The Northern Lights

　　The sun is stormy and has its own kind of weather. It is so hot and active that even the Sun's gravity cannot hold its atmosphere in check! Energy flows away from the Sun toward the Earth in a stream of electrified particles that move at speeds around a million miles per hour. These particles are called plasma, and the stream of plasma coming from the Sun is called the solar wind. The more active the Sun, the stronger the solar wind.

　　The solar wind constantly streams toward the Earth, but don't worry because a protective magnetic fields surrounds our planet. The same magnetic field that makes your compass point north also steers the particles from the Sun to the north and south poles. The charged particles become trapped in magnetic belts around the Earth. When a large blast of solar wind crashes into the Earth's magnetic field first gets squeezed and then the magnetic field lines break and reconnect.

　　The breaking and reconnecting of the magnetic field lines can cause atomic particles called electrons trapped in the belts to fall into the Earth's atmosphere at the poles. As the electrons fall into the

　　Earth, they collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere, creating flashes of light in the sky.

　　Each atmospheric gas glows a different color. Oxygen and nitrogen glows red and green and nitrogen glows violet-purple. As these various colors glow and dance in the night sky, they create the Northern Lights and the Southern Lights.

　　Watching auroras (北极光) is fun and exciting, but normally you can only see them in places far north like Alaska and Canada. The movement of the aurora across the sky is usually slow enough to easily follow with your eyes but they can also pulsate (跳动), flicker (闪烁), or even move like waves.

　　During solar maximum, 5 auroras are seen as far south as Florida, even Mexico! Auroras often seem to be very close to the ground, but the lowest aurora is still about 100 kilometers above the ground, a distance much higher than clouds are formed or airplanes can fly. A typical aurora band can be thousands of kilometers long, a few hundred kilometers high, but only a few hundred meters thick.

　　We hope you are able to travel to far-north places like the Arctic Circle and see the Northern Lights at least once during your lifetime. We know you will never forget it!

　　36. The solar wind comes into being as a result of__________.

　　A. disappearance of the Sun's gravity.

　　B. unpredictable weather of the Sun.

　　C. fast flow of energy away from the Sun.

　　D. a stream of particles being blown away.

　　37. What happens when solar wind comes to the Earth?

　　A. A protective magnetic field is formed at the same time.

　　B. It is trapped in magnetic belts around the Earth.

　　C. It destroys the protective magnetic field surrounding the Earth.

　　D. It breaks magnetic field lines and does severe damage to the Earth.

　　38. The Northern Lights are created when__________.

　　A. atomic particles fall to the Earth and collide with atmospheric gases.

　　B. the magnetic field lines fail to reconnect.

　　C. the electrons falling to the Earth shine in different colors.

　　D. oxygen and nitrogen are separated from the atmospheric gases.

　　39. Which of the following statements is true of the Northern Lights?

　　A. Their movement is slow enough to be observed with the eyes.

　　B. People cannot see them unless traveling to Alaska or Canada.

　　C. They are very close to the ground.

　　D. They are very long and thick.

　　40. What is the author's tone toward the Northern Lights?

　　A. Indifferent.

　　B. Sarcastic.

　　C. Sharp.

　　D. Appreciative.