he quietly goes into their bedrooms and fills their stockings with small presents. When they were very young,Mr Green sometimes wore a red coat. But he doesn't do that now. The children are no longer young,and they know who "Father Christmas" really is. But they still put their stockings at the end of their beds.

　　36. Christmas Eve is__________.

　　A. the night of Christmas Day

　　B. the evening of Christmas Day

　　C. Christmas Day

　　D. the night before Christmas Day

　　37. When the children were very young,__________.

　　A. they didn't know who Father Christmas was

　　B. they knew that Father Christmas wasn't real

　　C. they thought their father was Father Christmas

　　D. they knew who put the presents into their stockings

　　38. When the children are older,they__________.

　　A. know that Father Christmas is real

　　B. ask their mother to fill their stockings with presents

　　C. know that Father Christmas is really their father

　　D. know that Father Christmas is really their friend

　　B

　　Now satellites are helping to forecast(预报) the weather. From space,they can see any part of the earth. These satellites take pictures of the atmosphere (大气), because this is where the weather forms. These pictures are sent to weather stations on earth. Meteorologists (气象学家)can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often see how the weather will change.

　　Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can report this.

　　So weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon,perhaps,they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead.

　　39. Satellites travel__________.

　　A. in space

　　B. in the atmosphere

　　C. above the ground

　　D. above space

　　40. Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because__________.

　　A. the weather satellites can do it easily

　　B. clouds form there

　　C. the weather forms there

　　D. the pictures can forecast the weather

　　41. Meteorologists forecast the weather__________.

　　A. when they have received satellite pictures

　　B. after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

　　C. before they receive satellite pictures

　　D.during they study of satellite pictures

　　42. The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in__________.

　　A. taking pictures of the atmosphere

　　B. receiving pictures of the atmosphere

　　C. doing many other types of work

　　D. weather forecasting