Question

    Scientists have found what they believe are pieces of a meteor(流星)that fell to the earth last year. The objects were discovered off the coast of the United States in the Pacific Ocean.

The crew of the Nautilus, a private research ship, recovered the rock particles(颗粒).The Nautilus is operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust. The group says its aim at present is to examine areas of the ocean that have never been explored before.

The search was launched after US government weather stations observed a large meteorite exploding some months ago. The explosion lit up the sky and sent the rock particles to the earth. The meteorite fall was the largest recorded over the United States in at least 20years. The team includes scientists from NASA, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuaryand the University of Washington. The scientists examined what they believe were two small meteorite fragments. Further testing is needed before they can confirm that the material came from the explosion.

The Nautilus is equipped with two remotely operated vehicles(ROVs)， called Hercules and Argus. These robotic submarines help researchers find and collect materials from the seafloor. The fact that the particles landed in the ocean, instead of on land, means larger pieces may have survived and can be studied. For this reason, scientists decided to launch the first intentional search for meteorites from the ocean, Until the latest research, scientists had only accidentally discovered a small number of meteorites from drilling operations.

The objects recovered from the bottom of the sea likely came from the recent explosion for two main reasons. First，meteorite particles are basically made of glassy materials that do not tend to last long in seawater. Secondly, they came from what looked like a small hole on the seafloor. Some evidence shows that they came from something that fell.

1.What is the current goal of the crew of the Ocean Exploration Trust?

A. To recover the rock particles.

B. To observe movements of the universe.

C. To study unexplored places of the ocean.

D. To examine creatures of the explored ocean.

2.What mainly caused the start of the search in the sea?

A. A huge meteor shower. B. Business value of meteors.

C. Plenty of natural resources. D. The brainstorm of researchers.

3.Why do the scientists prefer to search for meteors in the ocean?

A. They can find meteors more easily.

B. They may find bigger rock particles.

C. They like to explore strange sea areas.

D. They have better submarine equipment.

4.What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?

A. Offer clues for the search.

B. Give reasons to support a guess.

C. Stress the importance of the event.

D. Describe the process of the search.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇科普文章。科学家们发现了他们认为是去年坠落地球的流星的碎片。这些物体是在美国太平洋沿岸发现的。一场巨大的流星雨导致了在海中搜索的开始，科学家更喜欢在海洋中寻找流星是因为他们可能会发现更大的岩石颗粒。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中The group says its aim at present is to examine areas of the ocean that have never been explored before.可知，the Ocean Exploration Trust的船员目前的目标是研究海洋中未被探索的地方。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第一段第一句Scientists have found what they believe are pieces of a meteor(流星)that fell to the earth last year.可知，一场巨大的流星雨导致了在海中搜索的开始。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中The fact that the particles landed in the ocean, instead of on land, means larger pieces may have survived and can be studied.可知，科学家更喜欢在海洋中寻找流星是因为他们可能会发现更大的岩石颗粒。故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中The objects recovered from the bottom of the sea likely came from the recent explosion for two main reasons.“从海底发现的物体可能来自最近的爆炸，主要有两个原因。”可知，作者在最后一段是想给出支持猜测的理由。故选B。