2 . Meteorites (陨石) can offer clues about what the early solar system was like. But finding them is far from difficult. Now, some scientists are turning to drones (无人机) and machine learning to help spot freshly fallen meteorites much more efficiently. “A team of six people on a meteorite-hunting expedition can search about 200,000 square meters per day,” says Seamus Anderson, a planetary scientist in Australia.

Around 2016, Anderson began toying with the concept of using drones to take pictures of the g round to look for meteorites. That idea blossomed into a Ph.D. project. In 2022, he and his colleagues reported their first successful recovery of a meteorite spotted with a drone. They’ve since found four more meteorites at a different site. Drone-based searches are much faster than the standard search way. “You’re going from about 300 days of human effort down to about a dozen or so,” he says.

Anderson and his workmates have used drones to search for meteorites in remote parts of Western Australia and South Australia. The team is tipped off about a fall site by networks of ground-based cameras that track meteoroids flashing through the Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers have to do a series of fun but difficult work before the hunt. They pack a four-wheel drive vehicle with drone and computer equipment, battery charging stations, generators, fuel, food, camping equipment, tables, chairs and much more. The drive to the fall site can take more than a day, often on rough or nonexistent roads. Anderson says, “You hope you don’t pop a tire.”

After arriving, the team flies its primary drone at an altitude of about 20 meters. Its camera takes an image of the ground once every second, and the scientists download the data every 40 minutes or so when the drone lands to receive fresh batteries. A typical day of flying can net over 10,000 images, which are then divided digitally into 100 million or so smaller sections. Those “tiles”, each 2 meters on a side, are fed into a machine learning algorithm (算法) that has been trained to recognize meteorites based on images of real land rocks which are spray-painted black.

1. Why do the scientists study meteorites?

A．To spot the planetary course.	B．To promote machine learning.
C．To test the functions of drones.	D．To explore the past of solar system.

2. What does Anderson say about drone-based searches in paragraph 2?

A．Their barriers.	B．Their causes.
C．Their efficiency.	D．Their concept.

3. Which words can best describe the preparations of the drone search for meteorites?

A．Fun and light.	B．Smooth and flexible.
C．Difficult and unpleasant.	D．Complicated and tough.

4. How does the drone process images?

A．By dividing them in half.	B．By storing them for analysis.
C．By combining them into a picture.	D．By linking them with a digital printer.

5 . Time has always been of great interest to scientist…

Theory 1: According to Caltech cosmologist (宇宙学家) Dr Sean Carroll, the flow of time from past to future may be the symptom of our Universe having emerged from another universe that existed before the Big Bang and then gave birth to our own. Theory 2: In 1967, two American theorists came up with an equation describing the quantum (量子) state of the whole Universe. Known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, it includes many key features of the universe, such as its size. But one aspect is absent: time. Some theorists believe this implies that time only exists in our minds. Theory 3: According to theorist Prof Lee Smolin at the Perimeter Institute, Canada, the existence of life in the Universe is the result of the laws of physics evolving to their current state over an unlimited number of previous universes. If true, this means that our very existence is proof that time does exist. Theory 4: In 2009, physicists at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge showed that the passing of time revealed by, say, the cooling of a cup of tea, may be due to quantum effect called ‘entanglement’. This involves the particles (粒子) in the team interacting with their surroundings, being bound together and becoming harder to distinguish from each other—a one-way process that requires the forward progression of time to occur. Theory 5: Dark energy, the mysterious anti-gravitational force that drives the expansion of the Universe, may be linked to the existence of the arrow of time. Last year, two cosmologists at the Yerevan Physics Institute showed that dark energy leads to the growth of entropy, a measure of disorder, in the Universe.

1. All the five theories imply that _____.

A．time is flexible	B．time is constant
C．time does go forth and back	D．time does exist in some way

2. Which theory doesn’t include time?

A．Theory 1.	B．Theory 2.
C．Theory 3.	D．Theory 4.

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of dark energy?

A．It leads to the existence of multi-universities.

B．It is what keeps the universe in order.

C．It increases in strength with gravity.

D．It is what makes the universe get bigger.

8 . It's our galactic(银河系的) home, but the Milky Way contains many mysteries scientists are working to uncover. Now, as The Guardian reports, astronomers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have built a 3D map that provides the most detailed look at our galaxy yet.

The -data has been seven years in the making. In 2013, the ESA launched its Gaia Space .Observatory from Kourou in French Guiana. Since then, two high-powered telescopes aboard the spacecraft have been sweeping the skies, recording the locations, movements, and changes in brightness of more than a billion stars in the Milky Way and beyond.

Using Gaia's findings, astronomers put together a 3D map that allows scientists to study the galaxy in greater depth than ever before. The data has made it possible to measure the acceleration (加速度) of the solar system. By comparing the solar system's movements to those of more faraway objects in space, researchers have determined that the solar system is slowly falling toward the center of the galaxy at an acceleration of 7 millimeters                           per second per year, The Guardian reports. Additionally, the map shows how matter is distributed (使分配)throughout the Milky Way. With this information, scientists should be able to measure the mass of the Milky Way.

Gaia's observations may also hold clues to the Milky Way's past and future. The data holds small remaining parts of the 10-billion-year-old round flat object that made up the edge of the star system. By comparing it to the shape of the Milky Way today, astronomers have determined that the flat object will continue to increase in size as new stars are created.

The Gaia observatory was launched with the mission of carrying out an updated star census. The previous one was conducted in 1957, and Gaia's new data reaches four times farther and accounts for 100 times more stars.

1. According to the findings, what is happening to the solar system?

A．It is becoming larger and larger slowly.

B．It is attracting more new stars to its edge.

C．It is losing a 10-billion-year-old round flat star.

D．It is slightly accelerating toward the galactic center.

2. What may scientists learn more about with Gaia's observations?

A．The size of the galaxy.

B．The origin of the galaxy.

C．The features of matter in the galaxy.

D．The speeds of new stars in the galaxy.

3. What does the underlined word “census” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Filming. ·	B．Locating.
C．Counting.	D．Comparing.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How the Gaia Space Observatory works

B．The solar system has changed since 2013

C．Why the galaxy is also called “Milky Way”

D．3D map shows the galaxy in more exact detail

9 . If you think you’d like to live on Mars, you may have that possibility by 2023. A Dutch company called Mars One will soon advertise for people interested in colonizing (开拓) Mars. If you have all the necessary skills, you could be one of the first colonists. Are you ready for the challenge?

You won’t have to pay for the mission to Mars. Mars One has already received money from some donors and is hoping to get more from TV viewers who will become interested in the show where all applicants have a debate for the rare chances.

The main responsibility of the first colonists is to create an artificial environment on Mars where there is no air to breathe and no land to farm. Scientists know it’s quite possible because something similar has already been done in Antarctica.

Another problem is that space travel to Mars takes nearly a year to get to Mars and the colonists will live the rest of their lives there. When a human lives in an environment without gravity or with low gravity for a long time, the systems in the body weaken. Luckily, spinning (旋转) the spaceship can create artificial gravity, and artificial gravity can ease these problems. It will also be difficult for Mars colonists to be far from home, living in small spaces, and seeing the same people over and over. Colonists with depression could put the mission in danger. Fortunately, a few years ago, a joint Russian and European project called the Mars500 Mission studied people’s reactions in a Mars-like environment. It is viewed as a great success because scientists were able to see how people handle emotional and physical stresses.

Recent studies show that seven percent of people would want to go on such an adventure.

Mars One will soon start accepting its first colonists. Are you interested?

1. What do we know about the applicants to Mars from the first two paragraphs?

A．They will land on Mars in 2023.

B．They can get money from donors.

C．They will compete in a TV show.

D．They do not need special skills.

2. What will the first colonists do to solve the basic living problems on Mars?

A．Create earth-like conditions.

B．Build labs in Antarctica.

C．Spin the spaceship.

D．Start the Mars500 Mission.

3. What can the life of the first colonists be like according to the passage?

A．Difficult and dangerous.

B．Different but adaptable.

C．Challenging and unbearable .

D．Acceptable but depressing.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Mars: our final destination?

B．Ready to be Mars’ colonists?

C．Space travel: a thrilling adventure?

D．Are you a qualified Mars astronaut?

10 . When the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-5 returned to Earth on December 17, 2020, it brought back something not seen on our planet since the 1970s: moon rock samples. This precious cargo, collected by Chang’e-5’s robotic research vehicle in the northwest region of the lunar near side, is now being studied by scientists in Beijing. The success of the latest Chinese space mission also showcased technology that may be used in future years to create human settlements on Earth’s near neighbor.

The returned lunar samples will “absolutely add new knowledge of the history of the moon, particularly its volcanoes,” says Xiao Long, a planetary scientist at China University of Geosciences. The rocks sent back by Chang’e-5 “will ask us to rethink about why and how the moon’s volcanic history lasted this long,” he says.

The Chang’e-5 mission was more than just a trip to collect moon rocks. It was also the latest stage of a long, planned sequence of robotic lunar explorations by China that have grown ever more scientifically advanced.

The program began with the 2007 launch of Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 three years later. These craft circled the moon collecting data used to help guide Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4, the first Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon surface, and to direct their robotic vehicles. The robot on Chang’e-5 was able to collect rock and soil samples and return them to Earth. In the near future, an identical spacecraft called Chang’e-6 will attempt a sample-return mission from the moon’s south pole—an area of intense scientific interest-given the large amount of water ice present.

The more advanced Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 spacecraft are also planned to land near the south pole to carry out analysis of the region and test new technologies, including detecting and obtaining materials that could be useful to future human explorers, such as water and hydrogen, and testing 3D printing on the lunar surface.

The long-term aim of the Chang’s program is to establish an International Lunar Research Station around 2030 to support robotic and, eventually, crewed missions.

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The moon’s recent volcanic activities.	B．The significance of the moon rock samples.
C．New knowledge of the history of the moon.	D．Further studies of the returned lunar samples.

2. What distinguishes the mission of Chang’e-6 from that of Chang’e-5?

A．The technology they use.	B．The time they spend on the moon.
C．The specific locations they explore.	D．The amount of material they bring back.

3. Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 space missions are mainly intended to ________.

A．transport researchers to the moon station

B．build up an International Lunar Research Station

C．collect data necessary to guide moon-landing spacecraft

D．find and test resources and means to support living on the moon

4. Which of the following best summarizes the Chang’s space program?

A．A project to study the surface of the moon.

B．A plan to improve human settlements on the moon.

C．A set of experiments to test the possibility of manned spacecraft.

D．A series of increasingly challenging scientific lunar explorations.