1 . A new study suggests water may have existed on Mars much more recently than past evidence (证据) has shown. The research is based on data collected by the Chinese rover, Zhurong, which arrived on the planet in 2021.
Today, Mars has a cold, desert climate. But past studies have provided evidence that ancient Mars had large amounts of water. A study suggested that 4.3 billion years ago, Mars likely had an ocean covering nearly half of the planet’s northern hemisphere.
There are different theories for what caused large amounts of water to disappear from Mars. The most likely explanation is that the liquid escaped when the planet’s air thinned over time. This turned the surface into a frozen desert about 3 billion years ago.
In the new study, the Chinese rover observed salt-rich sand dunes (沙丘) on the surface. The dunes contained breaks and small hills, which provide evidence that the land had frozen and then melted (融化). The melting could have happened as recently as a few hundred thousand years ago, the study said. The researchers believed the dunes were likely formed sometime after 1.4 million to 400,000 years ago, possibly even more recently. Conditions during that period were likely similar to how things are on Mars today.
The researchers said small openings filled with salty water were created by melting frost or snow. The team ruled out wind as a cause, as well as frost made of carbon dioxide, which makes up most of the Martian atmosphere.
“The rover has now provided evidence that there may be a wider distribution of this process on Mars than previously identified,” said Mary Bourke. She added that although the evidence suggests small amounts of water, it could still be important in identifying environments that could support life.
1. What can we infer about the lost water on Mars from paragraph 3?| A．It disappeared into space. | B．It is blown away gradually. |
| C．It still remains underground. | D．It is buried in a frozen desert. |
| A．Melted frost and snow. | B．Thin air on Mars. |
| C．Some sand dunes being rich in salt. | D．The frost made from carbon dioxide. |
| A．To measure the role of wind. | B．To find areas suitable for life. |
| C．To study the frozen and melted areas. | D．To figure out the history of dunes. |
| A．Chinese rover finds water on Mars | B．There used to be rich water on Mars |
| C．Water is actually more widespread on Mars | D．Chinese rover makes a new discovery on Mars |
The Perseverance Rover on Mars continues to perform amazing feats of science. Most recently, an instrument on the Perseverance
96%of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which doesn’t do much for humans who need oxygen
“MOXIE has more work to do. It is helping us move toward our goal of one day seeing humans on Mars, ”scientists say. “Oxygen serves a much
MOXIE works
Following Russia and the US, China became the third country that realized the dream
4 . Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have reported evidence that Mars was warmer and wetter long ago than it is today. The Caltech scientists say they have directly established the temperature of Mars four billion years ago. At least, they established the surface temperature on part of the planet at that time. The researchers say it is the first such evidence to be discovered and presented.
The Caltech scientists say carbonate minerals formed on Mars at about eighteen degrees Celsius. They reached the finding after studying a meteorite that had its beginnings near the Martian surface.
Today, the average temperature on Mars is sixty-three degrees below zero Celsius.The finding was reported on the website of the National Academy of Sciences. Caltech Assistant Professor Woody Fischer helped to prepare the report. He says eighteen degrees Celsius is not especially cold or hot. He says this makes the finding extremely interesting. Knowing the temperature can give scientists an idea of the climate on Mars long ago. It can also help them decide whether the planet had liquid water. Spacecraft orbiting Mars have shown what appear to be rivers, lakebeds and mineral deposits. These pictures suggest that, at one time, water did flow there. Mars Rover vehicles and other spacecraft have confirmed the information.
Caltech Geology Professor John Eiler was another writer of the report. He says knowing the temperature of Mars from long ago provides valuable information. It shows that early in the planet's history, at least part of Mars could support a climate like that of Earth.
The meteorite the scientists examined is one of the oldest known rocks in the world. It is called the Allan Hills meteorite. Its name came from the place in Antarctica where it was found in 1984. The meteorite is believed to have blown loose from the Mars' surface when another space rock struck its "home."
1. The underlined word “establish” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.| A．to make people accept a belief | B．to set up |
| C．to start having a relationship with others | D．to discover or prove |
| A．By using spacecraft orbiting Mars. | B．By studying Allan Hills meteorite. |
| C．By studying a meteorite on the Martian surface. | D．By studying minerals gathered on Mars |
| A．Measuring the temperature of Mars. |
| B．Finding where human beings will probably land on Mars. |
| C．Confirming that there is water flowing on Mars. |
| D．Taking photos of the surface of Mars. |
| A．From where it was found on the earth. | B．From its original place on Mars. |
| C．From the name of the scientist who found it. | D．From the name of the aircraft that discovered it |
| A．In a biography of scientists. | B．In a geography magazine. |
| C．In a science report. | D．In an environment report. |
5 . Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of Mars mission and colony design at London's Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons not to move there.
Frightening texts on the walls announce that Mars wasn't made for you; that there is no life and precious little water; that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What's different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die.”
It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle (闪耀)—a show that is, as its chief manager Justin McGuirk remarks, “not about Mars; this is an exhibition about people”.
Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak of early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars's psychological threat.
The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3Dprinted Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architecture and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wallmounted (固定在墙上的) beside a lowgravity table that has yet to leave and may indeed never leave Earth.
This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumptions can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．How to move to Mars. |
| B．How to survive on Mars. |
| C．What preparations we made for Mars. |
| D．What the exhibition of Mars truly tells us. |
| A．It's impractical to live on Mars. |
| B．It's no good settling on Mars. |
| C．You have nothing to do when living on Mars. |
| D．You can live on Mars in a spacesuit. |
| A．The current plans for Mars. |
| B．The advantages of living on Mars. |
| C．The early ideas about Mars. |
| D．The history of Mars in the human mind. |
| A．A story. | B．An opinion. |
| C．A fantasy. | D．A solution. |
There is no doubt that humankind dreams of making Mars our second home. However, sending people there will require all the skills, courage and
As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert. It consisted of a closed space
For now, human settlement of Mars is still
7 . China's Mars rover, Tianwen-1, will likely attempt to land at a site in northeastern Mars, according to a new paper published just days ahead of the mission's launch. The paper was written by team members of China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission, which aims to send an orbiter and a rover to the Red Planet.
The study reveals new details about Tianwen-1, outlining its intended landing area, science goals and the names of instruments aboard the spacecraft. It also stresses the historic nature of the mission: Not only is Tianwen-1 China's first fully homegrown Mars mission, it's also the first to carry both an orbiter and a rover.
Tianwen-1 means "questions to heaven“ and was taken from the title of a poem by Qu Yuan (340 — 278 BC). The spacecraft will reach Mars in February 2021, at the same time as NASA's Perseverance rover and the United Arab Emirates5 Hope orbiter launched on Sunday (July 19). However, China's rover will remain attached to the orbiter for two to three months before attempting its landing, according to the paper.
The chosen landing area is Utopia Planitia, a huge basin formed by a large impact far back in Mars' history that was also the region where NASA's Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976. China had isolated a part of the vast plain as a landing area, which means there will be more time and atmosphere for the entry spacecraft to slow down and safely land on the surface. The latitude is also suitable for receiving enough sunlight to power the 240 kilograms rover. The relatively smooth surface will also be helpful for roving. The mission also benefits from the engineering heritage of China's Chang'e lunar exploration program, the paper noted.
The Tianwen-1 orbiter will operate in a polar orbit in order to map Mars. The rover will also investigate the surface soil characteristics and water-ice distribution with its own Subsurface Exploration Radar. It will also analyze surface material composition and characteristics of the Martian climate and environment on the surface.
1. What's the purpose of the passage?| A．To lay out key details about Tianwen-1. |
| B．To state how Tianwen-1 was invented. |
| C．To stress the historic meaning of Tianwen-1. |
| D．To analyze characteristics of the Martian climate. |
| A．It was named after Qu Yuan, a famous poet in Chinese history. |
| B．It will reach Mars at the same time as NASA's Viking 2. |
| C．It will remain for 2 or 3 months on Mars. |
| D．It will complete orbiting and roving in a Mars mission. |
| A．The rare air there is suitable for the flight of Tianwen. |
| B．The area can protect Tianwen-1 from too much sunlight. |
| C．It has relatively smooth surface, which is helpful for roving. |
| D．There is no spacecraft successfully landing there in history. |
| A．Tianwen-1's historic contributions | B．Tianwen-1's new radar instruments |
| C．Tianwen-1's academic advantages | D．Tianwen-1's scientific goals |
8 . A planet the size of Jupiter has been discovered and it is one of the hottest ones known to us. This has made scientists think about how planets are formed.
Planets such as Earth have more oxygen than carbon, but what if the composition（组成）is just the opposite? This is a question opened up by a recent discovery of a diamond planet by US and UK scientists. The planet is 1200 light years away from Earth and was observed using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Dr Marek Kukula explained that researchers initially used the Super WASP(Wide Angle Search for Planets) robotic observatories operating continuously, all year around. They detected the planet, then it was observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which detected the heat coming from the planet, and from that heat signature they can tell what this planet is made from.
The planet is very different to Earth. "It's giant planet," explains Dr Kukula, "a gas planet, a bit like Jupiter in our solar system. But the interesting thing that they've discovered is that it has a very different composition to the planets in our solar system. This planet has more carbon than oxygen." This suggests that there is more than one way to make a solar system and the range of planets in the universe could be much wider than previously thought.
Dr Kukula says that if there are smaller planets in the same solar system with a similar composition, rich in carbon, their rocks could be rich in minerals such as carbon and diamonds, unlike Earth which has silica（硅石）, the sand that rocks on Earth are made from. "This is where this diamond planet idea comes from; they haven't actually detected a diamond planet yet," explains Dr Kukula.it' s hypothetical（假设的）, "but you can imagine strange landscapes with black graphite rocks lying around and the surface could be covered with sticky liquids instead of water".
1. What planet has been discovered recently?| A．A planet with more oxygen. | B．A planet with more carbon |
| C．A planet hotter than others. | D．A planet bigger than Jupiter. |
| A．By its heat. | B．By its size. |
| C．By telescope. | D．By distance. |
| A．It is in our solar system. | B．It looks like Earth. |
| C．It is completely different from Jupiter. | D．It contains a lot of gas. |
| A．It is rich in carbon. | B．It is rich in silica. |
| C．It is rich in water. | D．It is rich in sticky liquids. |
9 . 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. |
| A．Modern scientific theories. | B．Atmospheric conditions. |
| C．Environments similar to the Earth. | D．Advanced technologies. |
| 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 |
| A．Do Aliens Exist? | B．Is Mars Suitable for Life? |
| C．Are Alien Life Forms Various? | D．Can We Communicate with Aliens? |
10 . The earth is the only planet that scientists think has life. Why does the earth have life while the other planets don’t? For one thing, the earth is just the right temperature. As the third planet from the sun, the earth seems to be just the right distance away. The planets which are closer to the sun are so hot. The farthest planets are cold balls.
When the earth developed—which scientists believe may have happened about 4 billion years ago—many gases covered the earth. The gases caused the earth to be hot. But something wonderful happened. The temperature was just right for thick clouds to form. It rained very hard for a very long time. This gave the earth its oceans. Water made it possible for plants to grow. The plants created oxygen in the atmosphere. Oxygen is the gas that humans and animals breathe.
Only one other planet in the solar system seems to be something like the earth. That planet is Mars(火星). Mars is smaller than the earth, and it is quite a bit cooler. But it is not too cold for humans. On some days, the temperatures are as low as a winter day in the northern United States. If you wore a special spacesuit, you could walk around on Mars. The most difficulty is that you have to bring your own air to breathe, because the air on Mars is too thin to breathe.
Mars has the largest volcano(火山) in the solar system. It is sixteen miles high. The highest volcano on the earth is five miles high. Scientists believe that Mars was once much better than it is now. Does this mean there could have been living things on Mars? Scientists are not sure, but there has been no sign so far.
1. Which of the following is NOT the reason that the earth has life?| A．The earth is just the right temperature. |
| B．There is oxygen in the atmosphere of the earth. |
| C．The volcanoes on the earth are lower than those on Mars. |
| D．The earth seems to be just the right distance away from the sun. |
| A．the Sun | B．the Moon |
| C．the Earth | D．the Mars |
| A．There is almost no oxygen in the air on Mars. |
| B．There could have been living things on Mars. |
| C．Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system. |
| D．Mars is smaller and quite a bit cooler than the earth. |
| A．The volcanoes. | B．The temperature. |
| C．The air. | D．The food. |
| A．The Earth | B．The Moon |
| C．Planets in the Solar System | D．Mars is Most Like the Earth |
