1 . For more than half a century, scientists have sought to understand X-rays from space and what they reveal about our galaxy and the universe beyond it. As it turns out, lobsters can help astronomers do just that.
Lobsters (龙虾) have developed specialized eyes to see in their dark habitats located up to around 2,300 feet below the ocean surface. Unlike humans, whose eyes consist of rounded lenses that bend light, lobsters’ eyes depend on reflection. Each of their two eyes is packed with up to 10,000 square-shaped tubes. Each tube is lined with a flat, reflective surface that acts like a mirror to direct incoming light down to the retina (视网膜). This setup affords lobsters a full 180-degree view, compared with humans’ 120-degree vision.
The breakthrough idea connecting lobster eyes to astronomy came in 1978 when Roger Angel, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, drew inspiration from an article on animal vision. Angel envisioned creating instruments imitating lobster eyes to enhance the capture of cosmic X-rays during missions beyond Earth’s orbit. In 1992, researchers from Columbia University ran the first successful X-ray measurements using lobster-eye instruments. It took another 15 years before the tech was adapted for spacecraft missions. “This is a technology that’s been around a long time in astrophysics,” says Scott Porter, an astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Today, Porter’s team has developed specialized instruments to better understand how solar wind interact with Earth’s magnetic (磁的) field. Researchers pack thousands of tiny glass tubes and then heat and curve them to create a ball shape that can concentrate the X-rays into a singular point. Plus, many of these tools are much lighter and smaller than traditional X-ray instruments, and therefore easier to incorporate into multi-instrument missions.
Porter says that the number of applications for lobster-based instruments have increased in recent years. As projects receive funding, lobster eye instruments may become a key tool in our quest to better understand the vast, mysterious universe.
1. How does the structure of lobster eyes contribute to their vision capabilities?| A．The square-shaped lenses help the eyes focus better. |
| B．Tubes in the eyes can refract light in multiple directions. |
| C．The shape of the eyes can provide a clearer field of vision. |
| D．Reflective surfaces of tubes in the eyes direct light to the retina. |
| A．They were first invented by Roger Angel. |
| B．They are developed for deep-sea exploration. |
| C．They were first introduced in space missions in 2007. |
| D．They helped researchers capture cosmic X-rays in 1992. |
| A．Skeptical | B．Positive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Confused. |
| A．The application of lobster-eye instruments in various fields. |
| B．The unique setup of lobster eyes adapted for deep-sea vision. |
| C．The development of lobster-eye instruments for space X-rays. |
| D．The difference between lobster-eye instruments and traditional ones. |
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has evolved over thousands of years. It is a comprehensive healthcare system
TCM came into being in the primitive (原始的) society, and its theory
Ancient wisdom and modern research have enabled Chinese medicine to find its place alongside Western medicine,
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10 . Covid-19 is not the first disease to migrate from animals to humans. The Black Death of the 14 century was spread by fleas (跳蚤). The H1N1 virus behind the epidemic of 1918 originated in birds. The list goes on.
In the last two decades alone, we’ve been haunted by zoonotic (人畜共患的) outbreaks, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, bird flu, and most recently, COVID-19 and monkey-pox. Some researchers are beginning to call this era a Pandemicene. A study published in the journal Nature in April suggests that climate change may be to blame.
“The study comes from a simple idea,” says Colin Carlson, a global change biologist and a lead author of the paper. Climate change is making many habitats inhabitable. When animals migrate toward cooler climates, they introduce viruses to new environments. “That leads to interesting problems from a viral standpoint,” says Carlson.
To predict displacement patterns, Carlson and his colleagues taught machine-learning models the kinds of habitats used by different mammals. The modeling software then predicted, under a range of possible climate futures, where such conditions might be found in 2070, he explains. Many animals will head to cooler mountains, or to coastal regions with mild climates; Indonesia, the Philippines, India’s Rift Valley, and Sahel region are all expected to have sky-high human population densities and biodiversity levels by the year 2070, making them easy to be affected by outbreaks of zoonotic disease.
Carlson and his colleagues paired these predictions with a model that analyzes why different animals share viruses. The same flight capabilities that make bats excellent mosquito-hunters and seed-spreaders, for example, also make them more likely to transmit diseases. And while it’s easier for viruses to spread between closely related species, even viruses for our distant relatives can find purchase in us, given enough opportunities for infection.
Carlson and his colleagues estimate that by 2070, there will be at least 3,000 instances of novel cross-species infection. Not all will become pandemics, but some will.
1. Why is this era called “Pandemicene” by researchers in paragraph 2?| A．Many species are disappearing from the earth. |
| B．The climate change has become unpredictable. |
| C．Habitats for wildlife are destroyed by human activity. |
| D．Disease transmitted from animals are troubling humans. |
| A．Infectious diseases are rarely related to animals. |
| B．Migration of animals can lead to viral outbreaks. |
| C．Livable places for wild animals should be protected. |
| D．Global population and density will reach the peak in 2070. |
| A．Viruses can be spread between distantly related species. |
| B．Bats’ flight capabilities make them immune to diseases. |
| C．Wild creatures are given many opportunities to spread disease. |
| D．Humans may be infected with different viruses at the same time. |
| A．Colin Carlson, a Global Change. Biologist |
| B．Climate Change, a Reason for Animal Migration |
| C．Habitat Protection, an Effective Way to Biodiversity |
| D． Cross-species Infection, a Big Threat to Human Beings |
