When you look up at the bright stars in the nighttime sky, do you wonder what’s out there? Of course, your science teachers have taught you that there are stars, planets, and entire galaxies out there.
What scientists were able to learn with telescopes paved the way for manned space exploration. From trips to the Moon to dozens of manned space shuttle flights, teams of humans were able to travel in space and conduct research on a variety of scientific subjects.
For example, the telescope is no longer an Earth-bound instrument. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into outer space.
| A．Who tells us about it? |
| B．But how do we know this? |
| C．Scientists have always been curious. |
| D．It’s a piece of technology that’s powered by sunlight. |
| E．It’s a tool for scientists to explore the universe without difficulty. |
| F．One of the earliest tools for space exploration was the telescope. |
| G．This technology takes the form of some impressive machines and tools. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Scientists now believe there are some things in the sky that we will never see. We won’t see them with the biggest telescope in the world, on the clearest night of the year. That’s because they are invisible (不可见的). They are the mysterious dead stars called black holes.
You might find it hard to imagine that stars die. After all our sun is a star. Year after year we see it up in the sky, burning brightly, giving us heat and light. The sun certainly doesn’t seem to be getting old or weak. But stars do burn out and die after billions of years.
As the star’s gases burn, they give off light and heat. But when the gases run out, the star stops burning and begins to dig. As the star cools, the outer layers of the star pull in towards the centre. The star squashes into (挤进) a smaller and smaller ball. Imagine if the earth were crushed (挤压) until it was the size of a tiny marble (玻璃弹子). That’s how tightly this dead star, a black hole, is packed. What pulls the star in towards its centre with such power? It’s gravity. A black hole is so tightly packed that its gravity sucks in (吸进) everything — even light. The light from a black hole can never come back to your eyes. That’s why you see nothing but blackness.
1. Which of the following can explain how the star dies?| A．As the gases run out, it cools down. |
| B．As it collides (碰撞) with other stars, it crashes. |
| C．As it sucks in too much light, it explodes. |
| D．As it gets hotter and hotter, it explodes. |
| A．ordinary | B．bright |
| C．strange | D．common |
| A．Black holes are dead stars. |
| B．Black holes have gravity. |
| C．The dead stars are tightly packed. |
| D．The sun won’t die even after billions of years. |
| A．It becomes invisible. |
| B．It falls to the earth. |
| C．It burns up all of its gases. |
| D．It becomes brighter and easier to see. |
| A．Because most black holes are so far away. |
| B．Because the gravity of a black hole is so strong that it sucks the light inward. |
| C．Because as the star’s gases burn, it stops giving off heat and light. |
| D．Because its outer layer pulls in towards its centre as a star cools. |
【推荐2】For the first few months of 2021, Mars was crowded with new “visitors” from Earth. First, it was the UAE Space Agency’s Hope, followed by the Chinese Tianwen-1. The name comes from the long poem Tianwen, written by Qu Yuan, a great poet of ancient China. In Tianwen, this name conveys China’s steady effort in pursuing truth and culture of exploring the universe.
The Tianwen-1 rover landing has orbiting, landing and roving (巡视) components—the first mission to include all three on its first attempt. Landing on Mars is extremely dangerous. It requires entering the atmosphere at very high speeds, then slowing down before landing. As to Tianwen-1, a heat shield (防热护罩) protected the spacecraft during the fiery (燃烧的) landing, after which the mission safely parachuted (使空降) down to the Utopia Planitia (乌托邦平原). The landing platform fired small, downward-facing rocket engines to slow down during the last few seconds.
China’s Mars rover, called Zhurong after an ancient Chinese fire god, sent back images of the surface of Mars captured by a camera on its front, which functions as an “eye” to detect barriers and get around them. The Utopia Planitia, where Tianwen-1 landed, has long been believed to contain vast amounts of water ice. Zhurong will first and foremost study Martian soil and atmosphere and search for signs of water ice, which suggests the existence of life.
Tianwen-1 is China’s first interplanetary (行星间的) mission. Meanwhile, China is working with Russia on a sample-return mission scheduled to launch in 2024. China is open and inclusive in the development of its space technology to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
1. Why was China’s “visitor” to Mars named Tianwen?| A．To emphasize the value of exploring Mars. |
| B．To arouse readers’ interest in reading classics. |
| C．To illustrate the long history of writing poems. |
| D．To show China’s constant struggle in space exploration. |
| A．The heat shield on the spacecraft. |
| B．The camera on the front of Zhurong. |
| C．The flat landscape of the Utopia Planitia. |
| D．The rocket engines above the landing platform. |
| A．To build a shared future for mankind. |
| B．To look for signs of life on the red planet. |
| C．To push the boundaries of space exploration. |
| D．To inform people of our achievements in space. |
| A．China is the first country to land a rover on Mars. |
| B．China is confident of the existence of life on Mars. |
| C．Tianwen-1 proves joint efforts matter in space research. |
| D．Tianwen-1 marks the start of China’s interplanetary exploration. |
【推荐3】As we all know, the universe includes the Sun and Earth, the planets and moons, the galaxies, stars and other forms of matter and energy.
Within the universe are billions of galaxies. A galaxy such as our own Milky Way contains billions of stars.
Scientists think that before the universe existed, all matter and energy were gathered in a tiny point. Then the point exploded. This explosion is called the Big Bang. After the Big Bang, the universe expanded at an amazing rate.
We still have much to learn about the universe. One important question remains unanswered: Does life exist beyond Earth? Scientists do not have the answer. They hold different ideas about it.
| A．One of those is the Sun. |
| B．The Sun and the Earth are also in the solar system. |
| C．Some people believe that people have a good life on Earth. |
| D．The expansion then slowed and, over time, the universe cooled |
| E．In other words, the universe includes space and everything in it. |
| F．Scientists are also trying to determine what the universe will be like. |
| G．Some think that Earth is the only planet in the universe with intelligent life. |
【推荐1】Your glasses may some day replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can’t wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.
“I’d use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the bar and wanted to see what was open,” said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.
The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets that overlays information onto the screen about one’s surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.
“As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn’t something anybody needs,” said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com. “We’re accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things,” he added, “and the average consumer isn’t gonna be able to afford another device that’s hundreds and hundreds of dollars.” 9 to 5 Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.
“It’s just like smartphones 10 years ago,” Weintraub said. “A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it’s unnatural,” he said. “There’s gonna be improvements to that, and this is a step there.”
1. Which is one of the possible functions of the smartphone-like glasses?| A．Programing the opening hours of a bar. |
| B．Supplying you with a picture of the future. |
| C．Providing information about your surroundings. |
| D．Updating the maps and GPS in your smartphones. |
| A．necessary for teenagers | B．attractive to New Yorkers |
| C．available to people worldwide | D．expensive for average consumers |
| A．They may have a potential market. | B．They are as common as smartphones. |
| C．They are popular among young adults. | D．They will be improved by a new technology. |
【推荐2】Temperatures above 30 degrees have been forecast for Sydney on the eve of autumn, while western Sydney is expected to experience temperatures above 40 degrees. The government department has issued severe heatwave warnings for much of New South Wales and high fire ratings have also been issued. In Queensland, Brisbane has been predicted to break an all-time record for the longest stretch of hot nights, with overnight temperatures not yet dropping below 20 degrees in 2024.
Scientists have come up with an unusual idea for how to deal with global warming — cool the Earth by injecting (注入) ice into the upper atmosphere to make it drier.
Water vapour — water in its gas form — is a natural greenhouse gas that traps heat, just like carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA believe that if they can just inject ice up high in the air, it could dry out the upper atmosphere and reduce its ability to trap human-caused warmth.
“So far it’s just an early idea that scientists could add to their toolbox against climate change,” said NOAA physicist Dr Joshua Schwarz, lead author of the study published in scientific journal Science Advances. “This is about exploring what might be possible in the future and identifying research directions,” he said, explaining that there is no workable technique for scientists to put the idea into practice at present.
The approach is one of a few proposed by scientists that aim to reduce the impact of climate change by fixing the world's atmosphere or oceans. The way it could possibly work is that hi-tech planes could inject ice about 17km high, where the air slowly rises. The researchers believe that the ice and cold air would rise to where it’s coldest and gets the water vapour to turn to ice and fall, drying out the stratosphere (平流层) in the process.
Injecting two tons of ice per week could reduce global heating by about five percent of the warming created by carbon from the burning of fossil fuel (化石燃料). But researchers are unsure how they will inject ice and whether the practice will cause side effects.
1. Why are so many places mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To present some natural phenomena. |
| B．To clarify the ignored reason for climate change. |
| C．To highlight the severe condition of global warming. |
| D．To predict the potential threats to the survival of humans. |
| A．Fund. | B．Policy. | C．Climate. | D．Technology. |
| A．How to send up the ice. | B．The quantity of the needed ice. |
| C．Whether to promote the idea. | D．The scientific foundation of the idea. |
| A．A government report. | B．A personal diary. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A travel guide. |
【推荐3】“Life is speeding up. Everyone is becoming unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unwell person who lived in ancient Rome wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But is it true that having all these developments really improves the quality of our lives.
Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings. A message from your friend appears on the screen. The noise from the telephone is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done.
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps that is because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons, Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phone.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a fashionable granny to one who cooked things.
1. Who was the quote (引语) in paragraph 1 written by?| A．The old granny. | B．The unwell writer. |
| C．An ancient Roman. | D．A creative inventor. |
| A．New inventions can bring us some troubles. |
| B．New inventions can help us work more efficiently. |
| C．New inventions can improve the quality of our lives. |
| D．New inventions can make people feel relaxed while working. |
| A．Because they loved to live simple lives. |
| B．Because they were troubled by modern inventions. |
| C．Because they all enjoyed by modern inventions. |
| D．Because they wanted to experience life without modern inventions. |
| A．Their life became simpler. |
| B．The family enjoyed living together. |
| C．They fell in love with the old house. |
| D．They felt their life was full of excitement. |
| A．The history of technology. |
| B．Problems caused by technology. |
| C．The development of technology. |
| D．How technology improves our life. |
