Planet Hunter

    When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope. Every night, he would go onto the roof outside his window to see the wonders of the sky.

    “What excited me most was whether there were planets（行星）in other solar（太陽的）systems where life might exist, ”he says. “I decided to try to find planets orbiting（沿…軌道運(yùn)行）other stars like our Sun.”

    And he did. “My fellow researcher, Paul Butler, and I found our first planet in 1995, ”Dr. Marcy says. “We worked for ten years without finding anything! But we stuck with it, and our patience paid off. ”

    Since then, the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planets found orbiting other stars. Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler also spotted the first “family”of three planets. In June 2002 they announced another discovery: a Jupiter-like（像木星一樣的）planet orbiting star 55 Cancri.

    At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars. Recently, the scientists found planets farther out. The planet orbiting 55 Cancri is a major breakthrough: it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the Sun.

    Why is this important? Scientists think that life on Earth may exist because of two special features（特徵）in our solar system. The first is Jupiter.

    “Because it’s so big, Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids（小行星）, or they all come and hit the Earth. ”Dr. Marcy explains. “Without Jupiter, life on Earth would likely have been destroyed. ”

    A second feature is that Earth is a rocky planet where liquid water, which is necessary for life, can exist. Unlike gas planets, rocky planets like Earth have surfaces where water can gather in pools and seas, which may support life. A huge space exists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55 Cancri. Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us to notice? If so, says Dr. Marcy, “We would have two striking similarities to our solar system: a Jupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet. And there may be life! ”

1.What can we learn about Dr. Marcy from the passage?

   A. He is fond of watching Jupiter.

   B. He is from a scientist family.

   C. He dislikes working with Paul Butler.

   D. He is interested in finding life in outer space.

2.Which of the following is true of the recent discovery?

   A. The planet is not as protective as Jupiter.

   B. The planet is close to star 55 Cancri.

   C. The planet proves to be a gas planet.

   D. The planet is as large as Jupiter.

3.How many planets orbiting other stars have the two scientists discovered so far?

   A. 100                 B. 69                     C. 66                        D. 65

4.Dr. Marcy thinks that life may exist in the 55 Cancri system because ______.

   A. he has found the system similar to the solar system

   B. he has discovered an Earth-like planet there

   C. he has discovered a rocky planet there

   D. he has found signs of life in the system

5.“But we stuck with it”（in Paragraph 3）means ______.

   A. they felt discouraged

   B. they carried on with it

   C. they failed in their attempt

D. they made some progress

 

【答案】

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.B  

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：必修三全優(yōu)指導(dǎo)北師英語 北師版 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　The journey to the moon has been the first step towards exploration(探險(xiǎn))in space．The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planes．Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away!Travelling to the planets will be man’s next aim．Such travels will be more challengingthan the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous．

　　Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it．So far the signs of life on Mars has neither confirmed nor ruled out．Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus(金星)is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there．Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense(稠)and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere．

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　　宇宙飛行多么令人向往。宇宙的奧秘常給我們帶來無限的遐想。我們能找到和地球一樣的星球嗎？我們能到地球以外的星球上做客嗎？科學(xué)家們的回答是肯定的。

(1)

According to the passage, traveling to the planets will be ________．

[　　]

A．

much easier and even more interesting

B．

far more exciting and dangerous

C．

man’s final aim

D．

man’s first step

(2)

Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．

Mars is nearer to the earth than the moon．

B．

The moon is much nearer to the earth than Mars．

C．

Of all the planets, Mars is the nearest to the earth．

D．

All the planets are much farther to the earth．

(3)

From the passage, we can guess ________．

[　　]

A．

there is life on Mars

B．

there is no life on Mars

C．

the atmosphere of Mars is not so dense as that of Venus

D．

scientists will have little hope to find the life on Mars

(4)

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[　　]

A．

much too hot surface

B．

the same pressure as we get on earth

C．

normal atmosphere as we have on earth

D．

Both B and C．

(5)

Scientists think we should take care of our earth because ________．

[　　]

A．

no other planets are to take the place of the earth

B．

everything needed is provided by the earth

C．

the only home of man will be the earth for a long time

D．

the dream to find another home for man will come true

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