Avi Loeb, a scientist, believes that we are not alone in the universe. The belief fits with Loeb's alien spaceship theory that at least one alien spaceship might be flying over the orbit of Jupiter, which won the international attention last year.
Astronomers in Hawaii found the first known interstellar object in late 2017. It was a bit of light moving so fast past the sun that it could only have come from another star. Almost every astronomer on the planet was trying to figure out how the object, called “Oumuamua” got to our far-away part of the Milky way galaxy. “One possibility is that ‘Oumuamua’ is debris from an advanced technological equipment,” Loeb said. “Technology comes from another solar system just showed up at our door. ”
“‘Oumuamua’ is not an alien spaceship,” Paul Sutter, another scientist wrote. He suggested Loeb was seeking publicity. Most scientists think “Oumuamua” is some sort of rock. They think it could be an icy wandering comet.
Loeb says that “Oumuamua's” behavior means it can't be a block of rock shaped like a long photo. He thinks it's more likely an object that's very long and thin, perhaps like a long pancake or a ship's sail. Loeb says that if someone shows him evidence that contradicts his beliefs, he will immediately give in.
Loeb believes himself a truth-teller and risk-taker in an age of very safe, too-quiet scientists. “The worst thing that can happen to me is that I would be relieved of my management duties, and that would give me even more time to focus on science,” Loeb says. He said he wouldn't mind giving up all the titles he had and returning to the Israeli farming village where he grew up.
1. What does Loeb say about “Oumuamua”?| A．It is an icy comet. | B．It looks like a long photo. |
| C．It is actually some sort of rock. | D．It may come from another alien civilization. |
| A．Goes against. | B．Relies on. | C．Turns to. | D．Searches for. |
| A．He is foolish. | B．He is unsatisfied with his titles. |
| C．He is a firm believer in scientific truth. | D．He is uncertain about his career future. |
| A．Have Aliens Paid a Visit in Spaceships? | B．Do We Really Know about Space Theory? |
| C．Scientists Are Working on High Technology | D．Astronomers Are Encouraging Space Travel |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don't know is that rubbish has become a problem in outer space too. Years of space exploration have left tons of “space junk” in orbit around the planet. According to BBC News，there are more than 22,000 pieces of junk in space around the earth. And these are just the items that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can't see.
Objects，like bits of old space rockets or satellites，move around the planet at very high speeds，so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to people，particularly astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spacecraft，it could damage the vehicle. That's because the faster an object moves，the greater the impact if the object collides(相撞)with something else.
To help reduce additional space junk, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in orbit to 25 years. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth's atmosphere，or the mass of gases that surround the earth. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up. Many scientists are also putting forward different ways to clean up space junk. In England a metal tool is being tested that can be fired into space rubbish，catch the rubbish，and then pull the rubbish into the earth's atmosphere to burn up. The Germans have been planning a space project with robots that would collect pieces of space rubbish and bring them back to Earth so that they can be safely destroyed.
The problem of space junk is very challenging，and it's quite urgent as well. One reason why it's urgent is that countries are sending more and more objects into space. Many of these objects are tools that help people use their cell phones or computers. The time to act is now. As we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments(碎片).
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?| A．There are 22,000 pieces of space junk around the earth. |
| B．BBC News found the pieces of space junk by telescopes. |
| C．There are millions of tiny pieces of space junk around the earth. |
| D．Space junk in orbit around the planet was left by space exploration. |
| A．To help reduce additional space junk. |
| B．To help space tools fall safely into the earth. |
| C．To help burn up space junk in the earth's atmosphere. |
| D．To help collect space junk and bring them back to Earth. |
| A．Ways to clean up space junk. |
| B．Ways to avoid the damage of space junk. |
| C．Rubbish is a big problem on planet Earth. |
| D．Rubbish has become a problem in outer space. |
| A．Health. | B．Education. | C．Environment. | D．Entertainment. |
【推荐2】A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a large and magnificently brilliant star that shone across the young expanding universe. The light from that blue star travelled through space for billions of years, and then one day a few thin beams crashed into a polished mirror-the light bucket of the Hubble Space Telescope.
In a report published Wednesday in the journal Nature, a team of astronomers asserts that this is the most distant individual star ever seen. They describe it as 50 to 100 times more massive than our sun, and roughly 1 million times brighter, with its starlight having travelled 12.9 billion years to reach the telescope.
The lead author on the report, Brian Welch, gave the star a name: Earendel, meaning “morning stars”. “Earendel was found in a young galaxy known as the Sunrise Arc, and ‘morning stars’ seemed appropriate,” Welch said.
“This is one of the major discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope in its 32 years of observation, ” said Rogier Windhorst, a co-author of the report. In recent decades, astronomers have seen galaxies at that distance, and even farther away, but galaxies are collections of billions of stars and the very distant ones have typically been nothing more than smudges of light.
Despite its mass and brilliance, Earendel’s discovery would not have been possible were it not for the cosmic alignment. Between Hubble and the star lies a galaxy cluster, WHL0137-08，which is so huge that its mass wraps the fabric of space, creating a power of natural magnifying (放大) glass that magnifies the light form objects behind it, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing (引力透镜效应). Earendel sits on or close to that space ripple, causing it to “pop out” from the general glow of its galaxy because the phenomenon magnified its brightness at least a thousand fold.
In interviews this week, several scientists who are not part of the Earendel team praised the discovery, noting that further observations could firm up the claim and potentially provide insights into the early evolution of stars.
1. How does the first paragraph develop?| A．By listing several figures. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By describing the process. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．The star Earendel is quite different from the Sun. |
| B．Brian Welch made the discovery of the Earendel alone. |
| C．Both Earendel and the galaxy Sunrise Arc are very old. |
| D．Astronomers have never discovered galaxies that far. |
| A．Because the star is incredibly huge in its mass. |
| B．Because the star shines brightly enough to be detected. |
| C．Because the brightness of the star is enhanced enormously. |
| D．Because the Hubble space telescope is properly placed in space. |
| A．Critical. | B．Indifferent. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Appreciative. |
【推荐3】The US space agency NASA has revealed an astonishing picture revealing new secrets of the Earth’s home galaxy (星系), the Milky Way. The sun is just one of hundreds of billions of stars that form the huge shape of our galaxy. Our solar system sits in an outlying region but the new image focuses on the centre of the Milky Way, a “noisy” area because of all the crowded stars. Light from this region takes about 26,000 years to reach Earth. For comparison, light takes just eight minutes to reach us from the sun.
The researchers use the data collected by two telescopes that see the sky in ways that are very different from the visible light our eyes can see to form the new image. Most of the data comes from 370 different pictures taken over the past 20 years by NASA’s Chandra X Observatory. This satellite telescope detects X-rays out in space. X-rays are a from of radiation that is sent out when violent events heat matter to temperatures of millions of degrees. Other data comes from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa, which can detect radio waves from space. These waves have much less energy than X-rays. They are usually produced by cooler material, such as huge clouds of gas between the stars.
The brightest sources include neutron stars which are the cores of huge stars that ran out of fuel and collapsed to city-sized balls of super hot matter. Many neutron stars and black holes jet out gases that appear in the picture as purple streaks (斑纹). Powerful magnetic fields in the area cause the jets to bend as they get further from their source. Astronomer Dr Daniel Wang, who has worked on the image over the past year, said the new picture described “a violent or energetic ecosystem”.
1. What can be learned about the Milky Way?| A．The center of it remains unknown. |
| B．The sun isn’t located in the center of it. |
| C．Its center is very peaceful. |
| D．Its center features fewer stars. |
| A．The collection of space data. |
| B．The function of the MeerKAT telescope. |
| C．The differences of space waves. |
| D．The formation of the new image. |
| A．They will absorb surrounding materials. |
| B．They will form super big matter. |
| C．They get bent if away from their source. |
| D．They are likely to explode when superheated. |
| A．Our galaxy’s violent heart | B．An attempt to travel in outer space |
| C．Radio waves from outer space | D．Stars’ purple streaks |
【推荐1】The Printing Press
What do you think is the most important invention in the last 1,000 years? It is the lightbulb or the Internet? Many people say that it is the printing press, a machine that allows us to print copies or books and documents. But why is the printing press so important?
Before the printing press, books were copied by hand. Ancient Roman book publisher sometimes sold as many as 5,000 copies of a book that had been copied by slaves. But copying a book took so much time and was so expensive that often only a few copies of each book were made. As a result, usually only a small percentage of the population learned to read and owned books.
In 1450, a goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg in Germany invented the modern printing press. The impact of his machine is sometimes compared to the invention of the Internet. Although ancient Chinese people invented paper in 105 AD and used woodblock printing before 200 AD, Gutenberg’s printing press was easy to use with languages that had alphabetic scripts. After 1450, thousands of copies of a popular book or newspaper could be made quickly and cheaply. Books and newspapers with ideas and images from all over the world went into the market for the wide public.
Knowledge is power. Reading has brought about amazing changes in science, technology and politics. We have learned how to create wealth and even travel to far-away worlds. The computer, cellphone, and Internet have grown, because billions of powerful readers were created by the printing press.
From 1450 on, more and more people have become readers. These billions of readers are powerful, and they help the world to make progress at a fast speed.
1. What is a printing press?| A．A book | B．A machine. | C．A material. | D．A newspaper. |
| A．few books to read | B．little time to read | C．no money for books | D．no interest in books |
| A．low cost | B．common use | C．great influence | D．rapid development |
| A．The progress. | B．The future. | C．The contribution. | D．The function. |
【推荐2】Dolphins appear to make a tasty meal for many predators (捕食性动物). And why? With an exceptionally high fat content, dolphins provide great nutrition for predators who track throughout the ocean. However, dolphins are more troublesome than it’s worth and most predators generally learn to avoid dolphin groups, including sharks. Like elephants, dolphins will circle protectively around the weak members of the group, and attack anything that approaches in a threatening manner. And they can kill sharks. Most predators take one look, and then just swim away.
Dolphins don’t worry a lot about being eaten. In general, their only real predator is the shark, and even then only the larger species of sharks dare to attack dolphins. Dolphins have evolved (进化) over a long time to be pretty tough, so in general even the most dangerous sharks stay away from them. Dolphin parts have been found in the bellies of killer whales, who will eat just about anything. In fact, dolphins and killer whales team up sometimes to catch some prey.
As with most edible (可以食用的) species today, the most dangerous threat is man. Sometimes, dolphins are killed not because they are a source of food, but because they prey on the same fish species as humans. Therefore, many fishermen have killed dolphins specifically because they think dolphins will ruin their catch.
Even more, there are some countries that eat cetaceans, including dolphins. In Japan, the meat of some dolphin species is seen as a delicacy, and can cost up to $25 a pound. In Peru and many other Latin American countries where the ocean has been largely short of fish due to overfishing or environmental conditions such as El Niño, fishermen have turned to catch dolphins and porpoises to sell in fish markets.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．No ocean animals can attack dolphins. | B．Dolphins are not easy to deal with. |
| C．Dolphins often kill sharks. | D．Dolphins are quite low in fat. |
| A．People have ever found the evidence of killer whales eating dolphins. |
| B．Dolphins and killer whales have something in common concerning bellies. |
| C．Dolphins and killer whales join hands to hunt and feed. |
| D．Dolphins and killer whales are not similar in belly parts. |
| A．The number of dolphins is too large. |
| B．Dolphins are more delicious than other species. |
| C．Dolphins compete with humans on the same fish species. |
| D．Dolphins’ meat is the main economic source for some fishermen. |
| A．Dolphins cause overfishing. |
| B．Dolphins affect their way of living. |
| C．Dolphins are a source of delicious food. |
| D．There are not so many fish in the ocean as before. |
【推荐3】Toddlers (学步的儿童) going to nursery at Apples and Honey Nightingale don’t just spend their days interacting with other young children, they also build relationships with the building’s elderly residents.
Intergenerational nurseries, ones which share spaces with a care home have been shown to reduce loneliness in older people and boost their mental and physical health. But parents whose children attend Apples and Honey Nightingale in Clapham, London, have been pleased to see the benefits go both ways. Bridging the gap between generations has introduced their toddlers to a new range of life skills.
Leanne Rhodes two-year-old son Andy has been in the nursery for two months. “His language skills have improved and I’ve noticed some new phrases, such as him saying you’re welcome when someone says thank you to him. Also, I’ve noticed he has more confidence around older people and will say hello to them when we are out, though he has previously ignored them, said the 33-year-old from Solibull.
Stephen Burke, director of United For All Ages, an organisation that works to bring people together across generations, says contact with care home residents can help develop children’s understanding of ageing and issues affecting older people, especially if they don’t have older relatives living close by. The 2016 British Integration Survey found that those aged under 18 are taking up just 24% of opportunities to mix socially with those from a different generation to themselves. Those aged 65 and older take up 59% of such opportunities, but this has fallen from 63% in 2014. “Building care homes by nurseries and schools could help change that,” says Burke.
90-year-old Fay Garcia is a resident of Nightingale House Care Home and has no children of her own. “Spending time with the children is one of my biggest pleasures in the home,” she told Huff Post UK. “Getting to know the children is an absolute joy and now I feel as though they are part of my family I love it when we have cookery sessions and I feel great teaching the kids how to decorate the cakes.”
1. What is special about Apples and Honey Nightingale?| A．it is run in the grounds of a care home. |
| B．It hires elderly people as nursery teachers. |
| C．It exposes children to people from all walks of life. |
| D．It aims to bridge the gap between kids and parents. |
| A．It has eased his loneliness. | B．He has improved a lot socially. |
| C．He has become more talkative. | D．It has developed his strong personality. |
| A．The ageing of the population. |
| B．Fewer social opportunities for the elderly. |
| C．Children living far away from their old relatives. |
| D．People having little contact with other generations. |
| A．It lifts her spirits. | B．It teaches her new skills. |
| C．It inspires her interest in cooking. | D．It reminds her of her own children. |
Florian Schmidt
Florian Schmidt received undergraduate degrees from the University of Heidelberg and a PhD from ETH Zürich. His research focuses on the development of technologies in the fields of genome engineering, transcriptional recording, and gene therapy (疗法).
CATEGORY WINNER: ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT
Stefany Moreno-Gámez
Stefany Moreno Gámez received an undergraduate degree from Universidad de los Andes and a PhD from the University of Groningen and ETH Zürich. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University. Her research focuses on how dietary and host-derived glycans (有机化学：聚糖) shape ecological and evolutionary dynamics (动力学) in the gut microbiome (肠道微生物群).
CATEGORY WINNER: CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
James Daly
James Daly received an undergraduate and PhD degrees from the University of Bristol. After completing his studies, he received a Wellcome Early Career Award fellowship and moved to the Department of Infectious Diseases, King’s College London. His current research continues to explore the molecular interface between neuropilin receptors and viruses and the potential for antiviral inhibition of this process.
CATEGORY WINNER: MOLECULAR MEDICINE
Daniele Simoneschi
Daniele Simoneschi received an undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College and MPhil and PhD degrees from the Vilcek Institute at New York University (NYU). He is a research assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU, where he explores molecular and cellular mechanisms by which cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases regulate cell cycle execution.
1. Which column of a magazine is this text probably taken from?| A．News & Business. | B．Law & Order. |
| C．Science & Future. | D．Sports & Entertainment. |
| A．She got a Wellcome Early Career Award fellowship. |
| B．She is the only female scientist among the four winners. |
| C．She studied in the Vilcek Institute at New York University as a student. |
| D．She focuses on the development of technologies related to gene therapy. |
| A．Florian Schmidt. | B．Stefany Moreno-Gámez. |
| C．James Daly. | D．Daniele Simoneschi. |
【推荐2】Experts often tell students to centre their efforts on a narrow field to get a job after school. But recent research into Nobel Prize winners suggests that wider interests are important. Michele Root-Bernstein and Robert Root-Bernstein published their study in the Creativity Research Journal.
They said Alexis Carrel won his Nobel Prize in medicine in 1912 by using techniques he learned from the clothing business. He realized that people who used thread(线) to make and fix clothing had a skill that could be used in operations to put new organs into people’s bodies.
In 1978, a professor from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania won the Nobel Prize in economics. His name was Herbert Simon. He worked in many parts of the university during his career and supported projects in computer science, artificial intelligence, psychology, philosophy and economics. Outside of work, he played the piano, wrote music, painted, made drawings and played chess.
They found that most professionals are not like the prize-winners. The prize-winners are special in that they regularly look for the chances to learn new things, even outside of their jobs.
Dario Fo won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997. He talked about drawing and painting as a way to solve problems that came up in his writing. “When I’m having difficulty with a play, I stop writing so I can draw out the action in pictures,” he said.
The researchers say that, even among people who do not win big prizes, those with many interests are often successful. They pointed to a 2012 report about students who study two major fields in college. That study plan is called a “double major”. Double majors are often more creative and more interested in starting their own businesses than those who centred on only one study area.
Other researchers have found that having an outside activity that makes you think can help predict future success in a job. Some of those activities include playing chess, performing music or creating art.
1. For what did Alexis Carrel win the Nobel Prize?| A．His wide range of knowledge. |
| B．A major breakthrough in organ transplant. |
| C．The new effective medicine he invented. |
| D．His achievements in the clothing industry. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Never too old to learn. |
| C．Knowledge is no burden(负担). | D．The early bird catches the worm. |
| A．Their spare time life is colourful, |
| B．They may be open-minded and creative. |
| C．They will win big prizes in the future. |
| D．They stick to the same job for a long time. |
| A．Good Foundation for Your Future Success |
| B．Basic Quality of Creative Talents from Nobel Winners |
| C．Study: Future Students with One Profession and Many Capabilities |
| D．Study: Nobel Prize Often Goes to People of Wide Interests |
【推荐3】Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician at NASA, began working on the space program in the 1950s. Many of NASA's first missions were made possible by her amazing calculations(计算)．
As a child, she loved to count. Her father placed great importance on education and insisted all four of his children go to college, working overtime to pay for it. Johnson said this atmosphere was important to her success. “I was always around people who were learning something. I liked to learn.” she said.
Johnson graduated from high school at 14 and college at 18. In 1953, Johnson started to work for NASA, doing the math that powered engineers' work. Then, because of her outstanding talent, she was moved to work on rockets with an all－male flight research team. As for Johnson, her calculations contributed to many of NASA's most important projects. In 1961, with the help of Johnson's work, Alan Shepherd became the first American to go into space. Johnson also lent her unbelievable talent to the success of the Apollo 13, which had trouble getting back to the Earth. She worked hard to calculate a safe path back to the Earth for the astronauts.
Johnson retired in 1986, but her huge contribution to the space program has only been reaching the public attention for the past few years. Part of that is because, as she is the first to admit, science is based on collaboration. “I never took any credit because we always worked as a team, it was never just one person,” she said in a 2010 interview.
Earlier this year, NASA named a new data center after her. She was also given a Silver Snoopy award, which recognizes “outstanding performance, contributing to flight safety and mission success.”
1. The author explains Johnson's help to NASA by ________.| A．comparing differences | B．providing examples |
| C．showing numbers | D．giving reasons |
| A．Experience. | B．Research. | C．Teamwork. | D．Talent. |
| A．She travelled to space with the Apollo. | B．She lived a rich life when she was young. |
| C．She has been widely－known since her retirement. | D．She used to be the only lady in the research team. |
