Question

【題目】Possible Earth-Like Planet Next Door?

Scientists say they discovered an earth-like planet outside our solar system (太陽系). It is a planet that could support life.

This planet is just 4.2 light years away from us. It is so close that space scientists have considered it as a next door neighbor. They say it could be reached by an unmanned spaceship before the end of the century -- in time for people alive today to see it.

An international team of scientists found the planet moving around the star called "Proxima Centauri". The result came out last month from the scientific magazine Nature.

Scientists have long thought that a planet with water is important for life. And it has to be neither too hot nor too cold. The newly-discovered planet is a little larger than earth Scientists have named it Proxima B. It moves around its sun, Proxima Centauri, once every 11 days.

American scientists have been using instruments for years to look for earth-like planets. In 2013, scientists' best guess was that there are about one billion (1,000 million) "earths" in space.

Alan Boss is the chairman of a group for outer space research. He said that Proxima B not only confirms (確認) the discovery of a planet, but also increases the number of other possible“earths” greatly.

Boss said it is possible, even likely, that most stars have at least one earth-like planet, which he considers surprising.

So from the early number of a billion, this new research suggests there may be as many possible earth-like planets as there are stars in the Galaxy (銀河系). That is, anywhere from 250 billion to 500 billion "earths".

This makes the possibility of living things increasingly likely Boss said he believes human beings will be able to show that there is life in places besides earth in his lifetime. "I am 65," he said, "but I expect to still be alive when it happens."

【1】When will it be possible for an unmanned spaceship to reach Proxima B?

A. In about eighty years.

B. In about 4. 2 years.

C. In about eleven days.

D. In about one billion years.

【2】In the fourth paragraph, the writer thinks that _______ is necessary for life.

A. water

B. light

C. air

D. wind

【3】What does the underlined word "This" stand for in the last paragraph?

A. Scientists have discovered an earth-like planet last month.

B. There are far more earth-like planets than people thought.

C. Proxima B is not far from earth and is just like our neighbor.

D. The Galaxy will be the only place for living things to live in.

【4】What does Alan Boss mean by saying "but I expect to still be alive when it happens"?

A. His health is in good state and he's sure he will live a long life.

B. Science is developing much faster than ever in recent years.

C. Scientists may soon find fact that there’s life on other planets.

D. America is far ahead of other countries in space research.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】A

【3】B

【4】C

【解析】文章大意：科學(xué)家們說他們在太陽系外發(fā)現(xiàn)了一顆類似地球的行星，這是一個可以支持生命的星球。這顆星球離我們只有4.2光年，以至于科學(xué)家們認為它是地球的鄰居。科學(xué)家們說，在本世紀末，可以通過一艘無人駕駛飛船到達那里，讓今天活著的人及時看到它�？茖W(xué)家們一直認為有水的行星對生命很重要，這顆新發(fā)現(xiàn)的行星比地球稍微大一點，科學(xué)家們把它命名為Proxima B。美國科學(xué)家多年以來一直使用儀器尋找類地行星，Proxima B的發(fā)現(xiàn)，不僅證實了行星的發(fā)現(xiàn)，而且大大增加了其他可能的“地球”數(shù)量。新的研究表明，銀河系中可能存在的類地行星和恒星一樣多。Alan Boss說他相信在他的一生中，除了地球，人類將能證明地球上還有生命。

【1】理解計算題。根據(jù)They say it could be reached by an unmanned spaceship before the end of the century -- in time for people alive today to see it.可知，在本世紀末以前，人們可以通過一艘無人駕駛的宇宙飛船到達那里，本世紀末即2099年，現(xiàn)在是2018年，2099-2018=81，所以大約八十年后，故答案選A。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)Scientists have long thought that a planet with water is important for life.可知，作者認為水是生命所必需的，故答案選A。

【3】詞義猜測題。聯(lián)系上文So from the early number of a billion, this new research suggests there may be as many possible earth-like planets as there are stars in the Galaxy . That is, anywhere from 250 billion to 500 billion "earths".可知，“This”指的是銀河系中存在有比人們想象的其它更多的類地行星，故答案選B。

【4】理解推測題。根據(jù)This makes the possibility of living things increasingly likely Boss said he believes human beings will be able to show that there is life in places besides earth in his lifetime. "I am 65," he said, "but I expect to still be alive when it happens."可知，Alan Boss教授希望在他的有生之年能看到科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)其它行星上也有生命，教授今年65歲了，所以可推知科學(xué)家們可能很快就會發(fā)現(xiàn)其它行星上也有生命，故答案選C。