| To the Editors: I am surprised to read that Dr. Strojnik (“Direct Detection of Exoplanets,” September-October2023) states that we have not yet and cannot directly image exoplanets (外部行星). This is incorrect. NASA/IPAC has a list at exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/imaging.html. One example is an image of 51 Eridani b. The planet is 2.6 times as massive as Jupiter and has the same radius (半径). Gerard Kriss Space Telescope Science Institute |
| Dr. Gerard: I am pleased that my article brought a response. The phrase “planet detection” arouses in people’s imaginations beautiful images of planets that are creative artistic representations of novel worlds. But a blur of brightness is not an image. Exoplanet researchers routinely call videos such as the one below of 51 Eridani b “direct images” because the planet’s light has been separated from that of its star. “Directly imaged” is the standard language of exoplanet astronomy. But to an optical (光学的) scientist such as myself, there is a strong distinction between direct detection (the planet’s light separated from the light of its star) and direct imaging (a proven picture of the exoplanet). From an optical researcher’s perspective, a single bright spot simply is not an image. Indeed, even the word “direct” in direct detection is debatable from an optical researcher’s point of view. The detection of the light of the exoplanet requires significant processing, adding multiple images and removing starlight based on theoretical models of the source signal. But the interpretation of a bright spot as a planet is only possible upon visual inspection and optimistic thinking. As an optical scientist, I cannot look at a single spot and call it an image of exoplanets. A trajectory (轨迹), or a series of bright points, is not an image of a planet, although it very likely represents something that nowadays is described as an exoplanet. Marija Strojnik |
1. ________ is the main disagreement between Marija Strojnik and Gerard Kriss.
| A．The definition of a planet | B．The importance of detecting exoplanets |
| C．The artistic representation of exoplanets | D．The use of the term “direct imaging” |
| A．She supports it, as it is a common practice in exoplanet astronomy. |
| B．She approves of it, although it does not provide a clear picture of the exoplanet. |
| C．She believes it is only possible through visual observation and positive assumption. |
| D．She considers the interpretation to be debatable, as it requires significant processing. |
| A．In the textbook. | B．In a local newspaper. |
| C．In a published essay. | D．In a science journal. |
China plans to expand its space station to six modules(舱)from three in coming years, a researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology said on Wednesday.
The space station will play
China’s self-built space station, also
It will have a weight of 180 tonnes after expansion, about 40 percent of the mass of the ISS,
Regarding the expansion, another module is also in the plan. Other plans, including the development of large space telescopes, 3D printers, intelligent robots
Chinese state media said last year that China would be matchless as the ISS was approaching
3 . Born in Wales in 1950, Martin Lockley was a pioneer in the study of the dinosaur tracks and footprints preserved in rocks around the world. His work helped his fellow paleontologists (古生物学家) understand what the footprints can tell us about dinosaurs and the world that they lived in.
The footprints and tracks left behind by dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals are called trace fossils (痕迹化石). They can offer clues to how quickly an animal walked or ran and even what their skin may have looked like. Compared with the body fossils of bones and teeth, trace fossils contain evidence of the interactions that the animals had with their environment and can describe what the physical environment may have looked like. They offer a more reliable way to imagine the speed of a dinosaur than analyzing the bones.
Lockley’s mother and father were nature lovers. Lockley loved to observe nature. His father inspired him to “just go out and observe and trust your observations”, which proved important in Lockley’s launching his future career in dinosaur research. He took that advice with him to Gunnison, southwest of Denver, the United States. While North America is home to some of the largest number of fossil footprints in the world, Lockley’s work with prints and his father’s words took him far and wide. He explored fossil and track sites in China, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In addition to finding the tracks, Lockley devoted time and energy to preserving these important parts of the fossil record. This includes guiding the politics needed to create UNESCO world heritage sites so that future generations wouldn’t lose out on these precious relics of the past.
1. What can we know about trace fossils?| A．They can reflect the then environment. |
| B．They are mainly left by some larger animals. |
| C．They can be easier to preserve than teeth fossils. |
| D．They are as accurate as bone fossils in analyzing animals’ speed. |
| A．His family’s tradition. |
| B．His father’s encouragement. |
| C．His love for dinosaurs and their footprints. |
| D．His desire to find the largest dinosaur track site. |
| A．He explored places of interest around the world. |
| B．He guided fellow paleontologists in their work. |
| C．He conserved and promoted dinosaur track sites. |
| D．He educated the next generation of track hunters. |
| A．Dangerous. | B．Time-consuming. | C．Far-reaching. | D．Demanding. |
4 . Thanks to the $10bn James Webb Space Telescope, we are beginning to “see” the radiant heat of the early universe like never before. On Monday night, to the excitement of professional astronomers and amateurs the world over, the telescope’s first full-colour image of deep space was released. The striking image, taken at minimally explored wavelengths and never-before-seen resolution, reveals a large number of universal objects.
The image is yet to be fully analysed but some objects are relics (遗迹) dating to within 0.7bn years of the Big Bang, the explosion that created our universe 13.8bn years ago. A new era (时代) of astronomy, in which we can finally see the oldest objects in the universe and gain a fuller understanding of its origins, has officially begun.
Tuesday saw four more important results emerge from the Webb’s first week of observations. Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at Oxford University and a researcher on galaxy (星系) formation, said he was blown away by the quality and beauty of the images. “It knocked my socks off,” Lintott said on Tuesday. “I was sitting in a roomful of galaxy experts when the Stephan’s Quintet image was shown, and jaws hit the floor. The Webb is going to produce some of the most amazing pictures of the space age.”
Webb’s “first deep field”, as the image of deep space released on Monday is known, is a picture taken over 12. 5 hours. It shows the cotton-wool-like galaxy cluster (团) SMACS 0723 centrally in the foreground, plus bright white stars.
As Lintott points out, bigger light-collecting mirrors result in sharper images, of the type that Webb is now delivering. The investment in the James Webb Space Telescope’s large foldable mirror has paid off. It is hard to believe that the Earth-orbiting telescope, regarded as one of the most complex engineering projects ever attempted and nearly cancelled a decade ago, has begun operating successfully.
1. What may be most probably talked about before paragraph 1?| A．The radiant heat. | B．Some astronomers. |
| C．Some universal objects. | D．The history of mankind. |
| A．He was humble. | B．He was tolerant. |
| C．He was surprised. | D．He was prejudiced. |
| A．It is a complex project. |
| B．It is regarded useless. |
| C．It was put into use a decade ago. |
| D．It was innovated by Chris Lintott. |
| A．The story of an inventor |
| B．Chris Lintott made a breakthrough |
| C．The image of relics of the Big Bang |
| D．A new era of astronomy has begun |
5 . Two teams of scientists—one in Denmark and the other in the UK—came up with the same question at about the same time: Could they identify the animals in an area from DNA that was simply floating in the air?
Testing for “environmental” DNA, or eDNA, isn’t a new idea, but most of the time, scientists look for eDNA in the water. DNA in the air is usually so small that it would take a microscope to see it. “We did not think that vacuuming (用真空吸尘器吸) animal DNA from the air would work at first, but the result is pleasantly surprising,” said Dr. Kristine Bohmann, one of the scientists on the Copenhagen team.
Neither team knew the other group was working on a similar experiment. One collected samples from different places at Denmark’s Copenhagen Zoo, and the other at Hamerton Zoo Park in the UK. The scientists used slightly different methods to collect their samples. But basically, both teams used vacuums and fans to collect extremely tiny bits of DNA onto very high-quality filters (过滤器) .
In the laboratory, they got the DNA from the filters and made copies of it to study. By comparing their samples with examples of DNA from different animals, the scientists were able to identify many different animals at the zoos. The scientists chose to test in zoos because they had scarce animals which are not naturally and easily found in the area. As Dr. Elizabeth Clare who led the UK team said, “There’s no other way I would detect DNA from a tiger, except for the zoo’s tiger.”
Each team only discovered the other experiment after they’d written a paper about their own results. Instead of competing, the two decided to combine their results and publish a paper together.
“We are excited that this new method could be used in the wild. Scientists have been looking for better ways to track endangered animals without affecting them. If researchers know where animals live, they can do a better job of protecting them. The next step is to figure out how to take this method into nature,” says Dr. Bohmann.
1. Which is the feature of DNA in the air?| A．It is usually preserved shortly. |
| B．It was thought difficult to collect. |
| C．It is too small to be found and classified. |
| D．It was collected for other researches before. |
| A．By equipping the zoos with filters. |
| B．With the help of vacuums and fans. |
| C．By keeping animals in the laboratory. |
| D．With the help of advanced microscopes. |
| A．Characteristic. | B．Dangerous. | C．Various. | D．Rare |
| A．Special. | B．Perfect. | C．Meaningful. | D．Complex. |
6 . Methane (甲烷) is a greenhouse gas. Over 20 years it has over 80 times the planet-cooking power of carbon dioxide, and is
As COP28, the UN’s climate summit, gets
The reason a deal looks possible is that the politics are promising in all the biggest markets. China has recently announced that it will start including methane in its national climate plans. America will soon finalize regulations to
Since green-washing, the process of conveying a false impression about how some products or measures are environmentally sound, is quite common, if a global methane deal is to be more than that,
| A．powerful | B．noticeable | C．responsible | D．possible |
| A．cause | B．ingredient | C．agent | D．consequence |
| A．quick | B．economic | C．original | D．national |
| A．under way | B．in the making | C．on board | D．to the point |
| A．stare | B．point | C．come | D．leap |
| A．increase | B．stabilize | C．reduce | D．balance |
| A．imported | B．localized | C．exported | D．globalized |
| A．Revolutions | B．Evolutions | C．Resolutions | D．Innovations |
| A．create | B．activate | C．decrease | D．spot |
| A．disasters | B．delays | C．emissions | D．examinations |
| A．loss | B．punishment | C．abuse | D．defeat |
| A．however | B．therefore | C．further | D．once |
| A．pay off | B．make out | C．run out | D．take off |
| A．noisily | B．admittedly | C．reluctantly | D．accidentally |
| A．declined | B．disappeared | C．swung | D．risen |
1. What is the aim of the campaign?
| A．To remind people of Earth Day. |
| B．To encourage people to reduce garbage. |
| C．To warn people of the bad effects of pollution. |
| A．Planting trees. | B．Designing posters. | C．Collecting garbage. |
| A．Paint paper. | B．Stop driving cars. | C．Decorate classrooms. |
| A．Absurd. | B．Hollow. | C．Practical. |
8 . Saving the environment might seem like a tall order, but living an environmentally friendly life is actually quite easy. With just a few small lifestyle changes, you can make a difference.
Recycle.
Recycling is a simplest lifestyle to lower the amount of environmental waste.
Buy locally sourced foods.
Cut back on driving.
Applying alternate forms of transportation consumes less gasoline. Walk or ride a bike whenever possible. If that isn’t an option, consider organizing carpools or using public transportation.
Advocacy allows more people to create a positive impact. Spread the word about environmental conservation by sharing some of the lifestyle changes you’ve made on social media and in conversations with people around, calling on everybody to play a role.
| A．Cut back your carbon footprint. |
| B．Encourage others to help save the environment. |
| C．By doing this, you help reduce traffic jams and the overall amount of gasoline consumption. |
| D．Every resident can get involved by taking advantage of nearby recycling services. |
| E．The topic of preserving natural resources entertains everyone. |
| F．Eating fresh, local food consumes less fuel and packaging materials. |
| G．Read on for some practical tips on how a single individual can help save the environment. |
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a young couple to dive (潜水) in Thailand on one of my favorite reefs (礁). The weather conditions were perfect, with mild currents and excellent sight of the beautiful ocean and the bright, vivid corals. Even with their masks on, I could see the smiles on my students’ faces.
The dive couldn’t have gone better. However, things changed as we made our way back to the boat. As we swam back along the reef, I noticed the current (水流) changing. As it did, huge quantities of trash and plastic began to flood the area. I saw small reef fish swimming amongst the straws, plastic bags and other bits of rubbish. I noticed that some of the fish were pecking away (啄) at the plastic. By the time we got back onboard the boat, there were bits of plastic floating all around us. It looked more like a trash site than the ocean.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to go online and research plastic pollution in the ocean. I was surprised to find out that over the past decade, divers and beach lovers have seen a lot of changes in the oceans. Even very remote locations were suddenly filled with plastic and other chemicals. Plastics were entering our oceans at an alarming rate—up to 12 million tons each year. This huge amount of plastic was wreaking havoc (破坏) not only on the environment, but also on the marine animals that lived in the ocean, such as sea turtles and sea birds. Some of them were sadly mistaking the pieces of plastic for food. Pollution has brought our oceans to the point of disaster, and unless we make a great change, then our oceans and all of its living things, will be at risk.
Since that unforgettable plastic-polluted dive, I have become an ocean supporter and spend my days trying to get the message out there about just how harmful ocean pollution is, not only to marine life, but also to mankind.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then the idea came to me: I could appeal to my fellow divers to take action.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I decided to take it a step further to try and stop those companies producing single-use plastics.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Longmen Grottoes
Set on the banks of the Yi River, 12km south of the current Luoyang City, the Longmen Grottoes are ranked first of the Four Great Grotioes in China, together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes in Datong and Mount Maiji Grottoes in Tianshui. They were also listed in the World Cultural Heritages and Relics by UNESCO in 2000.
Longmen Gate also houses
Wandering in the Longmen Grottoes, one is amazed by the delicate carving skills, deep Buddhist culture and great art achievements of Chinese people.
