1 . Have you ever noticed that the stars sometimes appear brighter in December, January and February? There's a link between cold air and the night lights. "Part of it is that it tends to be drier in the winter," said Diane Tumshek, an astronomer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though it's invisible, moisture can change the way light moves through the air. And in the summer, moisture can make stars appear more dull.
Air temperature is also what puts the twinkle twinkle in the little stars. "Even on very clear nights, some of the atmosphere is cooler, and some of the atmosphere is warmer,” said Tumshek, who also works with the Allegheny Observatory. And when the light from a star passes through those bubbles of varying temperatures, "it bends and shifts the light, so that we are seeing stars appear to dance or twinkle,” she said.
For star lovers in the United States, there's another factor that comes into play for bright winter stars, although this is a matter of coincidence. During Earth's journey around the sun, “there are just simply more bright stars visible from the Northern Hemisphere in the winter sky," Tumshek said. If you really want to see a shiny star, just try to find a burning ball of gas called Sirius near the horizon. At 8.6 light-years away, Sirius is relatively close to Earth and the brightest star visible in the night sky. It is also large — nearly twice as big as our sun and 20 times as bright. So this winter, when the world turns cold and it seems like we should be spending more time indoors, consider asking an adult to go exploring outside. With a warm coat and a clear sky, any night can be turned into a treasure hunt. All you have to do is look up.
1. What does the underlined word "dull" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．not shiny | B．not exciting | C．not severe | D．not smart |
| A．By changing the bubbles around them. | B．By putting the twinkle twinkle in them. |
| C．By varying the direction of the light from them. | D．By making the stars dance and twinkle in the sky. |
| A．It can be found at any night. | B．It is 20 times as bright as the sun. |
| C．It is a burning and shiny ball. | D．It is closer to Earth than other stars, |
| A．To advocate stargazing in winter, | B．To call on people to focus on stars. |
| C．To present new research results about stars. | D．To explain why stars are more visible in winter. |
2 . Space is becoming more crowded. Quite a few low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites have been launched into the sky, which are designed to move around the Earth only a few hundred kilometres above its surface. SpaceX and OneWeb plan to launch LEO satellites in their thousands, not hundreds, to double the total number of satellites in orbit by 2027.
That promises to change things on Earth. LEO satellites can bring Internet connectivity to places where it is still unavailable. This will also be a source of new demand for the space economy. Morgan Stanley, a bank, projects that the space industry will grow from $350 billion in 2016 to more than $1.1 trillion by 2040. New Internet satellites will account for half this increase.
For that to happen, however, three worries must be overcome. Debris (碎片) is the most familiar concern. As long ago as 1978, Donald Kessler, a scientist at NASA, proposed a scenario (设想) in which, when enough satellites were packed into low-Earth orbits, any collision could cause a chain reaction which would eventually destroy all spacecraft in its orbital plane. Solutions exist. One solution is to grab the satellites with problems and pull them down into the Earth’s atmosphere. Another is to monitor space more closely for debris. But technology is only part of the answer. Rules are needed to deal with old satellites safely from low-Earth orbits.
Cyber-security is a second, long-standing worry. Hackers could take control of a satellite and steal intellectual property, redirect data flows or cause a collision. The satellite industry has been slow to respond to such concerns. But as more of the world’s population comes to rely on space for access to the Internet, the need for action intensifies. Measures will surely be taken to protect network security.
The third issue follows from the first two. If a simple mistake or a cyber-attack can cause a chain reaction which wipes out hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, who is responsible for that? Now the plans of firms, wishing to operate large numbers of satellites are being studied. But there is a long way to go before the risks are well understood, let alone priced.
As space becomes more commercialized, mind-bending prospects open up: packages moved across the planet in minutes by rocket rather than by plane, equipment sent to other small planets, passengers launched into orbit and beyond. All that and more may come one day. But such activities would raise the same questions as LEO satellites do. They must be answered before the space economy can truly develop.
1. What can we learn about LEO satellites from the passage?| A．They will limit the space economy |
| B．They will increase in large numbers. |
| C．They will move beyond the Earth as far as possible. |
| D．They will monitor old satellites. |
| A．To avoid network attack. |
| B．To make the Internet accessible to backward areas. |
| C．To lighten the financial burden of space firms. |
| D．To accelerate the development of bank industry. |
| A．block low-Earth orbits with packed satellites |
| B．pull down satellites into Earth’s atmosphere |
| C．put the disposal of old satellites at high risks |
| D．bring destruction to spacecraft in the same orbit |
| A．It should be further confirmed for its ownership. |
| B．It should be continued because of its advantages. |
| C．It should be done carefully to avoid potential risks. |
| D．It should be stopped in the face of the space economy. |
3 . Scientists say they discovered an earth-like planet orbiting the star closest to our planet other than the sun.It is the closest planet ever found outside our solar system that could support life as we know it.This planet is just 4.2 light years away from us.It is so close that space scientists have compared it to a next door neighbor.They say it could be reached by an unmanned spacecraft before the end of the century.The newly-discovered planet is a little larger than the earth.Scientists have named it Proxima b.It orbits its sun, Proxima Centauri, once every 11days.
Alan Boss is the Chairman of NASA’s advisory group for planet exploration.He told VOA that Proxima b not only confirms the discovery of a planet, but also increases the number of other possible “earths” by a huge amount.Boss said it is possible that most stars may have at least one earth-like planet orbiting them.
This makes the possibility of living organisms increasingly likely.Boss said he believes human beings will prove that there is life in places other than the earth in his lifetime.“I am 65, ”he told VOA, “But I expect to still be alive when it happens.”
Paul Butler works at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.He told VOA that finding Proxima b “makes the case concrete” that there are other planets where life could exist.Paul Butler said the researchers used two telescopes in different countries to look for possible planets like the earth.Discovering Proxima b, he believes, changes the world.
“This work has resulted in the discovery of hundreds of planets around the nearest stars, and now a potentially habitable planet around the nearest star is in the sky, ” Butler said.
1. Which of the following does the newly-discovered planet move around?| A．The earth. | B．The sun. |
| C．Proxima Centauri. | D．Proxima b. |
| A．It is most likely that life exists on other planets besides the earth |
| B．Proxime b can be used to help people find more earth like planets. |
| C．There is at least one earth-like plane orbiting each star.. |
| D．Discovering Proxims b will change the world, |
| A．Exploring another sun. |
| B．Discovering Proxima b. |
| C．Researching life on other planets |
| D．Using telescopes to find earth like planets |
| A．Potentially Habitable Planets |
| B．Planet Exploration in the Universe |
| C．Stars with Earth like Planets Orbiting |
| D．A Neighboring Possible Earth like Planet |
4 . Astronomers have taken the first ever image of a black hole, which is located in a distant galaxy. The black hole is 500 million trillion km away and was photographed by a network of eight telescopes across the world. It was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).
The announcement was made in Washington, Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo. Details have been published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Prof Heino Falcke, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, who proposed the experiment, told BBC News that the black hole was found in a galaxy called M87. "What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System," he said. "It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe."
The image shows an intensely bright "ring of fire", as Prof Falcke describes it, surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. The bright halo is caused by very heated gas falling into the hole. The light is brighter than all the billions of other stars in the galaxy combined—which is why it can be seen at such distance from Earth. The edge of the dark circle at the center is the point at which the gas enters the black hole, which is an object that has such a large gravitational pull, not even light can escape.
"It is remarkable that the image we observe is so similar to that which we get from our theoretical calculations. So far, it looks like Einstein is correct once again." said Dr Ziri Younsi, of University College London—who is part of the EHT collaboration.
Chinese scientists were involved in the observation through a telescope in Hawaii. They were also highly involved in follow-up data processing and theoretical analysis, said Shen Zhiqiang, head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and a member of the EHT international team.
Shanghai and Taipei were selected as two of the cities to hold news conferences, together with Washington, Brussels, Santiago and Tokyo, a recognition of China's contribution.
"In the fields of astronomy, radio astronomy, and space astrophysics, China has made a significant contribution to this global project," Falcke said.
1. Which is the best title for the passage?| A．First Image of a Black Hole Taken | B．How Einstein Discovered a Black Hole |
| C．How a Black Hole Is formed | D．A Book about Black Holes |
| A．a circle of light | B．saying hello to somebody |
| C．not having much distance | D．a hole in something |
| A．Taipei | B．Hawaii | C．Shanghai | D．Santiago |
| A．Starting the experiment | B．Leading the experiment |
| C．Just processing the data | D．Playing an important part |
| A．The light of its ring is as bright as all the other stars in the galaxy. |
| B．Its large gravitational pull is so powerful that not even light can escape. |
| C．It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Moon. |
| D．It is one of the lightest black holes that exists. |
The earth is the only planet that scientists are certain has life. What does the earth have that the other planets don’t? For one thing, the earth has just the right temperature. As
When the earth developed, it
Mars is the only planet in the solar system
6 . 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? |
Humans have spent billions of dollars
Well, different organizations have different reasons.
Dutch organization Mars One wants to put people on Mars by 2027. They say it is just the next step in human curiosity. “Why did Columbus travel west? Why did Marco Polo head east? Because it is that pull, that unknown, or that chance of adventure
Wealthy businessman Elon Musk runs a company in the United States. Its name is SpaceX. One of its main goals is to send humans to other planets, including Mars.
Musk was born in South Africa but is now
China has dreams of reaching Mars too. In 2011, along with Russia, they tried to send a probe (探测器) to the planet. Another probe
NASA is also
NASA says Mars and Earth are very alike. Exploring Mars can help us learn more about our own planet’s history and future.
8 . Scientists who study the Sun watch for sunspots—violent storms that can affect communications，navigation systems and even electric power stations on the Earth.
Sunspots are a product of huge electromagnetic storms on the Sun. Scientists on the Earth are able to observe sunspots eight minutes after they happen. That is how long it takes for the Sun’s light to reach us.
The first electrically charged particles (颗粒）from a sunspot enter the Earth’s atmosphere about 20 to 30 minutes after the storm happens. These particles can harm human beings. So before they arrive, astronauts on the International Space Station move into special areas designed to protect them from their effects.
About a day or two later, the biggest part of the storm arrives. It is called a coronal mass ejection. “That is billions of tons of solar material that's blown away from the Sun. It’s traveling millions of kilometers an hour, but that is relatively slow.” says Alex Young, the Associate Director for Science at NASA's Heliophysics Science Division.
Several civilian government agencies and the U.S. Air Force watch weather conditions in space 24 hours a day. NASA does so because it must protect its astronauts and the electronic devices on its spacecraft.
Scientists are also trying to understand why the number of sunspots rises and falls at almost regular intervals every 11 years. In other words, scientists can almost predict the amount of solar activity. Sometimes the intensity (强度）is higher，sometimes lower，For example, the current solar cycle, as it is called, is much lower than the previous one.
Several satellites watch the Sun and the environment between the Sun and tho Earth. Pictures and other information from the satellites tell scientists what is happening on and near the Sun.
Alex Young says we have only been looking at the Sun with powerful instruments for about 30 to 40 years. Thai is a very short time compared to ll\o four billion years that tho star has been shining.
1. Why do astronauts on International Space Station move into special area?| A．To avoid being harmed. | B．To charge the battery. |
| C．To watch the Sun closely | D．To protect devices on the spacecraft. |
| A．About 8 minutes. | B．About 20 to 30 minutes |
| C．About 11 years. | D．About 30 to 40 minutes |
| A．Environmental changes. | B．Good weather conditions |
| C．Advanced instruments. | D．Government agencies |
| A．The role of satellites. | B．findings about sunpots |
| C．Observation of space. | D．Communication on the earth. |
9 . Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.
Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup as human beings. What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.
Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. W ithout knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. With knowledge, we can lessen its effects.
Exploration also allows minerals and other potential resources to be found. Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. Resources may be more than physical possessions. Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. We have already benefited from other spin -offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products(副产品) of technological developments in the space industry!
While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. The danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.
While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.
1. Why does the author mention the questions?| A．To express his doubts. |
| B．To compare different ideas. |
| C．To introduce points for discussion. |
| D．To describe the conditions on Earth. |
| A．Humans are nature born to do so. |
| B．Humans have the tendency to fight. |
| C．Humans may find new sources of food. |
| D．Humans don't like to stay in the same place. |
| A．survival chances |
| B．unexpected benefits |
| C．potential resources |
| D．physical possessions |
| A．Space exploration has created many wonders. |
| B．Space exploration provides the best value for money. |
| C．Space exploration can benefit science and technology. |
| D．Space exploration may help us avoid potential problems on Earth. |
No one knows exactly how the earth began, as it
