Construction has started on the largest telescope array (阵列) on Earth. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will contain hundreds of radio antennae (天线) spread across two continents, is now under construction in both South Africa’s Karoo region and Western Australia’s Murchison Shire.
Together, the two sites—named SKA-Mid and SKA-Low, for the types of radio frequencies they will primarily detect—will enable high-resolution imaging of the whole sky, according to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), the organization that oversees the telescope. The sensitivity of the telescope will allow scientists to pick up even faint signals left over from the earliest days of the universe.
“The SKA project plan has been many years in the making,” SKAO committee chair Catherine Cesarsky said in an address at the South Africa site on Dec. 5, “Today, we gather here to mark another important chapter in this 30-year journey that we’ve been on together, a journey to deliver the world’s largest scientific instrument.”
The Australia site will host 131,072 low-frequency antennae placed as far as 65 kilometers apart. Together, they’ll act as a radio telescope with a lens spanning nearly 400,000 square meters. Each antenna station is 2 meters tall and contains 256 antennae in an arrangement that looks a bit like a pine tree. By catching very-low-frequency signals from the whole sky, SKA-Low will be able to dig into some of the oldest echoes left over from the first billion years of the universe.
The site is on the land of the Native Wajarri Yamaji, who signed a land-use agreement to ensure that the telescope did not interfere with any cultural sites and that locals would receive economic and educational benefits from the site. As a part of the agreement, the Wajarri Yamaji awarded the traditional name “Inyarrimanha llgari Bundara” on the site, which means “sharing the sky and stars.”
Scientists around the world plan to use data from the telescope to study questions ranging from the fundamental nature of dark energy to the nature of mysterious fast radio bursts from distant galaxies(星系).
1. What do scientists probably care about the telescope under construction?| A．Its size. | B．Its location. |
| C．Its sensitivity. | D．Its cost. |
| A．The SKA project is about a 30-year journey. |
| B．The SKA project has been planned for decades. |
| C．The biggest telescope has been constructed for years. |
| D．The biggest telescope will be shown at the South Africa site. |
| A．Possess. | B．Chair. |
| C．Organize. | D．Sponsor. |
| A．Negotiating with the land owner. |
| B．Making agreement with the locals. |
| C．Applying to the local government. |
| D．Purchasing from the native village. |
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【推荐1】Many of the foods we regularly eat in our daily lives come from plants, which are essential for our survival on the “blue planet.” But what about the few people who live — although for a short span of time — in space? Is it possible for them to grow plants on board the spaceship and be self-sufficient for weeks on end? Yes, it is.
In fact, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ate the first space-grown salad (red romaine lettuce) on August 10, 2015. Even in a well-controlled environment like on the ISS, growing a plant in space is not an easy task. Traditionally, roots grow and spread downwards due to gravity. Still, in space, where the effect of gravity is negligible (忽略不计的), things change.
Roots grow in all directions in space. Other nutrients and water, which are essential for the growth of a plant, float all over the place! Can you imagine a plant floating in a spaceship, with its roots sticking out in every direction like the tentacles of a slimy sea creature surrounded by water and other nutrients?
Therefore, keeping this entire system going is very important. To achieve this, NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson set up a special container named “Veggie” a few years ago, specifically designed for “space gardening” on the ISS.
Veggie contains “plant pillows”, which are essentially bags of fertilizer and dirt released in a controlled manner to facilitate plant growth. In the bags, small wicks (棉芯) are installed that absorb water. Seeds are glued to the wicks and arranged in the correct position so that their roots grow unidirectionally (downward) and ‘push out’ of the bag. For the plants to grow properly (i. e. , upward), LED lights shine above the plants, provide light for the shoots and support photosynthesis (the process by which plants prepare their food) for proper plant growth.
Space agencies worldwide are striving to develop more advanced methods and procedures to enable astronauts to safely grow and eat vegetables from space-grown vegetables.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly suggest?| A．Astronauts want to live a sustainable life. |
| B．Space-grown plants might take more efforts. |
| C．Plants have been successfully grown in space. |
| D．ISS makes it possible for plants to grow at will. |
| A．To honor someone. |
| B．To keep a system going. |
| C．To start up an enterprise. |
| D．To solve nutrient problem. |
| A．By turning to LED lights. |
| B．By positioning wicks upward. |
| C．By absorbing nutrition from dirt. |
| D．By providing necessary facilities. |
| A．ISS have astronauts work to grow food in space |
| B．NASA strives to make space gardening possible |
| C．Space agencies commit themselves to food safety |
| D．Food growth enables spaceships to be self-reliable |
【推荐2】On July 23, 2020, China successfully set off its first fully home-grown Mars mission, the Tianwen-1 on to a month- long space voyage toward the red Planet, marking a new era in a space exploration long controlled by NASA, USA.
Tianwen-1 consists of an orbiter (轨道器) and a lander. It’s the first attempt by any country to achieve orbiting, landing and roving all in one go. “If successful, it would mean a major technical breakthrough, ” scientists of the China National Space Agency (CNSA) wrote in a recent paper.
The orbiter, lander and rover probe (巡视器) combination lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island Thursday morning at 12: 41 a.m. American space and Mars enthusiast Elon Musk praised the mission on the website Thursday morning, calling the “launch” impressive.
In the Nature astronomy paper, CNSA researchers gave five scientific aims of the Tianwen-1 mission Map the geological structure of Mars, investigate surface soil characteristics, analyze surface material composition and study the Martian climate and environment at the surface, as well as the physical fields and internal structure of Mars. If all goes according to plan, the Tianwen-1 probe will reach Mars orbit in February next year. The orbiter will settle into a polar orbit that will allow it to observe the planets surface from a height between 165 miles and 7, 500 miles.
The Tianwen-1 mission is China’s second attempt at the Red Planet 2011 orbiter mission called Yinghuo-1 failed China is also the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. Last January, CNSA successfully sent a robotic lunar rover called Yutu-2 to the moon as part of the Change-4 mission. The rover is still roaming on the dark side of the moon studying the lunar composition.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．Tianwen-1 succeeded in orbiting, landing and roving at a time. |
| B．Tianwen-1 is made up of an orbiter and two landers. |
| C．America always falls behind other countries in space exploration. |
| D．The probe would stay on the red Planet for a year. |
| A．To map the geological structure of the earth. |
| B．To study the Martian climate and environment. |
| C．To explore the external structure of Mars. |
| D．To analyze material composition inside Mars. |
| A．wandering | B．running | C．jumping | D．struggling |
| A．Robotic Lunar Rover Yutu-2 was Sent to the Moon. |
| B．Tianwen-1 Probe Failed to Reach Mars Orbit. |
| C．CNSA Researchers Laid out Five Scientific Aims. |
| D．China Succeeded in Launching Its Mars Mission. |
Elon Musk, perhaps the world’s most famous businessman, has a habit of making statements that stretch the bounds of believability.
On July 16th, 2019, he introduced a new type of brain-machine interface (BMI), starting from the design of a “neural lace (神经织网)”, a net of thin electrodes (电极) that capture the information from the brain. However, the electrodes must be flexible, so that they do not damage brain tissue and will last for a long time. And to make the implantation (植入) of so many electrodes safe, painless and effective, the process has to be automated.
Mr. Musk’s team does indeed seem to have made progress towards these goals. Its presentation included videos of a robot that is best described as a sewing machine. This robot grabs “threads”, and shoots them deep into the brain through a hole. The firm has also designed a chip that can handle signals from as many as 3,072 electrodes.
With all these technological breakthroughs, the firm now hopes to help people overcome such illnesses as blindness and paralysis. They designed a small device that would sit behind someone’s ear, picking up signals from the implanted chip and passing them on as appropriate. In a few years, using a brain implant to control your devices may be as prevalent as wearing wireless earphones today. Finally, Musk predicts neural lace will allow humans to be combined with AI systems, thus enabling the species to survive.
Though, as this announcement shows, Mr. Musk does have a habit of presenting himself as the hero of the human race, the idea that some machines at least will come under the direct control of human brains seems possible to be carried out. The biggest barrier to this happening will probably not be writing the software needed to interpret brainwaves, but rather persuading people that the necessary surgery, whether by sewing machine or otherwise, is actually a good idea.
1. We can learn from the first two paragraphs that _____.| A．electrodes should be flexible to extend life |
| B．Elon Musk constantly comes up with unexpected ideas |
| C．a neural lace is used to store information from the brain |
| D．electrodes are implanted by top surgeons for safety reasons |
| A．Useful. | B．Common. | C．Professional. | D．Appropriate. |
| A．Convincing people to accept the surgery. |
| B．Developing devices to perform the surgery. |
| C．Writing the software to interpret brainwaves. |
| D．Informing people of the success of the surgery. |
| A．The Neural Lace, A New Type of BMI. |
| B．Elon Musk, the Hero of Human Beings. |
| C．Artificial Intelligence, the Way to Survive. |
| D．A Brain Implant, A Step to Control Machines. |
【推荐1】From visiting museums to watching Changing the Guard, there are some amazing experiences for you to get while in London. Here we pick some of the best free activities in London.
Changing the Guard
For a display (展览) of British ceremony, watch Changing the Guard outside Buckingham Palace. This is where one member of Queen’s Guards exchanges (交换) duty with the old guard. Both guards are dressed in traditional red uniform and bearskin hats, and the handover is accompanied by a Guards band. Guard Mounting takes place at 11:30 am. It is held daily from May to July, and on alternate (间隔的) dates throughout the rest of the year.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Sir John Soane was an architect. During his lifetime he collected some valuable antiquities (古董) from all four corners of the globe. They are now on display in Sir John Soane’s Museum which gives a real insight into the life of this outstanding Victorian gentleman.
Geffrye Museum
A very unique experience, the Geffrye Museum, located in 18th century almshouses (救济院), gives a fascinating insight into the lives of the British middle classes from the 1600s to the present day. Explore a series of room sets, complete with furnishing and textiles from each period.
Hogarth’s House
Hogarth was very famous and criticized 18th century society in his engravings (雕刻), such as A Harlot’s Progress, A Rake’s Progress and Marriage-a-la-Mode. As the name suggests, Hogarth’s House is where he lived before he died in 1764, and it’s here that you’ll find the largest collection of his paintings on public display.
Bank of England Museum
The splendid Bank of England Museum traces the history of the bank from its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694 to its role today as the country’s central bank. Here are many items you have never expected to see.
1. What can we learn about the ceremony of Changing the Guard?| A．Visitors need to pay when watching the ceremony. |
| B．Visitors can listen to some music at the ceremony. |
| C．The ceremony is held at 11:30 am every day throughout the year. |
| D．Changing the Guard involves two groups of guards every time. |
| A．The home life | B．The social life |
| C．the political life | D．The cultural life |
| A．Free London Attractions | B．Active Life in London |
| C．Famous Museums in London | D．Enjoy Your Stay in London |
I have to travel every day from Souk Road to the airport. Two buses travel along their route: the number 49 and number 16. But by the time the number 16 bus reaches Souk Road it is always full, so I can’t get on it. I have to wait for the number 49, because sometimes there are empty seats on it.
The timetable says that there are buses from Souk Road to the airport every ten minutes. If this is so, why do I have to wait half an hour for a bus nearly every day?
The regulations (规章) say that if there are empty seats on a bus, the bus must stop at every stop where people are waiting. Why do the half-empty buses go straight past me when I am standing at the bus stop?
The regulations say that no bus may carry more than 40 seated passengers and 20 standing passengers. Yesterday I was the first to get off the bus when it reached the airport. I counted the other passengers as they got off. There were 129 of them.
It is clear that our bus companies break the regulations and think little of their passengers. Can nothing be done to make your service better?
Yours,
Tired passenger
1. The writer has to take Bus No. 49 because______.
| A．it arrives on time |
| B．it travels faster |
| C．it is not always full |
| D．it has fewer seats on it |
| A．20 | B．40 | C．60 | D．129 |
| A．a bus driver |
| B．an airport worker |
| C．a very tired traveler |
| D．an English teacher |
| A．It’s a letter of thanks |
| B．It’s a letter of complaint (投诉) |
| C．It’s a letter of introduction |
| D．It’s a letter of apology |
【推荐3】The Cambridge Festival
January
Cambridge Winter Ale Festival
The festival features a range of local and national beers, including traditional winter beers, locally produced ciders(苹果酒) and as election of bottled beers from around the world. Smaller than its sister festival in May, this is another chance to try some rare ales over three days in January.
More information: www.cambridgebeerfestival.com
February
E-Luminate
The five-day festival connects ambitious art with imaginative technology to cast light on low carbon innovation. It offers a unique opportunity to discover, or re-discover, the richness and diversity of Cambridge’s buildings and public spaces through a range of amazing lights. Brighten the winter days by attending shows, concerts, guided tours, family activities and talks.
More information: www.e-luminatefestivals.co.uk
March
Cambridge Style Week
Cambridge’s annual fashion week includes various catwalk shows, boutiques, in-store events and much more! Cambridge Style Week showcases a variety of stores from in and around Cambridge, ranging from popular brands, designer labels to independent boutiques.
More information: www.cambridgestyleweek.com
April
Cambridge Literary Festival
Founded in 2003, Cambridge Literary Festival is an important event of the city’s cultural calendar. Every April and November, it is held in the city’s historic centre and offers creative writing discussions as well as talks and readings from established authors. Usually, its spring festival lasts for five days while its winter one is for one dayonly.
More information: www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
1. What’s one of the features of E-Luminate festival?| A．The Internet. | B．Talks | C．Shows. | D．The light. |
| A．January | B．February | C．March | D．April |
| A．E-Luminate. | B．Cambridge Style Week. |
| C．Cambridge Literary Festival | D．Cambridge Winter Ale Festival |
