Question

Life on Mars could become a reality and it could happen in your lifetime.

A welcoming planet

Scientists say Earth’s neighbor Mars, a bright red planet about half Earth’s size, is the most likely to support human life. Mars even has frozen water on its surface.

Since the late 1990s, NASA has been exploring Mars using remote-controlled vehicles（裝置）. Most recently Curiosity, a car-size vehicle, traveled through space on an unpiloted spacecraft(航天器) and landed on Mars in August 2012. Directed by NASA scientists , the vehicles move on the surface, taking pictures , collecting and analyzing soil, and looking for signs of life.

But what about human explorers? Plans are already in the works to send astronauts to Mars as soon as the mid-2030s.

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But before you start packing your bags, let’s consider the challenges. For starters, Mars is far away. Just getting there could take up to 10 months.

Scientists already know that time away from Earth’s gravity harms the human body. Bones and muscles get weaker. The body produces less blood. What damage would months and months of living in space do?

And then there is the matter of water, oxygen, food and fuel. Scientists will have to find solutions to these problems, or the first humans on Mars won’t survive very long in their new home.

Tiny Dangers

There’s another tinier risk. It’s so tiny that you can’t even see it: germs.

Some scientists believe that our germs could pollute the whole planet of Mars. Potentially killing Martian life before we have the chance to discover it. Worse, there is a small but terrifying chance that any microscopic life already there might be harmful to us .

Worse still, if any of those Martian germs(火星細菌) were brought back to Earth, the result could be disastrous. Animals, plants, and people could be wiped out.

Worth the $$$?

A more practical concern is the cost. The price could approach $ 1 trillion(萬億). How can we justify spending that much when so many problems—poverty, disease—could use the cash here on Earth?

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the “A welcoming planet” part?

A. Mars is a little bigger than Earth.       

B. There are flowing rivers on Mars.

C. People haven’t been to Mars so far.  

D. Scientists have discovered signs of life on Mars.

2.Which of the following can best fill in the blank in the passage?

A. Living in space.                         B. Limited resources.

C. Extreme conditions.                    D. Interesting challenges.

3.By “Tiny dangers” the author means ________________.

A. there is no serious danger                  

B. people won’t be in any danger

C. it’s difficult for people to realize the danger   

D. the danger may be caused by very small things 

4.Which may cause the biggest danger?

A. Martian germs may be different from those on Earth.  

B. Martian germs may be brought back to Earth.

C. People may carry germs to Mars.                  

D. There may be germs on Mars.

5.Which section of a newspaper is the passage most probably taken from?

A. People        B. History        C. Science         D. Business

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.C

3.D

4.B

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：火星移民到底能不能實現(xiàn)？科學(xué)家目前對火星進行了許多研究，并認為目前移民是很困難、有風(fēng)險的�；鹦堑沫h(huán)境和地球差距很大，但是并不代表未來不可行。這吸引了人們的執(zhí)著追尋。

1.細節(jié)理解題。由“ Plans are already in the works to send astronauts to Mars as soon as the mid-2030s.”可知讓人們登上火星還要等到21世紀年30年代中期。 故選C。

2.推理判斷題。這一部分主要講了前往火星最主要的困難，因此是極端的條件。Living in space.                  生活在太空；Limited resources.有限的資源；Extreme conditions.極端的條件；Interesting challenges.有趣的條件。故選C。

3.推理判斷題。由“There’s another tinier risk. It’s so tiny that you can’t even see it: germs.”可知，微生物對火星和地球都是潛在的威脅，但是它們太小以至于看不見。故選D。

4.細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)“Worse still, if any of those Martian germs(火星細菌) were brought back to Earth, the result could be disastrous. Animals, plants, and people could be wiped out. ”可知，火星帶回來的細菌很可能是致命的。故選B。

5.推理判斷題。本文主要講了火星移民的風(fēng)險和困難，是一篇科普性質(zhì)的文章，因此來源于“科學(xué)”  報。故選C。

考點：科普類閱讀。