2 . It was a discovery that could change science. “We hit the jackpot (头奖) here,” said a British scientist, Guillem, about the discovery of a planet “more or less” like Earth that is orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our solar system.

What do we know about this exciting new Earth? Well, Proxima b, or “Earth II” as you could call it, is a little bigger than our Earth. Also, since it is so much closer to its red dwarf star than we are to the sun, the sky on its world is orange without any blue at all, creating a forever sunset effect.

There are a lot of questions for life forms that could live on this new planet. As the Chicago Tribune wrote in an article: “First, as reporter Lois Lane asked Superman in the first movie, Do you eat? Do you have poetry? Do you have any interest in visiting other worlds? If so, put Earth on your Must See list.”

The discovery of the planet made the Chicago Tribune newspaper wonder if anyone had seen or heard of the U.S.’ space postcards from its Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 space probes, sent up into space in 1972 and the next year.

Included with the probes were pictures of a man and a woman, along with diagrams of the solar system. Gold records were also sent up into space on Voyager probes in 1977. If aliens on Proxima b had played the record, they would have found sounds and images that showed the incredible diversity of Earth.

Aliens might also have heard the message from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: “This is a present from a small distant world… our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are trying to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic (星系的) civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in an … awesome universe.”

It might not be time to plan a visit to Proxima b just yet—even if it has an atmosphere—because first, we would need to invent a way to get there in less than the 78,000 years it would take at 36,000 mph (about 57,900 km/h).

“Proxima b looks to us like a promising Plan B, just in case things go really south on this blue planet,” the Chicago Tribune wrote.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Proxima b?

A．Proxima b is bigger and closer to the sun than Earth.

B．It is a newly discovered star in the solar system.

C．Proxima b has an atmosphere like the Earth

D．The sky of Proxima b turns orange at sunset.

2. The postcards and records were sent up into space on probes to ________.

A．show off the incredible diversity of Earth to aliens

B．describe Earth and express friendly feelings to aliens

C．test if there were aliens in space

D．invite aliens to visit Earth

3. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．Earth will get worse and worse in the near future.

B．Proxima b seems to be an alternative living place.

C．We will be able to settle in Proxima b soon.

D．Proxima b is more suitable to live in than Earth.

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To give advice on how to visit a new planet.

B．To illustrate the thrills of moving to a new home in space.

C．To prove that aliens really exist on other planets.

D．To report on the discovery of an interesting new planet.

3 . Do you think alien beings exist somewhere in the universe? It seems like Mars, our closest neighbor, has inspired the most science fiction as the place where aliens are most likely to come from. Recent Mars probes (探测) have shown us that there is no life on that planet—at least not now. But that does not mean that life does not exist elsewhere—after all, the universe is really big. A lot of scientific research is going on in the search for “extraterrestrial life”.

Think about it—why should the seven billion people on this little planet be the only living beings in the universe? It would, in fact, seem logical that this is not the case. So scientific research in this matter is based around the idea of finding other planets that have environments that can support life —environments similar to the Earth. The search is on for the evidence of the existence, or earlier existence of life: from very wise beings to simple organisms (有机物).

So far, there have been a number of theories as to which planetary bodies may have an atmosphere that can support such life and therefore deserve closer attention. As for places within our own Milky Way Galaxy, it has been assumed over the decades that Mars and Venus, as well as some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, may have been hosts for life. Now, as technologies have improved and we can obtain measurements of the composition of the atmosphere on extra-solar planets, the chances of finding “alien” life forms are increasing.

There has been a theory that some of the planets in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 581 may be able to support life. In 2007, scientists discovered exoplanet Gliese 581c—and felt that its atmosphere was most suitable for supporting life. But further research revealed that it would not. Now, attention has been turned to Gliese 581d, at the outer edge of the star’s habitable zone. The main standards for deciding whether a planetary body can be life-supporting are atmospheric conditions which allow the existence of water. Gliese 581 is about 20. 4 light years away from the Earth, so even if life does exist there, the distance would mean that communication would be unlikely.

Having said this—who says alien life forms (if they exist) need water?

1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Life existing outside of the Earth.

B．The evidence of the existence of life.

C．Other faraway planets in the universe.

D．Creatures known from science fictions.

2. What makes it possible for people to find “alien beings”?

A．Modern scientific theories.	B．Atmospheric conditions.
C．Environments similar to the Earth.	D．Advanced technologies.

3. From the passage, we know that _________.

A．the atmosphere of Gliese 581c was most suitable for life

B．it is not certain whether alien life forms need water or not

C．the 7 billion people on the Earth are the only beings in the universe

D．the distance of 20. 4 light years makes it impossible to find life on Gliese 581d

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Do Aliens Exist?	B．Is Mars Suitable for Life?
C．Are Alien Life Forms Various?	D．Can We Communicate with Aliens?

4 . 语法填空

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have fixed a hole in the shell of its outer wall. The ISS is a large satellite in space     1     scientists live to do scientific experiments. The first part of it     2     (put) into space in 1998. Last week, NASA warned astronauts on the ISS that air was     3     (slow) leaking out of the station. Astronaut Alexander Gerst and five other astronauts spent a lot of time     4     (look) for the leak. Mr. Gerst eventually found it and he put his finger over the hole. Luckily, the hole was only two millimeters wide, so it was not serious, but it did need     5     (fix).

The hole was in a Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. NASA said it could have been caused     6     a small piece of space junk. The ISS travels at     7    speed of around 28,000 kph. Even a tiny object     8     (hit) it can cause a lot of damage. Flight     9     (control) in the USA and Russia worked together with the crew to repair the hole.

A NASA official said the crew on the ISS are     10     (health) and safe after the repair.