Phases of the Moon月相

王露

One night， the moon might look like a large circle. Anothernight， you might only see a small piece of the moon. Why doesthe moons shape seem to change？

某一天晚上，月亮可能看起來像一个大圆。而另一天晚上，你可能只看到一小块月亮。为什么月亮的形状似乎发生了变化？

The sun is always shining light on the moon. As the moonmoves around the earth， we see different amounts of that light.This causes the moon to appear in different shapes called phasesof the moon.

太阳总是照亮着月球。当月球绕地球运行时，我们会看到不同数量的太阳光照在月球上。这导致月亮以不同的形状出现，称为月相。

The most famous phase is called a full moon. During a fullmoon， the moon looks like a complete circle. The opposite ofa full moon is a new moon. During a new moon， we cannot seeany sunlight shining on the moon. So， it looks like the moon hasdisappeared！

月相最著名的阶段被称为满月。满月时，月亮看起来像一个完整的圆。满月的反面是新月。在新月期间，我们看不到任何太阳光照在月球上。所以，月亮看起来好像消失了！

It takes a month for a full moon to change to a new moon andthen back again. If you look up at the sky every night， you canwatch the change for yourself.

从满月到新月，然后再变回满月，这需要一个月的时间。如果你每天晚上抬头看天空，你可以观察到这种变化。

Notes：

change v. 变化；改变

move v. 移动

amount n. 数量

appear v. 出现

a full moon 满月

complete adj. 完整的

opposite adj. 相对的；相反的

a new moon 新月

disappear v. 消失

look up 仰望

I. Complete the following sentences according to the passage.

1. The moons shape seems to __________ every day.

2. The sun is always __________ light on the moon.

3. The moon is called __________ __________ ___________，then it looks like a complete circle.

4. During __________ __________ __________， people cannot see any sunlight shining on the moon.

5. In __________ __________， there is a full moon and a new moon.

II. True（√） or False（×）？ Read the passage again and judge.

1. The moon always looks like a large circle. （ ）

2. During a half moon， the moon looks like a complete circle. （ ）

3. The moon moves around the earth. （ ）

4. The opposite of a full moon is a new moon. （ ）

5. When we cannot see any light on the moon， it is a new moon. （ ）

Keys to Phases of the Moon

I. 1. change 2. shining 3. a full moon 4. a new moon 5. one month

II. 1. × 2. × 3. √ 4. √ 5. √