Our ship sailed on the sea into the Earth’s night. Here, there was no visible light from the Sun or the Earth Engines. But as we looked up, we children saw the starry sky for the first time in our lives. How breathtakingly beautiful it was!

Ms Xing put an arm around us while pointing at the sky with her other hand. “Look, children! That is Proxima Centauri (比邻星), our new home!” With these words, tears ran slowly down her face. Before long, we were all in tears—even the captain and crew. We all looked in the direction that Ms Xing was pointing. There was only one point of light among the twinkling stars that shined constantly: Proxima Centauri—the only source of hope and comfort for a hundred future generations. “Whatever risks we might take, we will finally make it there!” said the captain, in an assured voice.

On our way back from the sea, we saw the first sign that Earth had begun its journey. In the night sky, a huge comet had appeared. It was the Moon, abandoned by humankind. Lunar Engines had been installed to the Moon to force it out of its orbit so that a disastrous crash could be avoided as the Earth sped up and moved away. As it progressed, the gravitational tide of the Moon caused the ocean to swell, creating gigantic waves. We quickly got off the ship to our destination in the Southern Hemisphere. The next few days were the countdown to our departure.

Finally came the big day! As Earth Engines was set at a full power, we got immediately blinded by the bright light from it. This acceleration created massive tsunamis hundreds of meters high that crashed onto the coasts of every continent. Burning hot hurricanes roared through the boiling waves, screaming with wild fury and pulling up almost every tree on Earth.

Our Earth, with its blue tail cutting through the darkness of space, had set out on its long journey, and with it went all of humankind.

【小题1】Why did we all cry when looking up into the sky?

A．Because we had to abandon the Earth.

B．Because we were fascinated by the stars.

C．Because we saw our new settlement.

D．Because we felt lonely in the universe.

【小题2】What was the function of the Lunar Engines?

A．To protect the Earth from a deadly impact.

B．To make sure the Moon runs in its orbit.

C．To keep the moon at the same speed as the Earth.

D．To shelter humans from the tide of the Moon.

【小题3】Which of the following words can best describe the journey?

A．Smooth and steady.	B．Endless and hopeless.
C．Exciting and entertaining.	D．Ambitious and adventurous.

【小题4】Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A personal diary.	B．A science fiction.
C．A travel magazine.	D．An academic article.