Question

The Mystery of Dark Matter

If you look at the night sky, you'll often see stars moving very quickly. In fact, they move much more quickly than they should according to their size and the laws of physics. Scientists do not completely understand why the speed of these stars is so high. But many believe the reason is that much of the universe is made up of something called "dark matter". Groups of stars called galaxies, such as the Milky Way, might even consist of ninety per cent dark matter.

How much something weighs depends on where it is. The same object weighs only half as much on Mars as it does on Earth and almost three times as much on Jupiter. So scientists prefer to talk about the mass of something rather than how much it weighs, because mass does not change. They can work out the mass of galaxies by measuring the distance between them and the speed they move.  Recently, Dr. Jorge Penarrubia and a team from Edinburgh University discovered something interesting. The mass of the Milky Way is only half as much as the mass of another nearby galaxy, Andromeda. This seems strange, but dark matter may explain why.

Finding out more about dark matter could help us understand how the universe began, but this is not easy. Lots of scientists with different types of expert knowledge are working on the problem. The Edinburgh team is working with many other universities like the University of British Columbia.

We can't see dark matter, it's very difficult to measure and we can't find out its mass. Unlike stars, dark matter doesn't produce or reflect light. But we can make a good guess that it is there because of the way things move and the way light bends. Experts now think dark mater may be very different from the mater which we find on Earth. There may also be five times as much dark matter in the universe as ordinary matter.

The Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky first gave dark matter its name in the nineteen-thirties. Researchers have been looking for it ever since.  Today, technology such as the Large Hadron Collider is collecting more and more information but this technology cannot tell us everything.  New ways of finding dark matter will be needed.  Investigating dark matter may even mean we will need to start asking questions about the way we look at the universe, including the ideas of Albert Einstein.

1.In what way do scientists find out the mass of galaxies？

A.Depending on where they are.

B.Depending on how much they weigh.

C.According to the way they move and the laws of physics.

D.By calculating how far between them and how fast they move.

2.Which of the following statements about dark matter is NOT TRUE？

A.It can't be seen.

B.It doesn't reflect light.

C.It is not unlike ordinary matter.

D.It affects the movement of things.

3.What may get researchers looking for dark matter？

A.To change the way light bends.

B.To prove the ideas of Albert Einstein.

C.To collect more and more information.

D.To help understand the origin of the universe.

4.How is the article organized？

(P: Paragraph)

A. B.

C. D.

5.Which heading best matches Paragraph 5?

A.It's there but we can't see it.

B.Sharing ideas leads to success.

C.We may need to change the way we think.

D.What your eyes can see can't be fully explained,

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.D

5.C

【解析】

本文是一篇科普说明文，主要介绍了人们对宇宙中的黑暗物质的认知及研究。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段第四句“They can work out the mass of galaxies by measuring the distance between them and the speed they move. ”可知科学家们根据星星之间的距离和移动速度计算出银河系的质量。故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段最后一句“There may also be five times as much dark matter in the universe as ordinary matter.”可知黑暗物质和普通的物质并不相同。故C项说法是错误的。所以选择C项。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段前两句“Finding out more about dark matter could help us understand how the universe began, but this is not easy. Lots of scientists with different types of expert knowledge are working on the problem.”可知很多不同领域的科学家研究黑暗物质是因为它可以帮助我们理解宇宙是如何开始的，也就是帮助我们理解宇宙的起源。故D项正确。

4.推理判断题。本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了宇宙中的黑暗物质。第一段告诉我们宇宙中星星的移动速度很快的现象；第二段介绍了质量和重量的差别。第二段最后一句是承上启下句，由此引出第三、四段最黑暗物质的介绍。最后一段介绍了科学家对于黑暗物质研究的过程，我们要用新的方法来研究黑暗物质。故D项中的篇章结构是正确的。

5.段落大意题。根据本段三四句“Today, technology such as the Large Hadron Collider is collecting more and more information but this technology cannot tell us everything. New ways of finding dark matter will be needed.”可知the Large Hadron Collider等并不能告诉我们与黑暗物质相关的所有信息，我们需要新的研究方法。C项与本段中心思想一致，故选择C项。