Question

    NASA said its Kepler spacecraft has spotted ''Earth's bigger, older cousin'': the first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.

Though NASA can’t say for sure whether the planet is rocky like ours or has water and air, it's the closest match yet found.

The planet, Kepler-452b, is about 60% bigger than Earth, NASA says, and is located in its star's habitable zone, where life-sustaining liquid water is possible on the surface of a planet.

A visitor there would experience gravity about twice that of Earth's, and scientists say the possibility of it having a rocky surface are ''better than ever''. While it's a bit farther from its star than Earth is from the sun, its star is brighter, so the planet receives about the same amount of energy from its star as Earth does from the sun.

Kepler researcher Jeff Jenkins said, ''The planet almost certainly has an atmosphere, although scientists can't say what it's made of. But if the assumptions are correct, kepler-452b's atmosphere may be thicker than Earth's. ''

It takes 385 days for the planet to orbit its star. ''Because it has spent so long orbiting in this zone—6 billion years—it's had plenty of time to brew life,'' Jenkins said.

''That's an opportunity for life to arise, if all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet, '' he said in a statement.

Kepler-452b is too far away for humans to visit. But the discovery of this new Earth-like planet can tell us a lot about what’s possible for the future of space travel. ''The next step in the process is to do follow-up missions to find planets similar to kepler-452b, but much closer to Earth, '' said Peter Coughlin, a Kepler research scientist. ''We could do a lot more research into those planets, and even start to think about visiting one day. ''

1.The researchers are sure that Kepler-452b ________．

A.is larger than Earth B.has an atmosphere

C.has air and water D.has many rocks

2.What is the similarity between Kepler-452b and the Earth?

A.They are both located in the sun's habitable zone．

B.Their distances from the sun are almost the same．

C.Their atmospheres are made of the same compositions．

D.They get almost the same amount of energy from their stars.．

3.The underlined word ''brew'' in paragraph 6 most probably means ________.

A.improve B.endanger

C.produce D.protect

4.What should be the best title for the text?

A.Kepler-452b Is Compared to the Earth.

B.NASA Discovers a New Earth-Like Planet.

C.A Spacecraft Was Launched to Find Super-Earth.

D.A New Planet With Life Is Discovered.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文主要介绍了NASA 发现的近似于地球的行星——Kepler-452b，并且科学家猜测该行星上很有可能有生命体存在。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段的The planet, Kepler-452b, is about 60% bigger than Earth, NASA says,可知，美国航天总局现在可以确定的是这颗行星——Kepler-452b比地球大60%。A. is larger than Earth(比地球大)符合以上说法，故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段的While it's a bit farther from its star than Earth is from the sun, its star is brighter, so the planet receives about the same amount of energy from its star as Earth does from the sun.(尽管它离自己的恒星比地球离太阳远，但它的恒星更亮，所以这颗行星从它的恒星接受到的能量和地球从太阳接受到的能量相差无几)可知，Kepler-452b从它的恒星接受的能量与地球从太阳接受的能量差不多。D. They get almost the same amount of energy from their stars.(它们从各自星恒接受的能量差不多)符合以上说法，故选D项。

3.词义猜测题。根据倒数第三段的'Because it has spent so long orbiting in this zone—6 billion years—it's had plenty of time to brew life,'' Jenkins said.( Jenkins说，因为它在这个区域运行了60亿年之久，它有足够的时间brew生命。)和倒数第二段的''That's an opportunity for life to arise, if all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet, '' he said in a statement.(如果这颗行星上存在生命的所有必要成分和条件，那就是生命出现的机会)结合上下文，猜测划线部分的意思是“孕育”。C. produce(生产)和以上推测最接近，故选C项。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其是第一段的NASA said its Kepler spacecraft has spotted ''Earth's bigger, older cousin'': the first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.(美国航天总局说它的开普勒飞船已经看到“地球的大表弟”：第一颗近似地球大小的行星在恒星的宜居带，类似于我们自己的)可知，本文主要介绍了NASA 发现的近似于地球的行星——Kepler-452b。B. NASA Discovers a New Earth-Like Planet.( NASA发现了一颗和地球类似的新行星)可以作为本文标题，故选B项。