第4章 Lesson 4: Shooting Stars

Shooting stars are not stars-and they don't shoot! They are rocks, called meteors that come towards the Earth from far away in space. These meteors can be any size, large or small.

A meteor flies through space at a very high speed—up to 200000 kilometres per hour! When things go this fast through the air around the Earth, everything becomes very hot. The air around the rock gets so hot it glows blue-white. This blue-white streak in the sky is what we see, and it is why we call it a "shooting star".

As a meteor shoots through the sky, it breaks into pieces. Usually this "shooting star" disappears in less than a second. However, some meteors are larger and do not break up completely. When this happens, we call them meteorites. Most meteorites fall into the ocean.

Seeing a shooting star is an amazing thing. We think it is lucky to see one. Actually, shooting stars happen often, but they move so fast that we often miss them if we are not looking carefully.

Have you ever seen a shooting star? If not, why not sit back and watch the sky the next time the stars are shining bright and clear?

If you watch carefully, you will surely see a shooting star. Don't forget to make a wish!

I. Word List

streak: something that is moving very fast

meteorites: bits of rock that hit the Earth

II. Read the sentences carefully and fill in the missing words.

1. Shooting stars are r _ _ _ _ that fly through s _ _ _ _ at very high speed.

2. These rocks are called m _ _ _ _ _ _.

3. The h _ _ air around a fast flying meteor forms a blue-white s _ _ _ _ _.

4. M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ are bits of meteors that crash into the E _ _ _ _.

5. Seeing a shooting star is l _ _ _ _. You can make a w _ _ _ when you see one.

III. Wrong sentences—Each sentence has one mistake. Correct them.

1. Shooting stars are trees. _________

2. A meteor travels at a very low speed. _________

3. A meteor looks like a blue-red streak. _________

4. Seeing a shooting star is unlucky. _________

5. Most meteorites fall into the mountains. _________

IV. Word Families—Choose words from the story that go together.

1. things in the sky: s _ _ _ _, m _ _ _ _ _ _

2. colours: b _ _ _, w _ _ _ _

3. things that hit the Earth: r _ _ _, m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _