We have always been interested in the moon. 2000 years ago people already knew it moved around the earth and where it would be in the sky at different times of the year. At that time, everything about the moon was learned by watching it carefully in the sky.
When scientists could use telescopes to study the moon more closely, their ideas began to change. They could see the moon was made of rocks. Most scientists thought moon rocks would be different from those on Earth. This was because they believed the moon had once been a planet that had been caught in the earth's gravity (引力) millions of years earlier.
In 1969 moon rocks were finally brought to the earth and studied. Much to their surprise, scientists found that, except for water, the moon and the earth were made of the same things. Once again new ideas were needed for this new information.
After years of study, most scientists now think that the moon was once part of Earth. They believe very early in its history, maybe 4 million years ago, something about the size of Mars hit Earth. This sent billions of rocks into space around our planet. These rocks slowly joined together and after many years became the moon.
In the future, even though our ideas about the moon may change again, we will still be interested in it.
1. Now, we’re sure ________.| A．Moon rocks are quite different from those on Earth. |
| B．Moon was once a part of Earth. |
| C．Moon moves around Earth and it’s the only satellite(卫星) of Earth. |
| D．Moon was once a planet caught in Earth’s gravity. |
| A．humans found water in Moon rocks |
| B．scientists made out a modern spaceship |
| C．scientists invented an advanced telescope |
| D．humans left their footprints on Moon |
| A．Why people are interested in the moon. |
| B．How ideas about the moon have changed over time. |
| C．Where the moon came from in the past. |
| D．That people have finally learned the truth about the moon. |
| A．part of the earth billions of years earlier |
| B．older than the earth |
| C．a planet caught by the earth's gravity |
| D．made of the same things as the earth |
| A．scientists in the past were not clever |
| B．the earth was once part of the moon |
| C．new information brings new ideas |
| D．we now know everything about the moon |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】There are several ups and downs in everyone’s life. No matter how strong an individual is, there is usually a time when he finds the need of someone encouraging him to meet the challenges.
The power of motivation is beyond explanation. However, the person, who benefits from it, understands its importance instantly he hears it.
If you think such speeches are mere words and sentences, you are absolutely wrong. But actually they are the magical words that bring a great change in the life of disappointed and annoyed people on the globe. With such speeches, life coaches dig out the problems that the listener is facing in life.
| A．Sometimes, it is not difficult to define an expert. |
| B．In particular, a speech from an expert is motivational. |
| C．The knowledge of an expert is not limited to the books. |
| D．Especially when1 stuck in dilemma, you really feel helpless. |
| E．Besides, he knows what kind of solutions will prove the best. |
| F．And they also find the root cause to come up with a final solution. |
| G．If you think anyone can deliver such a speech, you might be wrong. |
【推荐2】Satellites are already in use for so many purposes today — from weather forecasting to communications, GPS, and more.
Since the late 1970s, satellites such as the European Space Agency’s (ESA) CryoSat-2 and the US Space Agency’s ICESat-2, have also been used to monitor changes in the Arctic sea ice.
Data suggests that sea ice is thinning over time due to climate change. Over the last 40 years, the extent of Arctic ice cover has been declining at a rate of 13% per decade. However, existing ways of measurement do not provide a clear and continuous picture of the state of sea ice.
These satellites use special radar or laser-based altimeter instruments (雷达或激光测高仪). Sea ice thickness is then calculated as the difference between the height of the ice and the top of the water (ice level—sea level). This method works well during the winter months.
Unfortunately, satellite-based sea ice thickness measurements are inaccurate during the summer months: the time of the year with the greatest melting. This melting creates a pool of liquid water on the surface. As a result, the simple calculation (ice level—sea level) does not work as radar systems are unable to differentiate between ocean water and ice, thus making measurements inaccurate.
Last September, scientists developed a new method to tackle this age-old issue. The new method combined computer modeling and satellite data to predict ice thickness — all year round. The research team led by Jack Landy, a scientist at the University of Tromsø (The Arctic University of Norway), used the new method to distinguish between seawater and ice.
The researchers built a model of the radar system’s predicted data and cross-referenced these values to those collected by a satellite. This model allows the researchers to obtain accurate, year-round Arctic sea ice thickness data.
According to Dr. Michel Tsamados from University College London, the new advanced climate model “will improve both the short-term forecasts for the weather at the mid-latitudes (中纬度地区) and the long-term forecasts that show what climate we will have in the future.”
1. What does the satellite data tell us?| A．The Arctic ice will no longer exist in four decades. |
| B．Sea ice cover is melting at a rate of 13% per year. |
| C．The ESA’s satellites provide clearer pictures. |
| D．Sea ice is becoming increasingly thinner. |
| A．Inaction of the laser-based altimeter instruments in summer. |
| B．Radar systems’ inability to distinguish seawater from ice. |
| C．There being technical difficulty calculating the height of the ice. |
| D．There being no way to consistently detect melt pools on ice. |
| A．Provide accurate forecasts for the weather. |
| B．Replace satellites in monitoring sea ice changes. |
| C．Get a reliable summertime record of sea ice thickness. |
| D．Test the efficiency of machine learning in climate change. |
| A．It will be useful in different ways. |
| B．It will prove environmentally friendly. |
| C．It has a short-term impact on climate research. |
| D．It needs improvement to predict the Arctic’s future. |
【推荐3】One way to prevent anxiety from getting out of control is to recognise its benefits. It is a mistake to think that we’d make better decisions if only we keep our feelings under control. Instead, a mix of feelings like anxiety and logical thinking leads to sound decision-making. It’s true that there is plenty of research showing that higher levels of anxiety can make us more likely to avoid risks in our decision-making. There is also evidence that anxiety can increase the attention you pay to relevant information.
Recent studies have shown that people who are anxious about their relationships (for example, they fear to be abandoned) tend to be better at recognising people who tell lies and are more likely to raise the alarm when danger is present.
In the real world though, it’s worth realising that feeling anxious once in a while is extremely common. It communicates to others that you care, and what’s more, it’s probably a sign that you are intelligent. At least two published studies have identified that people who score higher on measures of anxiety also tend to perform better on intelligence tests. This seems reasonable: if you’re a thinker, you are sure to be always thinking about the future and imagine possible plots, including bad ones.
The important thing, if you are a worrywart (杞人忧天者), is not to let your fear destroy your dreams. And don’t bury your head in the sand. Instead, act on your fears—do the research as well as preparation, so rather than walking blindly into that which you fear, you meet the challenge in full readiness.
When anxiety beats you, or casts a shadow over your life, this is a serious problem. No one is denying that. But like everyday anxiety of this kind that you feel before a presentation or an interview, you needn’t see it as your enemy. Anxiety is an important feeling, developed through evolution. As for people who are fairly anxious by nature, there is reason for cheer, too. Your nerves are a sign of your watchfulness. Listen to them and act on them. Then you can turn your nervousness into your advantage.
1. What is the theme of the passage?| A．Effective ways to prevent anxiety. |
| B．Unexpected benefits of anxiety. |
| C．Tips on how to keep a good mood. |
| D．Common misunderstandings about anxiety. |
| A．It can enable us to be more focused. |
| B．It can stop us from thinking logically. |
| C．It can make us more willing to take risks. |
| D．It can be the only reason for all bad decisions. |
| A．Anxious people are less sensitive to danger. |
| B．Anxious people have difficulty discovering liars. |
| C．Feeling anxious is more likely to put people at risk. |
| D．Feeling anxious occasionally is a sign of intelligence. |
| A．Regard it as our enemy. |
| B．Take action to control it. |
| C．Avoid being defeated by it. |
| D．Treat it as a minor feeling. |
【推荐1】When it comes to technology, adults won’t be able to keep up with their children. It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million people, but it took only 20 years for the phone to reach the same number, and 13 years for the television. However, it took Facebook 3.6 years and Twitter only needed 88 days. Over the last 15 years, digital communication has brought in more changes than the printing press did in 1570. And those most likely to use them in this world are teenagers, whose brains appear to have a great ability to adapt to the world around them, according to Dr. Jay Giedd, a brain expert.
We are now discovering that our brains during the teenage years are still flexible (灵活的). Having a more flexible brain means that certain functions of it , such as the ability to make long-term decisions, haven’t developed yet, which may also explain why we spend a long period living under the protection of our parents rather than leaving home at the age of 12 or 13. This also means that the teenage brain can adapt to new technology, allowing teenagers to keep up with the increasing pace (速度) of digital technology, giving them an advantage when doing different tasks.
As they look at these screens, they’re dealing with information. There are concerns about how social media is affecting the way in which the brain learns to socialize. Giedd says that a lot of what goes on inside our brains is social. Social interactions are being changed by technology - you could have hundreds of friends, all of whom are real people that you interact with and scientists aren’t sure whether we’ll be able to develop the same skills using social media.
There is an advantage to the growing digital trend (趋势)：YouTube shows that teenagers all over the world are watching the same things and laughing at the same jokes, showing that they are more global-minded than teenagers in the past. They are more open to other cultures, other countries, and other people.
1. How many years did it take for television to reach 50 million people?| A．38 years. | B．20 years. | C．15 years. | D．13 years. |
| A．Teenagers’ brains are flexible. |
| B．Teenagers are protected by their parents. |
| C．Teenagers are good at doing different tasks. |
| D．Teenagers’ abilities to make decisions haven’t developed. |
| A．Teenagers prefer to socialize online. |
| B．Teenagers spend much time on social media. |
| C．Teenagers are now more open-minded than those in the past. |
| D．Teenagers are more likely to be attracted by the Internet than grown-ups. |
| A．Concerns about social media influence | B．Teenage brains in the digital world |
| C．Teenager-related technologies | D．Development of teenage brains |
【推荐2】No messy coins—and more importantly—no embarrassment. This is how young Chinese “go Dutch” these days—scan a QR code and pay their share via smart phones in one easy click.
It was the first time most of the 13 people at my dinner table last weekend had used the function on social networking tool WeChat. “It has made going Dutch less embarrassing and so much more fun,” said Zhou Ye, a Beijing-based journalist. “Young people think splitting bills this way is fun, and older ones may find it fashionable to do so.” Most importantly, it saves people the embarrassment of figuring out who owes what.
Splitting the bill is a relatively new idea to most Chinese. It's being popular among the young people, but for many older folks, who fear “losing face,” it feels embarrassing. At dinner parties, families and friends often fight over who will cover the expense.
Used by 600 million Chinese, WeChat is similar to WhatsApp but has many more features. One of them, WeChat Wallet, allows people to pay for almost any service by smart phones. The bill splitting function was launched last year. Owned by Chinese Internet giant Tencent, the payment platform competes with Alibaba’s Alipay, which is widely used and also has a bill splitting function.
The smart phone apps that rely on these payment platforms have transformed the lives of many urban Chinese. Massages, haircuts, house cleaning, laundry services and personal trainers can be ordered in your own home. Zhao Mengsha, 28, an editor in a magazine, enjoys a manicure (美甲) once every month, and pays half of the price charged in salons. “It's just really convenient,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought about getting a massage at work without the apps.” Like millions of others, Zhao uses Alipay and WeChat to pay for the services. “You can make do without a wallet but can't live without your smart phone when you go out these days,” Zhao said.
1. What does the underlined phrases “go Dutch” in the first paragraph refer to?| A．pay a visit to Dutch. | B．become a person like the Dutch. |
| C．share expenses equally. | D．visit a website called Dutch. |
| A．Because they think splitting bills funny. |
| B．Because they want to know who is rich. |
| C．Because they figure out who owes what |
| D．Because they want to pay the bill. |
| A．Neither of them will win in the competition. |
| B．Both of them are acceptable. |
| C．Smart phones with them cost a lot of money. |
| D．The payment platform should be improved. |
| A．the wallets are not necessary any more |
| B．she bought all that she needs through the Internet |
| C．she doesn’t know how to work with phones |
| D．the smart phone apps change people’s life |
【推荐3】As Covid-19 spread through the United States in the spring of 2020, previously busy cities fell silent. A new study shows that the dip in noise in the early months of the pandemic (大流行病) led to an increased abundance of birds in cities.
The flock to cities ranged “from birds like hawks and eagles all the way down to small songbirds and even hummingbirds” says Michael Schrimpf, study co-author and postdoctoral flow at the University of Manitoba's Natural Resources Institute
To see if and how birds were using now-quiet cities differently, the team of researchers analyzed more than 4.3 million bird observations of more than 80 bird species recorded on the community science app eBird. They looked at more than three years of observations taken by experienced birders before and through the first few months of the pandemic.
Scientists found significant changes in birds' migration patterns and use of urban habitats (栖息地)，like bravely getting closer to usually-noisy areas like roads and airports. It was also revealed that white-crowned sparrows adapted their tune when San Francisco streets fell quiet. Bird abundance increased in cities overall, especially during spring and fall migration.
North America has lost almost a third of its birds in recent decades due to a combination of factors, including climate change, predation (捕食) by stray cats, and habitat loss, so any information scientists can obtain about how to make urban environments more bird-friendly is significant. The study's authors note that one of the most remarkable findings is that many different birds benefited from a reduction in noise, which doesn't have to be limited to pandemic lockdowns.
“There is an opportunity to adjust how we live, to slow down,” says Schrimpf. “We hope that it might be a lesson for us that we can take away in a post-pandemic world.”
1. What does the underlined word “dip” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Decrease. | B．Increase. | C．Effect. | D．Change. |
| A．By observing varieties of birds in nature. |
| B．By doing an experiment on different kinds of birds. |
| C．By analyzing bird observations recorded by birders. |
| D．By studying past researches on bird behavior. |
| A．All birds benefited from the reduction in noise. |
| B．Some birds sang differently in a quieter environment. |
| C．Birds would often go to noisy areas like roads and airports. |
| D．The overall bird population increased worldwide during the pandemic |
| A．People should slow down to appreciate birds in nature. |
| B．People should be banned from any activities harmful to nature |
| C．People should adjust their lifestyle to stay safe during the pandemic. |
| D．People should reduce noise to create a better environment for birds. |
