Before the mid-2th century,
2 . Mars is truly a fascinating planet for those of us here on Earth.
The Red Planet has the largest volcano in the solar system-Olympus Mons.
Mars also has an atmosphere, but it is very thin and made up mostly of carbon dioxide. Because of its thin atmosphere and greater distance from the Sun, Mars is much colder than Earth.
Scientists believe that studying Mars can help answer some of the key questions about our planet Earth, or even the universe.
| A．It is roughly 27 kilometres high. |
| B．Missions to Mars have never been easy. |
| C．Mars, however, today has no active volcanoes. |
| D．The temperature at the planet’s surface varies widely. |
| E．However, Mars does have weather, with clouds and winds. |
| F．China will continue to explore the mysteries of the universe. |
| G．It is one of the few planets that we can see with our own eyes. |
3 . Two high school students have identified four new planets in distant space about 200-light-years from Earth, making them “the youngest astronomers” to make such a discovery.
Kartik Pingle, 16, and Jasmine Wright. 18, who both attend schools in Massachusetts, participated in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). With the help of Tansu Daylan, an MIT doctor for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanct Survey Satellite (TESS). Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a nearby, bright sun-like star and here they found four planets rotating（旋转）around the star. “We were looking to see changes in light over time,” Pingle explained, “the idea is that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would periodically cover up the star and decrease its brightness.”
While studying 1233, Pingle and Wright had at least hoped to find one planet but were overwhelmed with joy when a total of four were spotted. “I was very excited and very shocked.” Wright said. “We knew this was the goal of Daylan’s research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool.” Three of the newly discovered planets are considered as “sub-Neptunes”, which are gaseous, but smaller than the Neptune that lives in our solar system. While observing the planets, the team determined each one completes their orbit around 1233 every six to 19.5 days. However, the fourth planet is called a “super-Earth” for its large size and rockiness this one orbits around the star in just under four days.
“We have long been studying planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, the two young students are kind of hitting the jackpot. They are really blessed.” Daylan said. “The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the basic processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system.”
Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pingle and Wright on the study. “As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains that are open to experimentation and learning and have slightest bias（偏见）.”he said, “I also think it is very beneficial to high school students, since they get exposure to cutting-edge research, and this prepares them quickly for a research career.”
1. How did the two students identify the four planets？| A．By helping professor Tansu Daylan with the data. |
| B．By analyzing the change of brightness of star 1233. |
| C．By studying Neptune that lives in our solar system. |
| D．By interacting with other young talented brains. |
| A．It was made by two high school students. |
| B．It was made with an innovative approach. |
| C．It was meant to be made by Tansu Daylan. |
| D．It found the largest number of planets at a time. |
| A．Making a discovery difficultly. | B．Achieving the goal easily. |
| C．Succeeding in something luckily. | D．Performing a task carefully. |
| A．It allows the scientists to work with young people without prejudice. |
| B．It equips future astronomers with better researching abilities. |
| C．It provides more perspectives and thus boosts more discoveries. |
| D．It arouses students’ interest in exploring the unknown universe. |
4 . When you look up at the bright stars in the nighttime sky, do you wonder what’s out there? Of course, your science teachers have taught you that there are stars, planets, and entire galaxies out there.
What scientists were able to learn with telescopes paved the way for manned space exploration. From trips to the Moon to dozens of manned space shuttle flights, teams of humans were able to travel in space and conduct research on a variety of scientific subjects.
For example, the telescope is no longer an Earth-bound instrument. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into outer space.
| A．Who tells us about it? |
| B．But how do we know this? |
| C．Scientists have always been curious. |
| D．It’s a piece of technology that’s powered by sunlight. |
| E．It’s a tool for scientists to explore the universe without difficulty. |
| F．One of the earliest tools for space exploration was the telescope. |
| G．This technology takes the form of some impressive machines and tools. |
5 . Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets which other scientists had made. The orbit of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Newton, who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse.
Now Halley set to work. He figured out the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearances had been 75 to 76 years apart.
This seemed very strange to Halley. The different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets, as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain enough to make a prediction of what comet would happen in the future. He decided that this comet would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested. In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet has been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.
1. Halley made his discovery ________.| A．by doing experiments | B．by means of his own careful observation |
| C．by using the work of other scientists | D．by chance |
| A．1704 | B．1705 | C．1706 | D．1707 |
| A．Halley and other scientists | B．the orbit of a comet |
| C．Newton and Halley | D．Halley and his discovery |
| A．Edmund Halley was an American scientist. | B．Halley made his discovery by doing experiments. |
| C．Newton was a famous mathematician. | D．The orbit of a comet had the shape of a circle. |
6 . Glenn was born on July 18,1921, in Cambridge and grew up in nearby New Concord, Ohio. He started his flying career as a fighter pilot(飞行员). Later, Glenn took a dangerous job as a test pilot, flying new planes to see if they were safe.
In the late 1950s, a “space race” began between the U. S. and the Soviet Union. Both countries wanted to be the first to send a human into space, including to the moon. In 1961, a Russian astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, orbited Earth. But the space race was not over yet. Glenn’s chance to go into space came on February 20, 1962. By that time, another American, Alan B. Shepard, had flown in space, but he had not orbited Earth. Glenn’s flight was aired live on television and radio. Americans everywhere stopped to watch.
Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule circled the planet three times. A faulty equipment led Glenn to believe the capsule might burn up on its return to Earth, but in the end it splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean. He became the first American to orbit Earth in a spaceship.
In 1984, Glenn ran for president, but he did not get enough support and dropped out of the race. Glenn returned to space on October 29, 1998, when he was 77. He spent nine days on the space shuttle Discovery. Glenn went so that scientists could the effects of space travel on older people. He holds the record for being the oldest person in space. Glenn died Thursday, Dec, 8,2016, at the age of 95.
Glenn refused to see himself as a hero. He preferred to focus on his work, saying. “If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s that the happiest people I’ve known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more meaningful than merely their own self-interest.”
1. What do we know about John Glenn?| A．He worked as a fighter pilot in all his life |
| B．He succeeded in the race for president in 1984 |
| C．He competed with another pilot Alan B in space race |
| D．He was the first American to circle Earth successfully |
| A．The capsule opened while circling Earth |
| B．One part of the equipment went wrong |
| C．The capsule was on fire all of a sudden |
| D．The spaceship stopped working halfway |
| A．To prove the safety of new space shuttles |
| B．To get support for his running for president |
| C．To test how space travel affected the elderly |
| D．To become the oldest person in space by orbiting Earth |
| A．Selfish people care for their own interest |
| B．Happy people are likely to succeed easily |
| C．He has known most of the successful people |
| D．The people who work for others are the happiest |
