1 . For children, space is magical — a whole world is out there, with so many things to learn and stories to read. Here are some children’s books about space and the solar system.
Mae among the Stars by Stasia Burrington
This beautifully illustrated picture book is attractive to young kids. It was inspired by the first African American woman in space, Mae Jemison. It tells the story of Mae as a little girl, who always knew she had big dreams about space. This is a great addition to a young kid’s collection, as a reminder to hold tight to dreams and never give up.
Space by Libby Jackson
This beautifully illustrated book gives kids a look at 50 women from around the world who were involved in exploring space in some way, from the 19th century to the present day. This is a perfect gift for young kids who want to know more about some of the lesser-known scientific achievements related to space exploration.
Chasing Space by Leland Melvin
This is Melvin’s story about being a football player-turned-astronaut, along with his recovery from an injury that nearly left him deaf. Kids will love reading his story about how he faced challenges and advanced ahead, and he also includes DIY experiments for kids to try, and a section of full-color photographs.
System and Beyond by David A. Aguilar
The book is full of beautiful illustrations of space, and is perfect for kids of all ages, exploring various planets and the solar system. Unlike other kids’ space book, this is a National Geographic book written and illustrated by an award-winning astronomer and space artist. Aguilar is also the former Director of Science Information and Public Outreach at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
1. What do Mae among the Stars and Space have in common?| A．They include less-known astronauts. | B．They tell about scientists’ childhood. |
| C．They cover women exploring space. | D．They are suitable for children of all ages. |
| A．Stasia Burrington’s. | B．Libby Jackson’s. |
| C．Leland Melvin’s. | D．David A. Aguilar’s. |
| A．It has beautiful pictures. | B．It tells about space artists. |
| C．It has won many grand awards. | D．It was written by an astronomer. |
2 . You look up at the sky on a clear and dark night, you’ll see more stars than your eyes can count. Most of these stars have planets, similar to our own, orbiting them. With so many celestial bodies floating out in space, you can’t help but question whether other forms of life exist in the universe. And if that’s the case, is it possible to contact them?
Science is still somewhat divided on this issue. Currently, no evidence exists to suggest that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. Yet with an estimated one trillion planets in our galaxy alone, it seems highly likely that Earthlings aren’t the only intelligent creatures out there. Some claim that life can only develop under perfect circumstances, and Earth is perhaps the only example of this. Other scientists object to this claim, and point out that even on Earth, life can find a way under the most extreme circumstances.
Some people believe that aliens have already visited our planet, but this information is being kept secret by governments. The most famous incident of this kind occurred in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. On that date, many residents reported seeing an unusual flying disc streak through the sky, before it crashed in a field. When the military heard about the crash, they quickly sealed off the area. A few hours later, the army base announced that it had recovered a flying disk. Shortly after, this statement was retracted and it was said that it was a weather balloon that crashed. However, years later one local mortician even claimed that the military had him secretly perform an autopsy on a dead alien body.
Others believe that there certainly are other life forms out there, but the distance between us is too great. Even if we could somehow create a spaceship that travels at the speed of light, it would still probably take several lifetimes to reach them. Then again, we might never have to do this if aliens reach us first.
1. Why do some scientists think there is life on other planets?| A．Because an unusual flying disc was ever witnessed. |
| B．Because life exists despite extreme conditions as those on the Earth do. |
| C．Because the government’s statement seemed suspicious. |
| D．Because there are a great number of planets in the universe. |
| A．Examined again to guarantee the correctness. | B．Emphasized again to persuade people. |
| C．Formally taken back what has been said. | D．Seriously criticized due to poor evidence |
| A．Are we alone in the universe? | B．Is it possible to contact aliens? |
| C．Intelligent life in the universe. | D．Planets floating out in space. |
| A．Objective. | B．Humorous. | C．Cautious. | D．Anxious. |
Astronomers have published a major finding
“Super unusual,” said Yvette Cendes, an astronomer at Harvard. “We’ve never really seen this before to this degree.”
Researchers made the
What they found was that one of the TDEs was emitting energy at an unusual speed
This behavior is different from what has been observed in black holes before, in two ways. First, the timing: it’s more common
In most cases of black holes swallowing stars, perhaps 99%, the outflow is lower in energy. And in 1% of cases, that outflow, at about half the speed of light, rarely
4 . In a former gold mine a mile underground, inside a titanium tank(钛储罐)filled with a rare liquified gas, scientists have begun the search for what so far has been unfindable: dark matter.
Scientists are trying to understand why the universe is not what it seems. One part of the mystery is dark matter, which has by far most of the mass in the universe. Astronomers know it’s there even though it’s nowhere to be seen, because when they measure the stars and other regular matter in galaxies, they find that there is not nearly enough gravity to hold them together. If nothing else was out there, galaxies would be quickly flying apart.
The race to solve this enormous mystery has brought one team to the depths under Lead, South Dakota.
The idea is that a mile of dirt and rock, a giant tank, a second tank and the purest titanium in the world will block nearly all the cosmic rays and particles (粒子) around us every day. But dark matter particles, scientists think, can avoid all those obstacles. They hope one will fly into the liquid xenon (疝气) in the inner tank and smash into a xenon nucleus (原子核), revealing its existence in a flash of light seen by a device called “the time projection chamber.”
Scientists announced Thursday that the five-year, $60 million search finally got underway two months ago after a delay caused by the pandemic. So far the device has found...nothing. At least no dark matter.
And if all their calculations and theories are right, they figure they’ll see only a couple signs of dark matter a year. By the time the experiment finishes, the chance of finding dark matter with this device is probably less than 50% but more than 10%.
While that’s far from a sure thing, “you need a little enthusiasm,” said Kevin Lesko, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley Naonal Laboratory. “You don’t go into rare search physics without some hope of finding something.”
These scientists tried to a similar, smaller experiment here years ago. After coming up empty, they figured they had to go much bigger. Another large-scale experiment is underway in Italy run by a rival team, but no results have been announced so far.
1. What do we know about dark matter?| A．It is a rare liquified gas. |
| B．It is invisible and hard to find. |
| C．It is unknown to scientists. |
| D．It is a form of gravity in the galaxies. |
| A．The result of the experiment. |
| B．The design of the experiment. |
| C．The reason for conducting the experiment. |
| D．The importance of the experiment. |
| A．Its success is guaranteed. |
| B．It is almost finished. |
| C．It has been fruitless so far. |
| D．It is the first attempt in the field. |
| A．Don’t count your chickens. |
| B．Two heads are better than one. |
| C．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| D．Every cloud has a silver lining. |
5 . Interesting Space Facts
As time goes by, technological advancements have made us learn more facts about space in the past century than in all time before that. We’ve already searched the universe for the most amazing space facts, including facts about the planets in our solar system, moons, the Milky Way and beyond!
The highest mountain discovered is the Olympus Mons, which is located on Mars. It is 16 miles high, making it nearly 3 times higher than Mount Everest.
The sun weighs about 330,000 times more than Earth.
Footprints left on the moon won’t disappear as there is no wind. But wait a minute.
| A．We’re pretty sure they will make you interested! |
| B．New discoveries will no longer be made in the future. |
| C．It is so large that it can contain about 1,300,000 Earths! |
| D．Not only is it tall, but it’s 114,000 square meters as well. |
| E．All these space facts may not be true at the time of writing. |
| F．Astronauts can grow about two inches in height when in space. |
| G．If there’s no wind to blow them away, then why is the flag blowing? |
6 . China’s Tianwen 1 Mars probe (探测器) conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday evening, as the spacecraft makes ready for its arrival in orbit around Feb. 10, according to the China National Space Administration.
The name comes from the long poem Tianwen, meaning Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven, written by Qu Yuan, one of the greatest poets of ancient China. In Tianwen, this name conveys the Chinese nation’s steady effort in pursuing truth and culture of exploring nature and the universe. CNSA also unveiled ( 发 布 ) the logo of China’s planetary exploration missions, featuring the letter C, signifying China, international cooperation and capacity of entering space.
Tianwen I has flown for 197 days and more than 465 million kilometers on its journey to the planet. It is now around 184 million km from Earth and I. 1 million km from Mars. Depending on the two planets’ orbits, Mars is between 55 and 400 million km from Earth. Mars probe Tianwen I is seen in its first selfies in space on Oct. 1, 2020. The administration also published a black-and-white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen I, the first snapshot (抓拍的照片) from the Chinese craft.
Tianwen I, the country’s first independent Mars mission, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on July 23 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, kicking off the nation’s planetary exploration program.
A successful landing would make China only the second nation to place a spacecraft on the Martian planet. China would also be the first to successfully orbit, land and deploy ( 部署) a vehicle in the same mission. According to experts, searching for signs of life on Mars will be the first and foremost scientific goal. China is open and inclusive in the development of its space technology not least because it believes that the exploration of outer space should help build a community with a shared future for mankind.
1. Why is Qu Yuan’s poem mentioned in the text?| A．To tell the origin of space exploration. |
| B．To describe space exploration vividly. |
| C．To highlight the importance of space exploration. |
| D．To show Chinese continuous struggle in space exploration. |
| A．function | B．development | C．operation | D．structure |
| A．To build a common future for man. | B．To prove our achievement in space research. |
| C．To discover signs of life on this planet. | D．To expand the understanding of the space. |
| A．Letter C Logo symbolizes creation between countries. |
| B．China was the first nation to land a spacecraft on Mars. |
| C．Tianwen I made its fifth orbital correction around Feb. 10. |
| D．Tianwen I started a new chapter in Chinese planetary exploration. |
7 . A new study suggests that dark markings on the planet Mars represent sand — not water. The research in 2015 suggested that lines on some Martian hills were evidence of water. Yet American scientists now say these lines appear more like dry flows of sand. If water is present, it is likely to be a small amount. Water in liquid form would be necessary for microbial (微生物的) life.
NASA, the American space agency, said more research is needed. Michael Meyer is the lead scientist for NASA’s Mars exploration programme. He noted that the latest study does not reject the presence of water. But he admitted, “It just may not be as exciting as the idea of rivers going down the sides of cliffs (悬崖).”
The new findings come from a team led by Colin Dundas of the United States Geological Survey. His team measured 151 of these lines in 10 areas. Most of the lines end with slopes (倾斜) between 28 degrees and 35 degrees. These measurements are similar to active sand dunes (沙丘) on both Mars and Earth. A small covering of dust that moves and sometimes becomes lighter might help explain the markings. They usually appear in the Martian summertime, and then disappear until the next year. If these lines are dry, this suggests that recent Mars bas not had large amounts of liquid water. Dundas and his research team say that many questions remain.
“I still think that Mars has great potential for having had life early on in its history,” Meyer said. “As long as that’s true, we also have a reasonable possibility of life still being on Mars. It just happens to be cryptic or well hidden.”
NASA currently has no robotic — either on Mars or in development — with the ability to climb steep slopes. The lack of such equipment has engineers coming up with ideas like Martian helicopters or planes without pilots.
1. What do American scientists find on Mars now according to their study?| A．A lot of little life. | B．An amount of water. |
| C．Some Martian hills. | D．Dark markings are sand. |
| A．In Martian spring. | B．In Martian summer. |
| C．In Martian autumn. | D．In Martian winter. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Trustful. | C．Unconcerned | D．Objective. |
| A．Undiscovered. | B．Strange. | C．Magical. | D．Icy. |
8 . Benefits of Space Exploration
On April 12, 1961, the Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey to outer space.
● Medical benefits.
●
The space race has led to technological advancements in the shortest period of time, such a vacuum-sealed (真空密封的) food, fireproof materials and modern vacuum cleaners. Today, we still use them in our daily lives. Yet, we even don’t know that some NASA engineers originally developed them for the Apollo program that took humankind to the moon.
● Creation of STEM jobs.
Space exploration is one of the industries that require the largest percentage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) jobs. A lot of those jobs are positions for engineers, data analysts, doctors, biologists and so on. Although these positions require highly qualified people to fill them, they are some of the highest-paid jobs in the market.
| A．Space tourism industry. |
| B．Development of new technologies. |
| C．Is exploring space a waste of time and money? |
| D．As you can see, it is important for us to keep pushing the limits of space exploration. |
| E．So the growing space industry creates high-paid jobs. |
| F．The medical benefits of space exploration reach every area of the human body. |
| G．The age of space exploration started that day. |
9 . The North Star, also known as Polaris, is often used by campers to help them find their way when they get lost.
Locate the North Star with your smart phone. There are many smart phone applications that work something like a telescope. You allow the phone to find your location, and then point your phone to the sky. The phone acts as interactive map, identifying stars and constellations for you.
Buy a star atlas(星图). If the idea of carrying your phone around while stargazing kills the fun for you, consider buying a star atlas instead. You should also always take an atlas with you when hiking in case your phone battery dies.
| A．Plan ahead with your computer. |
| B．Find the direction north with two sticks. |
| C．It is very helpful and can be used on any night. |
| D．This can prevent you from locating the North Star. |
| E．Here are some ways to help you find the North Star. |
| F．Rely on constellations in the night sky to find the North Star. |
| G．Some applications can also assist you to see stars more easily. |
10 . A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces(熔炉)that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.
The death of a star is not a quiet event. First there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.
After the explosion gravity pulls in what's left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so dense that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.
The more the star shrinks, the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can flee. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!
That's what we know about black holes. What we don't know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.
But if the black hole doesn't keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words a black hole in our universe could turn into a “white hole” in a different universe. As the black hole swallows light, the white hole shines brightly-somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time-many years in the past or future.
Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed. So far the time being, black holes must remain a mystery.
Black holes are a mystery-but that hasn't stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make use of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth's energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could some day be used to swallow earthly waste-a sort of huge waste disposal(处理)in the sky!
1. When the star begins to die, .| A．there is no fuel left in it |
| B．its outer layer goes into space first |
| C．it will explode and then become smaller |
| D．it doesn't give off light any longer |
| A．The star becomes very tiny and dense. |
| B．The light can't go out of the star. |
| C．The gravity inside the star is very strong. |
| D．The dying star shines very brightly. |
| A．A star will blast and die when it lacks fuel to support its burning. |
| B．A black hole can swallow everything because it becomes smaller all the time. |
| C．Man can never travel through a black hole but can make use of its power. |
| D．Scientists have found that a black hole goes into another universe and becomes a white hole. |
| A．A New Scientific Discovery: Black Holes |
| B．How Do Black Holes Come into Being? |
| C．What Are Black Holes? |
| D．Travel Through A Black Hole |
