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SAN FRANCISCO - In the western U.S., Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe, moon watchers
were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse (月全食).
For about 50 minutes starting at 6:06 a.m. PST, the moon was completely blocked by the Earth's
shadow.
With only some indirect sunlight able to reach it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere, the
moon took on a reddish glow. Since the atmosphere scatters blue light, only red light strikes the moon,
giving it a dark red color.
Dally Sam, who runs a public relations firm in Hawaii, said it had been cloudy and rainy, but the
weather cleared just in time for the eclipse.
Around 3 a.m., he awoke, as he usually does, and remembered to step outside the house in time to
catch the eclipse about a half hour later. No one else in the neighborhood was up.
"It was turning that dark red color," Sayre, 47, said, "I'd better grab a camera. To be able to see it
just right outside our house was really cool."
At the local observatory in Los Angeles, some 300 people, many clutching coffee cups in the cold
morning air, sat with blankets and chairs on the observatory's great lawn.
"It's really a celestial festival out here," John Peter, 39, told the Los Angeles Times as he set up his
camera.
Lying on a slope north of downtown near the Hollywood sign, the place offers clear views of the sky.
Observatory officials alerted the crowd when the eclipse began and spontaneous applause erupted when
the celestial event ended.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon goes through the long shadow cast by the Earth and is
blocked from the sunlight that brightens it.
The last total lunar eclipse was on June 15 although that was not visible from the U.S. The next one is
on April 15, 2014, and will be seen in the U.S.
1. What do we know about the lunar eclipse from the passage?
A. The total lunar eclipse began at about 3:30 a.m.
B. The total lunar eclipse ended at about 6:56 a.m.
C. The lunar eclipse ended at about 6:56 in the evening.
D. The lunar eclipse began at about 6:06 in the evening.
2. When a total lunar eclipse occurs, ________.
A. the moon looks blue
B. the light will hurt our eyes
C. nothing of the moon can be seen except some dark red light around its place
D. another planet comes between the earth and the moon
3. We can infer from paragraph 5 that at 3:30 a.m. Dally Sam ______.
A. found it was still raining heavily
B. saw a total lunar eclipse
C. went out walking as he usually does
D. still had to wait for a long time to see a total lunar eclipse
4. From the last but one paragraph, the following are true EXCEPT _______.
A. a total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is blocked by the sun
B. the source of moonlight is from the sun
C. the earth comes between the moon and the sun
D. with the sunlight, the earth casts its shadow over the moon
5. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To inform us of the next total lunar eclipse.
B. To tell us about a rare celestial event.
C. To alert us of the natural disaster.
D. To draw people's attention to the news.
