1 . The earth is struck daily by 60 tons of rocks from outer space. However, finding these ancient rocks is no easy task. Most meteorites (陨石) fall directly into water. And those that hit land can be difficult to spot among other rocks.

Fortunately for researchers there is one place on Earth where meteorites find it difficult to hide: Antarctica. “There are probably fewer meteorites falling per acre of land in Antarctica than in other parts of the world,” said Ralph Harvey, a professor at Case Western Reserve University. “But if you want to find things that fell from the sky, lay out a big white sheet. And Antarctica is a 5,000-kilometer-wide sheet.”

Finding meteorites in Antarctica is so relatively “easy” compared to the rest of the world that an estimated two-thirds (around 45,000) of those ever discovered have come from the icy continent. The challenge, however, comes not only from the terrible conditions, but also from knowing where to look to make any expedition worthwhile.

In an effort to greatly improve the collection rate of Antarctic meteorites, a Belgian—Dutch team of scientists has unveiled (展示) what they’re calling a “treasure map” for the region. “We expect the treasure map to be 80% accurate,” said Veronica Tollenaar, who led the study.

After landing in the snow in Antarctica, a meteorite will either be directed into the ocean or brought back to the surface of what’s known as a “blue ice” area. As meteorites come out in these special “blue ice” areas, their color contrasts (对比) against the deep blue ice, making them easy to spot. The treasure map marks more than 600 special “blue ice” areas. They estimate that these sites may contain anywhere from 340,000 to 900,000 surface meteorites.

The researchers add that these locations also likely contain rare meteorites, such as angrites, brachinites or even Martian meteorites.

“Collecting these ancient rocks will further improve the understanding of our Solar System,” they write.

1. What makes it relatively easy to spot meteorites on Antarctica?

A．Few people visit the Antarctica.

B．Antarctica is covered with snow.

C．More meteorites fall in Antarctica.

D．Meteorites stay still in Antarctica.

2. What is the difficulty in finding meteorites in Antarctic?

A．Antarctic is too far to arrive.

B．Meteorites’ location is hard to track.

C．The expedition to Antarctic is too expensive.

D．The snow in Antarctic covers most of the meteorites.

3. Which serves as the best title of the text?

A．More and more meteorites found in Antarctica

B．Challenges of spotting meteorites in Antarctica

C．Improving our understanding of the Solar System

D．Treasure map helping spot meteorites in Antarctica

4. In which section of the website is the text probably from?

A．Science.

B．Business.

C．Environment.

D．Education.

2 . 你校英文报的Astronomy栏目正在举办征文比赛，你寒假参加过王教授在你市科技博物馆举办的天文知识讲座。请你根据自己的经历写一篇短文给该报投稿，内容包括:
1．参加讲座的经历；
2．参加讲座后的心得体会。
注意：
1．词数80左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：讲座lecture
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3 . 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。

NASA has discovered the eighth planet of a star system, similar to our solar system. The star, Kepler-90, is over 2,500 light years away and larger and     1     (hot) than our sun. It is the first star known to have as many planets as our solar system.

The Kepler-90 star system is much more compact (紧凑的) than our solar system. The outermost planet     2     (orbit) the star at about the same distance as the earth goes around the sun. Its inner planets are smaller and rocky     3     the outer ones are larger and made up of gas.

The newly discovered planet, Kepler-90i, is     4     (probable) rocky and similar to our earth, but because of its closeness to its home star, it has     5     average surface temperature of about 400°C. It moves around the star once every 14.4 days.

The discovery was made on data     6     (provide) by the Kepler space telescope. Launched in March 2009, the telescope has constantly been looking     7     certain sections of the universe in search of new stars and planetary systems. Up to now, over 2,000 new systems     8     (discover).

    9     (help) analyze the data, NASA has been relying on artificial intelligence software supplied by Google. This software examines weak     10     (signal) of light when objects pass in front of a star. The new way of examining data is expected to find even more new planets in the future.

4 . 根据课文内容填空

Some people believe that space exploration is a waste of time and the     1    . Then why do humans still explore space? 

It is humans’     2     about the unknown that leads humans to explore space continuously. Space exploration helps better understand the     3     and the origin, evolution and future of the     4    . Humans’ lives have become     5     through space exploration, which will probably provide     6     for humans in many areas. Space exploration can bring great     7     and attract young to take up     8     concerning it. Wonders in space exploration can provide children with     9     and motivate them to become the scientists and     10     of the future.

5 . 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.

6 . 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!”

7 . 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.

8 . 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.

9 . 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.

10 . 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.