Question

It seems that we are one step closer to finding alien life and maybe a future home for humanity. Scientists from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have found a new solar system filled with planets that look like Earth and could even support life.

The group of seven planets, which orbits a star called Trappist-1, is 40 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius(水瓶座). And three of them are in the so-called “habitable (宜居的)zone” ----the area around a star where liquid water is most likely to be found. This is important because water is a necessary ingredient for life.

All of the planets were found using a method called “transit photometry.” This works by watching out for when a planet passes in front of its host start. This blocks out a small amount of light, allowing us to see the planet and learn about its size.

“This is an amazing planetary system---not only because we have found so many planets, but because they are all surprisingly similar in size to the Earth,” astronomer Michael Gillon from the University of Liege in Belgium told The Independent.

Trappist-1 is a “dwarf star (矮星)” which is colder and shines dimmer than our sun. If a person were on one of the seven planets, everything would look a lot darker than usual. The amount of light heading toward our eyes would be about 200 times less than we get from the sun, according to The Independent.

Because of that, Trappist-1, together with many other dwarf stars, was never on the list of places where scientists look for alien life. but Michael Gillon, lead researcher behind the discovery, decided to give dwarf stars a chance. He built a telescope in Chile to observe 60 of the closest dwarf stars, and it turned out that Trappist-1 was worthy of the effort.

The researchers hope that they can spend more time watching the newly found planets to learn more about them. Even though more research is needed before determining whether these planets could really support life, the discovery is still encouraging. It shows just how many Earth-size planets could be out there.

“The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” NASA scientist Thomas Zurbuchen told the Telegraph.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the newly found planets?

A. It will take human beings about 40 years to travel to them

B. Some of them might have the proper conditions to support life

C. They are spread out in the habitable zone around Trappist-1

D. Underground ice has been found in some them

2.“Transit photometry” is a special method mainly used to ________.

A. tell apart different stars

B. test the brightness of stars

C. search for and measure planets

D. work out the distance between stars

3.We can infer from the article that _______.

A. scientists will soon find an Earth-like planet that can support human life

B. researchers know a little about the environment on the newly found planets

C. dwarf stars have long been a popular choice in the hunt for Earth-like planets

D. the size of a planet is the top concern when scientists search for a “second Earth”

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Life in space soon?

B. Any aliens in space?

C. Trappist-1, a dark dwarf star

D. New record, seven new solar systems

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】这篇短文介绍美国航天局的科学家们发现一个新的太阳系，充满像地球一样支持生命的星球，并且需要进一步观测和研究。发现第二个地球只是时间问题。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“have found a new solar system filled with planets that look like Earth and could even support life.”可知，发想的星球有些可以支持生命存在。故选B.

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“This works by watching out for when a planet passes in front of its host start. This blocks out a small amount of light, allowing us to see the planet and learn about its size.”可知，“transit photometry”是为了观察行星，并测量他们大小。故选C.

3.推理判断题。根据“The researchers hope that they can spend more time watching the newly found planets to learn more about them. ”可知，研究人员希望了解更多关于这些行星的信息，以及文中提到有些星球有支持生命的信息，可以推知，研究人员对这些新的星球有一定的了解。故选B.

4.主旨大意题。根据短文介绍美国航天局的科学家们发现一个新的太阳系，充满像地球一样支持生命的星球，并且需要进一步观测和研究。所以A项“不久的太空生活”能够概括文章意思。故选A.

【名师点睛】

每篇文章都会有一个主旨要义。主旨要义型题范围一般包括：短文标题、主题大意或段落大意等。此题型要求考生在理解文章后归纳文章要点，概括中心思想。考生需要分析文章的篇章结构，抓住文章的开头或结尾，从而找出能概括文章的主题句。主题句的特点：（1）语言特点：归纳性、概括性、抽象性；（2）位置特点：主题句常出现在“总结性”语言的“信号词”后，如：in summary, in a word, as a result, finally, in short, in conclusion和in brief等；主题句常出现在“转移话题式”语言的“信号词”后，如：but, however, nevertheless等。标题的语言特点：独特新颖 、概括性强、短小精炼。

A．主旨大意主要的设题方式有：

（1）Which of the following best gives the main idea of this newspaper article?

（2）The best headline for this newspaper article is ____.

（3）What is the topic of the text?

（4）The text is mainly about ______.

（5）What's the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

（6）What would be the best title for the text?

B．主旨大意主要的解题策略有：

（1）标题类。文章标题可以是单词，短语，也可以是句子，它的特点是：短小精悍，多为一短语；涵盖性强，一般要求能覆盖全文，其确定的范围要恰当，既不能太大，也不能太小；精确性强，不能随意改变语言表意的程度及色彩。

（2）主旨类。概括主旨的方法是：先看首尾或各段开头再看全文找主题句，若无明显主题句，就通过关键词句来概括(如议论文中寻找表达作者观点态度的词句，记叙文寻找概括情节和中心的动词或反映人物特点的形容词)。文中出现两种或两种以上的不同观点时，务必牢记作者的观点才是体现全文中心的。此时，要注意一些转折词，如but, yet, however, although, in spite of, by contrast, on the contrary等。当文章中表示相反的观点时，往往用到这些词。答题时要弄清哪个是作者的观点，排除迷惑性信息，准确归纳主旨大意。

如小题4，根据短文介绍美国航天局的科学家们发现一个新的太阳系，充满像地球一样支持生命的星球，并且需要进一步观测和研究。所以A项“不久的太空生活”能够概括文章意思。B项“太空的外星人”文中没有提到，偏离了文章大意；C项单单提到了Trappist-1，概括不了整个短文；D项不符合文章内容。