Question

    Are we alone in the universe? A team of scientists announced on January 6, 2015 that they had identified eight planets beyond our solar system, three or four of which orbit in their stars’ “Goldilocks Zone” --- the region where temperatures are not too hot or too cold for water, which is a necessary ingredient for life as we know it, to exist liquid form.This may be good news for people hoping that Earth is not the only inhabited world in the universe.

The scientists, led by Dr. Guilermo Torres of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, made the discoveries using data collected by the planet-seeking Kepler telescope.

NASA launched Kepler in 2009. Since then, the telescope has identified more than 1,000 planets outside of our solar system. Torres and his team analyzed the data about the eight newly discovered world to determine which ones are most likely to be similar to our Earth.

Among the new discoveries, the scientists say the planets called Kepler438b and 442b are the closest to Earth. Kepler 438b is just about 10% larger than our planet, and gets 40% more of its energy from its star than Earth receives from the Sun. Temperatures there would be about 140 degrees. Kepler 442b is about 33% larger than Earth, but receives 30% less energy from its star. That would make it a potentially chillier world than our own.Torres says it is possible for life to exist and survive in either of those temperatures, but for that to happen, these planets would need to have another key ingredient for life: a heat-trapping atmosphere like Earth’s.

While these findings add to the possibility that life exists beyond Earth, Torres cautions against drawing conclusions, “We are not claiming they are inhabited,” he says. In fact, these planets are so far away that the scientists cannot observe them directly, which can be explanation for why for now it remains unknown whether these planets contain life. But the discovery of planets in their stars’ habitable zones suggests that somewhere out there, some form of alien life may have taken hold.

1.The scientists have identified eight planets,  .

A. which are suitable for humans to live on

B. some of which are possible for life to exist on

C. some of which have the same situations as Earth

D. which are not too hot or too cold for water to exist on

2.Which statement about the discovery of Torres and his team is TRUE?

A. Kepler 438b is too hot for any life to exist on

B. Kepler 438b and 442b are the farthest to Earth

C. They have made the discoveries through Kepler

D. They have discovered over 1000 planets in 7 years

3.What is the possible thing that Kepler 442b lacks for life to exist on?

A. The water B. The sunlight

C. The soil D. The atmosphere

4.About their exploration, Torres wants to indicate that  .

A. there is a lot left to learn

B. they have had decisive gains

C. it is the first in human history

D. it is certain for life on the planets

5.Which can be the best title for this passage?

A. Are We Alone?

B. Eye on the Stars

C. Discover Another Earth

D. Discovery of New Stars to Live on

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一组科学家已经确定了八个太阳系以外的行星，其中三个或四个轨道恒星的“适居带”有生命存在的必要成分：液态水的存在，因此推断这些行星可能存在生命。

1.推理判断题。第一段第二句“A team of scientists announced on January 6, 2015 that they had identified eight planets beyond our solar system, three or four of which orbit in their stars’ “Goldilocks Zone” --- the region where temperatures are not too hot or too cold for water, which is a necessary ingredient for life as we know it, to exist liquid form.”可知科学家已经确定了八个太阳系以外的行星，其中三个或四个轨道恒星的“适居带”- - -水，我们所知的生命存在的必要成分，在这个地区，水的温度既不太热也不太冷，能够以液体的形式存在。故可推理得知八颗行星中的其中一些可能存在生命。故选B。

2.细节理解题。第二段“The scientists, led by Dr. Guilermo Torres of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, made the discoveries using data collected by the planet-seeking Kepler telescope.” Torres和他的队伍是利用开普勒望远镜收集的数据发现了这些行星。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句“Torres says it is possible for life to exist and survive in either of those temperatures, but for that to happen, these planets would need to have another key ingredient for life: a heat-trapping atmosphere like Earth’s.”可知开普勒442b缺少能够让生命存在的另一个关键组成部分：大气层，故选D。

4.推理判断题。最后一段第三句“In fact, these planets are so far away that the scientists cannot observe them directly, which can be explanation for why for now it remains unknown whether these planets contain life.”可知Torres认为这些行星如此遥远以至于科学家们无法直接观测到它们，这可以解释为什么目前还不清楚这些行星上是否存在生命。Torres想要暗示我们还有很多很多东西需要学习，故选C。

5.主旨大意题。根据本文主要内容是科学家已经确定了八个太阳系以外的行星，其中三个或四个轨道恒星的“适居带”有生命存在的必要成分：水的液态形式，以及文章主要内容围绕这一中心展开。故可用文章第一句“Are we alone in the universe?”作为标题。故选A。