Part 3. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer
to each of the questions.
Mercury is the smallest member of the sun's family. It is
only 3100 miles across. It is also the Sun's swiftest planet. Its
yearly journey round the Sun is only 85 days. Mercury always
keeps one side towards the sun. On this side it is always day, on
the other side always night. We only see the lighted side.
Mercury appears to us like a yellowish orange star. The nearest
planet to the Sun, it is always seen near the sun, either just before
sunrise or soon after sunset. People sometimes call mercury the
morning star or evening star.
Mercury is half the size of the Earth. Because it is much lighter, it has much less gravity. If you can
visit Mercury in a spaceship, you will find it a strange world. Its low gravity makes you feel very light. If
your weight on Earth is 100 pounds, your weight on Mercury is only 27 pounds. Looking at the Sun from
Mercury, you can see that it's much more brilliant than it is seen from the Earth. And the yellow centre of
the Sun appears three times bigger from Mercury. On its lighted side, Mercury's temperature is about 300
degrees centigrade. But the dark side is extremely cold, 150 degrees below zero, so mercury is probably
the coldest as well as the hottest of the planets.
1. Mercury is
A. the Sun's fastest planet.
C. the hottest planet.
2. We cannot see the dark side of Mercury because
A. it moves very fast.
B. the coldest planet.
D. All are correct.
B. it always appears just before sunrise or soon after sunset.
C. it always keeps one side towards the Sun.
3. When can we see Mercury? - We can see it
A. just before the sunset.
C. after the sunset.
D. it is too far for us to see.
B. just before sunrise.
D. before sunrise and after sunset.
4. Why do we weigh much on the Earth than on Mercury? - Because
A. Mercury is nearer to the Sun.
C. Mercury is much hotter.
B. Mercury has got less gravity than the Earth.
D. None are correct.
5. Why does the sun look bigger when it is seen from Mercury? - Because
A. Mercury is the smallest planet of the Sun.
B. Mercury is nearer to the Sun.
C. Mercury is a light planet. D. It only takes Mercury 88 days to move round the Sun.