Are we humans alone in space? Scientists have been working on this question for a long time. And recently, new discoveries offer more hope that some form of life existed on Mars in the past, and perhaps is still there at present.
According to a new report in the book Science, the Mars Explorer Curiosity has found more methane (甲烷) in the Martian air. It might suggest the possibility of life.
During the last 20 months, Curiosity has found methane many times, and four of them, it tested at a level 10 times higher than usual. “It’s a great increase,” said Christopher Webster, the lead scientist.
This new finding has made a big change. In September 2013, Curiosity found almost no sign of methane on Mars. Just weeks later, however, the explorer picked up the gas.
Methane is also found in Earth’s air, and comes from animal and plant life, as well as from the environment itself. If there’s methane in Mars’ air, where is it coming from? Scientists aren’t sure.
“There are many possible sources, such as actions between water and rock,” guessed Sushil, a scientist of the Curiosity team.
But the scientists have left the possibility open that microbes (微生物) could be the methane’s source. Also, for the first time, Curiosity found other organisms (有机物) in the rocks of Mars. Organisms are thought to be the basis to form life. Scientists aren’t sure where these organisms come from. They could either have formed on Mars or landed on Mars by meteorites (陨石).
For the next three years, Curiosity will keep looking for more organisms in rocks and exploring Mars.
1. Where did Curiosity recently find methane?| A．In the Martian air. | B．In the air on Earth. | C．In rocks on Mars. | D．In the water on Mars. |
| A．methane is a sign of life | B．astronauts sent to Mars have seen signs of life |
| C．the Mars Explorer has taken some photos of animals | D．the environment on Mars is similar to that on Earth |
| A．rocks | B．meteorites | C．methane | D．organisms |
| A．scientists are sure to have found life on Mars | B．methane is the basis to form life |
| C．there is more to learn about Mars | D．there are no rocks and water on Mars |
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【推荐1】NASA’s space scientists were closely watching a very large asteroid (小行星) that flew past Earth recently.
Asteroid 2015 DR215 was on NASA’s “close approach(接近)” list. But don’t worry, it was a safe distance (距离) away! It was thought to have passed Earth at a distance of 4.1 million miles away. So it was not a dangerous asteroid for us! The asteroid is around 1,600 feet wide, which is three times larger than the Great Pyramid in Egypt. What are asteroids? Asteroids are large space rocks in our solar system (太阳系). Sometimes they are called NEOs-Near Earth Objects. Until today, about 26,000 asteroids have passed Earth, according to NASA.
There are lots of asteroids that NASA watches all the time. They are usually 140 meters or above and can be a threat (威胁). The last big asteroid to actually hit Earth was 66 million years ago. This one caused the dinosaurs to die out. In fact, many smaller asteroids fly to Earth the whole time. But because of their much smaller size, they get burnt up in the atmosphere (大气层) before they hit Earth. Therefore, they can’t bring serious results.
1. What were the NASA’s scientists closely watching recently?| A．A strange plane. | B．A small spaceship. | C．A very small asteroid. | D．A very large asteroid. |
| A．The asteroid is around 1,500 feet wide. | B．The asteroid is around 1,000 feet wide. |
| C．The asteroid is around 1,600 feet wide. | D．The asteroid is around 1,400 feet wide. |
| A．200. | B．2,600. | C．26,000. | D．260. |
| A．The earth died out. | B．The dinosaurs to die out. |
| C．The animals died out. | D．The living things died out. |
| A．their size is so small |
| B．they get burnt up in the atmosphere(大气层) before they hit Earth |
| C．both A and B |
| D．they are afraid of the earth |
Do you know anything about the Moon? How much do you know about it?
The Moon is not a friendly place. There is no air or water. There are only lots of dust (灰尘) and mountains around on it.
So people can’t hear any sounds on it.
But from the Moon, you can see our beautiful Earth. It is shining more brightly than the other stars in the dark.
| A．So there are no animals or plants there |
| B．The Moon is also a very quiet world |
| C．Do you want to go to the moon |
| D．You can take some photos with your camera |
| E．When the Sun shines in the day, the temperature is very high |
| F．Will you be hungry in space |
| G．Let’s see an exciting film about space |
Mars (火星) is a planet. It is the fourth planet from the sun and is more than 200 million kilometers from it. That is a very long way. Mars is also a very long way away from the earth but sometimes you can see it clearly at night. Most stars are white. Mars is a bit red. It is not a very big planet. It is about half the size of the earth.
Long ago, the only way to study Mars was just to look at it. People with good eyes could see some things but not everything.
Later on, it was easier, because scientists had telescopes (望远镜). They could see Mars more clearly. They learned much more about Mars this way. In the 20th century things got even better. First of all, we had spacecraft (宇宙飞船). They flew close to Mars and sent back information. Then, they sent spacecraft to fly in orbit (轨道) around Mars. Finally, spacecraft landed on Mars. Maybe one day a man will walk on Mars.
We can also land a rover (探测车). It is a machine that looks like a car. It can move around on Mars. It has cameras to take photos and it sends them back to the earth. It can study the rocks and air of Mars. It sends all this information back to the earth.
1. Mars is over 200 million kilometers away from the sun.2. Mars is much larger than the earth.
3. People with good eyes could see everything on Mars long ago.
4. People could know more about Mars with the development of technology.
5. The rover can study the water of Mars.
【推荐1】Some people like to drink Cola, others like to drink water. Which is better（更好的）for you?
Cola is bad for our health. Cola is sweet, because it has sugar in it. Too much sugar can let you get fat. Drinking one bottle（瓶）of Cola every day can make you get fifteen pounds（磅）every year. And because the sugar in Cola can make you feel full（饱的）, you can’t eat much healthy food, such as fruits, vegetables and rice. And Cola is bad for your teeth and bones（骨头）.
Drink water, please. Water is very important to our body. It keeps us healthy. We get water from drinks and foods, especially（特别是）from fruits and vegetables. But it’s better to drink water. If you don’t like plain（清淡的）water, you can put a little 100% fruit juice into it.
1. How many pounds can you get every year by drinking one bottle of Cola every day?| A．5 pounds | B．10 pounds. | C．15 pounds. | D．25 pounds. |
①By（通过）drinking milk. ②By eating soup（汤）. ③By playing basketball. ④By eating fruits and vegetables.
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
| A．Put some tea into water. | B．Put some ice cream into water. |
| C．Put some sugar into water. | D．Put a little fruit juice into water. |
| A．My favourite drinks | B．Cola or water? |
| C．Cola is bad for us | D．Why is water important? |
Nearly 3 billion people or 37% of the world’s population have never used the Internet, according to the United Nations, although the Covid-19 pandemic drives people online.
The UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (联合国国际电信联盟) estimated (估计) that 96% of the 2.9 billion people who have never used the Internet live in developing countries.
Internet use is often unaffordable in poorer nations. Almost three quarters of people have never been online in the 46 least-developed countries. What’s worse, even among those Internet users many hundreds of millions might only go online infrequently (不流畅), using shared devices (设备) or facing connection (连接) speeds that discourage their Internet use.
The Union said the number of people who have gone online rose from 4.1 billion in 2019 to 4.9 billion in 2021, partially (部分) because of a “Covid connectivity boost” (互联互通增加). “ITU will work to make sure no one will be left behind,” said the ITU secretary general, Houlin Zhao. “Poverty, illiteracy (文盲), limited electricity offer and few digital skills continued to challenge the ‘digitally excluded’ (数码排斥者).” he added.
1. What’s the number of the people who never use the Internet?| A．over 3 billion. | B．more than 37% of the world’s population. |
| C．About 2.9 billion. | D．4.9 billion. |
| A．不流畅的 | B．不可连接的 | C．无信号的 | D．负担不起的 |
| A．0.8 billion. | B．2.9 billion. | C．4.1 billion. | D．4.9 billion. |
①They go online frequently. ②They have to use shared devices.
③They have to face connection speeds. ④They can’t read and write.
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．③④ | D．①④ |
| A．The world’s population is about 8 billion. |
| B．The Covid-19 pandemic makes people online. |
| C．All the people who have never used the Internet live in developing countries. |
| D．The ITU’S object is to make everyone be Internet users. |
【推荐3】As a Chinese saying goes,“Every grain comes from hard work”. Food is necessary for offering energy to our bodies, but sometimes we buy too much of it at the store.
Before throwing away old bananas, you can use the peels to shine up metals and leathers. Press the peel against the surface, move it backwards and forwards and then polish it with an old cloth. Banana meal is also good for reducing wrinkles. Put a bit on those trouble spots, let it sit for a while, and then wash it off, and your wrinkles will go away. Lemons are great for lightening skin and hair. If you have trouble with some skin diseases, like red spots on your face, put a bit of fresh lemon juice on them and leave it overnight. You will notice a difference in the morning. Apples will help ripen (使成熟)tomatoes quickly when they are placed together in a paper bag, and orange peels are great fire starters for your next backyard campfire party.
If your dog or cat brings home fleas (跳蚤), just pour some salt into the vacuum cleaner (真空吸尘器), let it sit and then vacuum up the fleas. The salt can kill the fleas. Be sure to throw away the vacuum bag or empty the vacuum bin immediately, or some of the fleas can climb out.
Beer is a great hair lightener. If you are out of lemons, try dipping your hair in beer before going outside. Just don’t forget to wash it out afterwards. Milk is great for removing dirty marks.
As you can see, there are many other uses for everyday foods around the house. So next time, before throwing food away, stop for a moment and think about all their uses.
1. At the very beginning, the writer introduces the Chinese saying to ________.| A．tell us the main idea of the passage |
| B．surprise the readers |
| C．lead in the main topic of the passage |
| D．express the writer’s opinion |
| A．Bananas and lemons. | B．Oranges and salt. |
| C．Beer and milk. | D．Lemons and beer. |
| A．banana meal | B．orange juice | C．milk | D．apple peels |
| A．Banana peels can be used to shine our shoes. |
| B．Orange peels can help to start fire. |
| C．Fleas will die soon once drawn into a vacuum cleaner with salt. |
| D．Apples can be very helpful in ripening some fruit or vegetables. |
| A．different kinds of fruit | B．the uses for daily foods |
| C．food and our lifestyle | D．energy from food and drinks |
【推荐1】Being outgoing is good for your life. Those who are more outgoing like to meet lots of people and have more fun in life. In fact, being outgoing is not so hard as you think. Even shy people can be outgoing. You can start becoming outgoing with your best friends or a group of friends. But the real challenge (挑战) comes when you meet strangers (陌生人) or new friends. Smile more, and usually they will return (回应) you a smile. In this way, you may have some talks.
Start a talk. Just a simple “Hello” or “How is it going” is a good start. If you want to make interesting talks, you should read news in the newspapers and prepare (准备) your views (观点), or surf the Internet for new information and then keep that in mind.
The easiest way to become more outgoing is to go out. This is also the most important step. Go to a park, a beach, a club, a party or any other place that you think can be fun, and you may make new friends there.
根据语篇内容，选择最佳答案。
1. You should start to be outgoing with ________.
| A．your parents | B．your best friends | C．your new friends |
| A．What’s the matter? | B．What’s your name? | C．How is it going? |
| A．talking | B．smiling | C．going out |
| A．more outgoing | B．healthier | C．more serious |
| A．Being outgoing is really difficult. |
| B．Being outgoing is good for our lives. |
| C．Being outgoing with strangers is not easy. |
【推荐2】You get into an elevator(电梯). There is a button(按钮) inside. You press the button. Then the elevator takes you to outer space. Does this sound like something from a scifi movie? In fact, it might become real in the future.
Scientists hope to build the space elevator by 2050, Science Daily reported. The elevator might look like an egg. It can carry 30 people. The trip is about 36，000 km and it may take eight days to get into space. And the elevator has a cable(缆绳). The cable is very important for the elevator. It should be very strong so that it can stand up to the high pressure(高压). The cable connects the elevator to the International Space Station and the elevator goes up and down along the cable.
People can only go into space by spacecraft or rocket right now. But they are expensive. A space elevator would be much cheaper. It can do more than just take people into space. The elevator can also send heavy things or scientific materials(材料) into space. However, one difficult part of building a space elevator now is finding the right material for the cable. And scientists are still working hard on it.
1. In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “It” may refer to “the ________”.| A．cable | B．rocket |
| C．spacecraft | D．space elevator |
| A．looks like a big football | B．comes from a scifi movie |
| C．needs 30 scientists to build | D．can take people into space |
| A．carry the spacecraft or the rocket |
| B．send more materials into space |
| C．help find more ways to other planets |
| D．make space travel less expensive |
| A．easy and fun | B．difficult but possible |
| C．hard and boring | D．useful but impossible |
【推荐3】If you want to be a better reader, what should you know about the speed of reading? Some people read very quickly. The slow reader may be a good reader. But he may spend too much time reading a story for fun. So, the reader who reads everything quickly or the one who reads everything slowly isn’t really a good reader.
Knowing why you are reading will help you to know whether to read quickly or slowly. Some things should be read slowly throughout (始终). Examples are instructions (说明) for making or doing something. Math books and science books are full of important information. You must read these things slowly to understand and remember everything important.
Some things should be read quickly throughout. Examples are stones for enjoyment, letters from friends and some news from newspapers.
In some of your reading, you must change your speed from fast to slow and slow to fast. You will need to read some pages quickly and then slow down and do more careful reading when you come to important ideas.
1. You should read slowly when you read ________.| A．letters from friends | B．news from newspapers |
| C．stones for enjoyment | D．math books and science books |
| A．To practice speed reading skills. | B．To finish the reading more quickly. |
| C．To read the important ideas carefully. | D．To learn the meanings of the new words. |
| A．How to be a good reader. | B．How to read quickly. |
| C．Reading slowly is better. | D．Reading is a good hobby. |
