Is there intelligent (有智力的) life on other planets? For years, scientists said “no." or “we don't know." But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers(天文学家). They believe intelligent life exists (存在) somewhere in the universe. They also think we will soon contact these beings(人：生物).
Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets? The first reason is time. Scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. "This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life," say Shostak and Barnett. The second reason is size—the universe is huge. "Tools like the Hubble Telescope(哈勃望远镜) have shown that there are at least 100 billion galaxies," says Shostak. "And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has at least 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth.
In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But now, powerful telescopes(高倍望远镜) allow scientists to discover smaller planets—the size of Mars or Earth—in other solar systems. These planets might have intelligent life.
Have beings from space already visited Earth? "Probably not," says Shostak. "It's a long way. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other way, such as radio signals(信号). In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don't have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other.
1. How many galaxies are there in the universe?2. Which galaxy is Earth in?
3. What allows scientists to discover smaller planets?
4. Why haven’t beings from space visited us yet according to Shostak?
5. What do you think of intelligent life on other planets in our universe?
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【推荐1】Here are billions of stars and planets in space. What’s the difference ______ stars _______ ( 71 ) planets ? Stars can give out heat and light, but planets cannot.
The sun is one of the stars . Some planets are balls of rock and some are balls of gas. We live on the planet Earth. The earth spins(自转）around once every day to give us day and light.( 72 ) The earth goes around once every year to give us different seasons. There are eight planets ________ (move)（73) around the sun. We call the family of the sun and its planets the solar system. Mercury( 水星 ) is the nearest to the sun, so it is very hot. It is the smallest planet. Venus(金星)is very bright and hot. It is the nearest to the earth. Mars is covered with orange-red dust and rocks, so it looks like a red star in the sky. It has seasons like the earth. Jupiter(木星) has more than 16 moons( 卫星 ) and it is the biggest and heaviest planet. Saturn(土星)has more than(74) 22 moons. The other planets such as Uranus(天王星) and Neptune( 海王星), are all very far from the sun and very cold. We need a telescope( 望远镜 ) to see them.
1. 选择恰当的短语放入文中两个空中_____.| A．Among; and | B．Of; and | C．Between; and |
3. 用所给单词的适当形式填空。
There are eight planets
4. 写出文中划线短语的同义词：
5. Why does Mars look like a red star in the sky?
When we look up at the night sky, we see the twinkling stars. But what we don’t see is the space junk (垃圾) floating up the space. Now there may be as many as 170 million pieces of space junk in Earth’s orbit (轨道). If they hit our satellites or spaceships, they can destroy them and make them stop working.
Facing the big danger by space junk, scientists are working hard on its cleanup although it’s really a tough job and takes a long time. The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to use a “junk truck”, ClearSpace-1, in 2025. It’s a spaceship that can find its target and move close to it, then catch it with its four “arms”. This is not going to be an easy job because even the smallest junk circles Earth as fast as 8 kilometers a second. Once it catches the junk, the spaceship will carry it back to Earth. This is because the junk will burn up when traveling through the atmosphere (大气层), so there won’t be much left when it reaches Earth. However, the spaceship itself will burn up at the same time.
Since the original cleanup plan will cause huge loss, scientists are trying to work out other plans. One new plan is to send a spaceship carrying special tools, which are used to shoot to stick into the space junk, moving it away from the orbit and throwing it into Earth’s atmosphere.
Space junk is a huge threat which endangers our satellites or spaceships, but why haven’t space agencies around the world done anything yet? One reason is the cost. To catch one piece of space junk larger than 10cm wide would cost between $4,000 and $60,000 (about 30,000 to 436,000 yuan) per kilogram.
With space traffic increasing, all nations have to work together to find out more ways to reduce space junk, or there will be more in-space accidents.
阅读短文，根据短文内容完成填空。（每空限填一词）
| SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SPACE CLEANING PLAN: ✧ Scientists are trying to work out space cleaning plans because space junk is ✧ ESA plans to use ClearSpace-1, a ✧ The space junk travels so ✧ In the new space cleaning plan, a spaceship is used to ✧ Although the |
On October 15, 2003, Shenzhou V spaceship was sent into space successfully. Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut to go into space.
It was said that the only object on the earth that could be seen from space was the Great Wall. Yang Liwei also wanted to prove（证实）whether this was true or not. To his disappointment, he couldn’t see it. From space, he tried several times to look for the Great Wall, but he failed. In fact, from space, astronauts can’t see any specific（具体的）object on the earth.
He also saw something cotton-like flying outside of the window. He didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was space rubbish.
There was another strange thing. That was the knock on the spaceship. It appeared once in a while. It sounded like someone outside was knocking on the spaceship, but nothing dangerous happened. So he told the following astronauts not to be afraid. Later when Shenzhou VI and Shouzhou VII were flying in space, this knock came again. But the astronauts on them were not nervous.
Could the knock come from the aliens? Do you want to know the answers?
1. When did Yang Liwei first go into space? (no more than 4 words)________________________________________________________________
2. What did Yang Liwei try to look for from space? (no more than 3 words)
________________________________________________________________
3. What might the cotton-like thing be? (no more than 2 words)
________________________________________________________________
4. Why did Yang Liwei tell the following astronauts not to be afraid of the knock? (no more than 5 words)
________________________________________________________________
5. How many spaceships are talked about in the passage? (no more than I word)
________________________________________________________________
【推荐1】It is a great thing to help others. First, you can learn new things. Second, it can also make you feel good. How can you do it? Helping through charities (慈善团体) is a good idea. Charities are organizations (组织) that help others. September 5th is the International Day of Charity.
You can help charities by giving your time, giving money or giving things that you own.
● Volunteering (志愿做……)
Volunteering is to give time to help others without pay. Some ways of volunteering are:
☆ visiting old people to talk to them or help them
☆ walking dogs at an animal shelter (收容所)
☆ cleaning up a park
☆ helping some children. You can teach the children without life skills how to take care of themselves.
● Fundraising (募捐)
Fundraising is to collect or produce money to a charity to help others. Some ways of fundraising are:
☆ making cakes or biscuits to sell
☆ doing sponsored (有赞助的) activities. For example, families and friends give you money if you finish a long walk.
● Donating
Donating is to give your things to a charity to help others. Some ways of donating are:
☆ giving your old toys or clothes to a charity that helps sick children or poor people
☆ giving your old books to a library.
So, what can you do to help others?
________________________________
2. How can you help charities?________________________________
3. List some ways of volunteering. (At least two)________________________________
4. What is fundraising?________________________________
5. Mary makes some money by drawing pictures. She gives the money to a charity. It is a way of ________. (填写序号A或B或C)| A．volunteering | B．fundraising | C．donating |
In the future, people may travel to Mars in a water-powered spaceship! Today’s spaceships are fine for getting things into space, but they are not so good at traveling long distances. These spaceships burn chemical fuels(燃料), and they are very expensive. Scientists say that a water-powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper. The idea is just in the planning stages now, but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon.
The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine(发动机). Regular engines push spaceships by burning fuels. The water engine will use steam, created by solar panels that heat water to a high temperature. Of course, the spaceship will have to carry·a lot of water for the long trip to Mars.
One US company has already developed a spaceship like this. These spaceships are made of a strong material. Two of them have already been sent up into space, using rockets and then later filled with air. “Balloon” spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip. With the “Balloon” spaceships, enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip. And the people on the spaceship might even be able to take a hot bath!
Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. The “Balloon” spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship. Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and water engines. If these scientists are correct, we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water.
1. The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 1 refers to “2. The water engine will use steam to push spaceships instead of
3. “Balloon” spaceships need to carry
4. The biggest advantage of a water-powered spaceship is that it is
5. If you want to travel to Mars one day, how will you get there?
Some cities weren’t hot places for traveling before. However, they have become popular since last year. Among them, Zibo and Harbin have taken our country by storm. From January to September in 2023, Zibo received more than 24 million tourists, while Harbin received a total of 3.04 million tourists during the new year’s holiday.
Their success is no accident. One important reason is that most of the tourists are the younger generation. Wherever they travel, they are willing to share their tours of exploring the local community on social media. The online attention makes more people want to go there. The popularity of Zibo serves as a perfect example.
Besides this, these cities work hard to attract (吸引) tourists and provide them with rich experiences and good service. In Harbin, many activities were introduced, such as hot-air balloon rides and ice and snow sculptures (雕像). The government and social groups tried to meet tourists’ needs quickly, making them feel at home. Local people were always ready to offer help. Following the travel booms (繁荣), both Zibo and Harbin thanked visitors. Their hospitality (热情好客) created a lively and welcoming environment.
However, as Harbin has become the latest tourist place, Zibo has largely fallen out of people’s eyes. It remains a question whether Harbin will continue to attract tourists. How to keep tourists coming back is what such cities should care about.
Although some cities, such as Zibo and Harbin, weren’t hot places for traveling before, they have started to be |
