1 . Studies of Mercury — the planet closest to the sun-show that it has shrunk by about 11 kilometers across since the solar system’s birth 4.5 billion years ago. As the planet cooled and contracted (收缩), its surface had many long curved ridges (山脊) similar to the wrinkles on a bad apple.

A new research on these ridges, called lobate scarps (瓣状陡坡), has found more of them, with steeper faces, than ever before. The discovery suggests that Mercury shrank by far more than the previous estimate, says Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist. The finding helps explain how Mercury’s huge metallic core (中心) cooled off over time. It may also finally settle the differences between theoretical scientists, who had predicted a lot of shrinkage, with observers who had not found evidence of that — until now. “We are resolving a four-decade-old argument here,” Byrne added.

Planetary scientists have been arguing over Mercury’s lobate scarps ever since the Mariner 10 spacecraft flew past the planet three times in 1974-1975. Researchers can use measurements of the length and height of the scarps to calculate how much planetary shrinkage they represent. That shrinkage is a product of Mercury’s strange structure — “like a core floating through space with a thin outer blanket,” says Byrne. Most of the planet is made of that large core, and so it would have cooled rapidly as heat rushed toward its surface.

The latest data, coming from NASA’s MESSENGER probe and covering the entire planet, showed many lobate scarps with sharp steeper faces, Byrne said. It also uncovered details on another kind of surface feature that may be related to shrinkage. These “wrinkle ridges” are less pronounced than the lobate scarps but may also have formed during contraction. Combined, the data on the lobate scarps and the wrinkle ridges suggest that Mercury’s diameter (直径) has shrunk by 11.4 kilometers, Byrne said.

1. How does the author explain the formation of the ridges on Mercury?

A．By making a comparison.	B．By providing some figures.
C．By describing the process.	D．By following the order of time.

2. What did Byrne probably think of the discovery of the new findings?

A．It helps explain why Mercury has a huge metallic core.

B．It shows Mercury shrinks much less than previously thought.

C．It reveals there are less ridges on Mercury than people thought.

D．It helps settle the argument between theoretical scientists and observers.

3. What might have caused Mercury’s shrinkage according to the researchers?

A．It’s large core with thin surface.	B．The lobate scarps and wrinkles.
C．The pronounced wrinkle ridges.	D．The length and height of the scarps.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The latest data came from NASA’s Mariner 10 probe.

B．The lobate scarps may have formed before Mercury’s contraction.

C．The latest data provided supporting evidence of Mercury’s shrinkage.

D．The data suggests that Mercury’s diameter has shrunk to 11.4 kilometers.

3 . Read the passage and choose the correct modals.

On 15 October 1997, the Cassini spacecraft set out on a mission to explore the planet Saturn. So great was the distance from Earth that it     1    (would / shall) need to travel for almost six years to reach its destination. When it reached Saturn, it sent back amazing images of the planet's famous rings viewed in ultraviolet light. Cassini made numerous trips around Saturn so it     2    (could / must) collect data. Over the following years, Cassini took some 450, 000 images of the planet and its moons. Finally, on 15 September 2017, Cassini was pointed towards Saturn so that it     3    (should / would) meet a fiery end. Scientists had decided that Cassini     4    (could / must) be destroyed this way, so it     5    (must / would) not collide with any of Saturn's moons. In its nearly 20-year mission, Cassini provided so much information that scientists     6    (could / would) not process it all. No wonder so many people took to social media to bid it goodbye, saying, “Farewell, dear Cassini! We     7    (shall / should) never forget you!”

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The U.S. space as agency NASA has released the first images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, the most     1     (powerful) equipped telescope ever put into space. The Webb launched in December, 2021     2     a mission     3     (see) farther into space and farther back in time than ever before and observe faraway planets for signs of life.

One of the images shows some of the first galaxies (星系) ever to form, which means the Webb is seeing the galaxies that existed about 13 billion years ago. Additional     4     (photo) taken by the Webb show a cloud of gas and dust     5     stars are born, a distant planet’s atmosphere, and a dying star. This is just the beginning of     6     (it) mission, which     7     (expect) to last at least 5 to 10 years.

The Webb is the result of a $10 billion, 25-year project led by NASA and supported by other space agencies.     8     (name) after former NASA head James Webb, the telescope is about 100 times better than NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which is still operating after more than 30 years. The Webb collects and     9     (analyze) infrared light, using 18 mirrors covered in a thin layer of gold. The Webb also has a sun shield     10     size of a tennis court to help keep it cool.

5 . Out-of-control SpaceX Rocket

A SpaceX rocket is now headed directly for the moon after spending almost seven years flying through space, experts say. The rocket was originally launched to send a space weather satellite to the Lagrange point— a gravity-neutral position four times farther than the moon and in direct line with the sun.     1    

At this phase, it did not have enough fuel to return to Earth’s atmosphere. But meanwhile it lacked the energy to escape the gravity of the Earth-Moon system.     2     Space observers believe that it is on course to intersect (相交) with the moon. Bill Gray, who writes software to track near-Earth objects, has said the rocket will very likely hit the far side of the moon, near the equator. “This is the first unintentional case of space junk hitting the moon of which I’m aware,” Gray added.

    3     Because of the unpredictable effect of sunlight “pushing” on the rocket and “difficulty in measuring rotation (旋转) periods”, its orbit may be slightly altered. “But these unpredictable effects are very small,” Gray wrote. He added that further observations were needed to decide the precise time and location of the impact. In a recent blog post, he wrote that the rocket has made a close lunar flyby, and will definitely make an impact.

As for whether the collision (相撞) could be viewed from Earth, Gray says it will probably go unobserved.” Even if it hit on the near side of the moon, the impact occurs a couple of days after New Moon, which was hardly observable, he added, “to me, the impact was not a big deal.”     4     They believe that the event will allow for observation of valuable lunar materials ejected (弹射) by the rockets strike.

A．So the rocket has been following a somewhat chaotic orbit since.

B．Nevertheless, space enthusiasts believe the impact could provide valuable data.

C．It was part of SpaceX’s space exploration programme.

D．But after completing a long burn of its engines, the rocket’s second phase became a problem.

E．The exact spot that the rocket will hit remains unclear.

F．The lunar phase reveals the passage of time in the night sky.

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. bend     B. fascinated   C.implication     D. invites     E. resembles F. habitable   G. outpacing   H. determine       I. exploration     J. alternative     K. colonized

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen:

We’re at a tipping point in human history, between gaining the stars and losing the planet we call home. At the same time as we’re discovering this treasure of potentially     1     worlds, our own planet is sinking. 2014 was the hottest year on record. Glaciers and sea ice are now disappearing in a matter of decades. These planetary-scale environmental changes are rapidly     2     our ability to alter their course.

I’m not a climate scientist, I’m an astronomer. You could say that I look for     3     alien real estate. Now, as somebody who is deeply     4     in the search for life in the universe, I can tell you that the more you look for planets like Earth, the more you appreciate our own planet itself. Each one of these new worlds     5     a comparison between the newly discovered planet and the planets we know best: those of our own Solar System.

Consider our neighbor, Mars. Though the Martian view     6     the deserts of our own home world, Mars is a pretty terrible place to live considering the extent to which we have not     7     the deserts of our own planet. Even in the driest, highest places on Earth, the air is sweet and thick with oxygen exhaled (呼气) from thousands of miles away by our rainforests.

I worry that Mars and other planets carries with it a long, dark shadow: the     8     by some that Mars will be there to save us from the destruction of the only truly livable planet we know of, the Earth. As much as I love interplanetary     9     , I deeply disagree with this idea. There are many excellent reasons to go to Mars, but for anyone to tell you that Mars will be there to back up humanity is like the captain of the Titanic telling you that the real party is happening later on the lifeboats.

If we truly believe in our ability to     10     the hostile environments of Mars for human habitation, then we should be able to surmount the far easier task of preserving the habitability of the Earth.

7 . Time has always been of great interest to scientist…

Theory 1: According to Caltech cosmologist (宇宙学家) Dr Sean Carroll, the flow of time from past to future may be the symptom of our Universe having emerged from another universe that existed before the Big Bang and then gave birth to our own. Theory 2: In 1967, two American theorists came up with an equation describing the quantum (量子) state of the whole Universe. Known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, it includes many key features of the universe, such as its size. But one aspect is absent: time. Some theorists believe this implies that time only exists in our minds. Theory 3: According to theorist Prof Lee Smolin at the Perimeter Institute, Canada, the existence of life in the Universe is the result of the laws of physics evolving to their current state over an unlimited number of previous universes. If true, this means that our very existence is proof that time does exist. Theory 4: In 2009, physicists at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge showed that the passing of time revealed by, say, the cooling of a cup of tea, may be due to quantum effect called ‘entanglement’. This involves the particles (粒子) in the team interacting with their surroundings, being bound together and becoming harder to distinguish from each other—a one-way process that requires the forward progression of time to occur. Theory 5: Dark energy, the mysterious anti-gravitational force that drives the expansion of the Universe, may be linked to the existence of the arrow of time. Last year, two cosmologists at the Yerevan Physics Institute showed that dark energy leads to the growth of entropy, a measure of disorder, in the Universe.

1. All the five theories imply that _____.

A．time is flexible	B．time is constant
C．time does go forth and back	D．time does exist in some way

2. Which theory doesn’t include time?

A．Theory 1.	B．Theory 2.
C．Theory 3.	D．Theory 4.

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of dark energy?

A．It leads to the existence of multi-universities.

B．It is what keeps the universe in order.

C．It increases in strength with gravity.

D．It is what makes the universe get bigger.

8 . Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s most famous scientists, believed that to survive, humans will one day have to move into space. “Once we spread out into space and establish independent settlements, our future should be safe, ”he said.

Today, several leading countries in space exploration are all planning to send astronauts-people who travel into space - back to Earth’s closest neighbor: the moon. Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other Earthlike planets.

Robert Zubrin, a rocket scientist, thinks humans should take control of space. He wants to start with Mars. Why? He thinks sending people to Mars will allow us to learn a lot of things-for example, the ability of humans to live in a very different environment. Eventually, we could create new human societies on other planets. In addition, any advances we make in the fields of science, technology, medicine, and health will benefit people here on Earth.

Not everyone thinks sending humans into space is a smart idea. Many say it’s too expensive. Also, most space trips are not short. A one-way trip to Mars, for example, would take at least six months. People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems In addition, these first people would find life extremely difficult in space. On the moon, for example, the sun’s rays are very dangerous. People would have to stay indoors most of the time

Despite these concerns, sending people into space seems certain. In the future, we might see cities on the moon or even new human cultures on other planets. First stop: the moon

1. What is Stephen Hawking’s idea about future life in space?

A．Humans will live a healthy life.

B．Humans will live a better life on the moon.

C．Humans will create hospitals on other planets.

D．Space will be a safe place for humans to live in.

2. Why are some countries planning to build space stations on the moon?

A．To learn more about the moon’s surface

B．To improve cooperation among countries.

C．To prepare humans to live on other planets

D．To reduce the number of people living on Earth

3. What does Robert Zubrin think of sending people to Mars?

A．It will take a long time

B．It will cost a lot of money

C．It will be extremely difficult.

D．It will benefit people on Earth a lot

4. What’s the attitude of the author towards humans’ moving into space?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Unclear.	D．Worried.

5. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Trip to Mars.	B．Living in Space.
C．Astronauts on the Moon.	D．The Exploration of Space.

9 . A lunar rover(月球车) has spotted a strange cube-shaped object and will change its official course to check it out, needing 2-3 months to arrive. Official observations suggest it could be a rock pushed upward from the impact(撞击) of an outside object that clearly landed next to it, or a technological relic from previous exploration, or hopefully, perhaps something that can’t be explained.

The Chinese Yutu 2 lunar rover spotted it in its cameras while passing a C-shaped enclosure on the moon’s far side. “Under the dark and deep sky, a circle of winding mountains stood on the extension line of the sky and the moon. On the side, people can’t help but admire the extraordinary work of the universe.” wrote Our Space, a Chinese -language blog connected with the national space agency. The drivers zoomed in(镜头拉近) on the pictures, slowly admiring them one by one. Suddenly, a cube on the northern skyline attracted their attention. The object looked like a “mysterious hut(小屋)”.

Right angles are unusual in nature, usually marking out something artificial if we see them through the faint light of a forest. On the moon, however, there’s not a lot of room for possibilities for a cube. After some days, the camera produced an image to share with the world of their “mysterious hut(小屋)”. The blog post suggested it could be evidence of previous moon missions, but noted the presence of a small impact crater(陨石坑) next to the cube, which could have led to the rising of rocks.

Popular Science magazine said the image could simply be pixelated, as it was taken from far away, Yutu2 landed with Chang’e 4, the first two spacecraft ever to land on the moon’s far side. They’ve in fact had the place to themselves since they arrived in 2019.

1. What can we learn about the cube from the first paragraph?

A．It will change its course soon.

B．It has been identified to be a rock.

C．It will be better observed after 2-3 months.

D．It’s identity is a mystery forever.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．What people think of the cube.

B．What the cube was like when spotted.

C．How the cube was found.

D．How beautiful the universe is.

3. Which is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “pixelated” in paragraph 4?

A．Clear

B．Unclear

C．Interesting

D．Unique.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．A lunar rover sent by China 3 months ago.

B．The environment on the moon.

C．An impact crater on the moon.

D．A cube object spotted by China’s lunar rover on the moon.

10 . An international team of scientists says it has discovered two new “super-Earth” type planets about 100 light-years away, one of which may be suitable for life. Unlike any of the planets in our solar system, the two newly-discovered super-Earths are larger than Earth, but lighter than icy planets like Uranus and Neptune.

Researchers at Belgium’s University of Liège announced that they found another one while using Earth-based telescopes to confirm the existence of a different planet initially discovered by a NASA satellite in the same solar system.

NASA’s satellite found planet LP 890-9b, which is about 30% larger than Earth and orbits its sun, LP 890-9, in just 2.7 days. ULiège researchers used their telescopes in Chile and Spain to take a closer look at the planet with high-precision cameras. That’s when the scientists discovered another planet, LP 890-9c, which is 40% larger than Earth and takes 8.5 days to orbit its sun.

Francisco Pozuelos, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, said that the planet could be suitable to life despite being a mere 3.7 million miles from its sun. Earth, by comparison, is located over 93 million miles away from our sun. “Although this planet orbits very close to its star, the amount of stellar irradiation (恒星辐射量) it receives is still low, and could allow the presence of liquid water on the planet’s surface, so long as it has a sufficient atmosphere,” Pozuelos said. That’s because although LP 890-9 is by far larger than its planets, it is about 6.5 times smaller than our sun and is roughly half as cool temperature-wise as our sun, he added. “This explains why LP 890-9c, despite being much closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, could still have conditions that are suitable for life,” said Pozuelos.

1. Which of the following is the smallest?

A．LP 890-9.

B．The Earth.

C．LP 890-9b.

D．LP 890-9c.

2. How was LP 890-9c discovered?

A．By analyzing its mass and orbit.

B．By comparing it with LP 890-9b.

C．By using ground-based telescopes.

D．By taking photos from a NASA satellite.

3. What’s mainly talked about in the last paragraph?

A．Different opinions about the new planet.

B．Scientists’ future plan about the new planet.

C．Reasons for the new planet being suitable to live on.

D．Comparisons between the planet and our Earth.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Two Newly-discovered Super-Earths

B．Looking for Life Existing in Outer Space

C．Great Breakthroughs Made by Scientists

D．LP 890-9c, the Future Substitute of Our Earth