Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. Our own planet, the Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. It is hoped that people could start all over again and build a better world on Mars. Here is what life there could be like.
At present, our spacecraft are too slow to carry large numbers of passengers to Mars—it would take months. With the development of technology, by the year 2100, the journey might only take about 20 minutes in spacecraft that travel at the speed of light! However, the spacecraft would travel really fast, so the journey to Mars might be quite uncomfortable. Many people would feel ill.
Humans can’t live without water, air or food. So far, nobody knows whether there would be enough water or air on Mars for people. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether plants could grow on Mars. Food would most probably be in the form of pills (药片) and would not be so tasty.
Compared with life on the earth, life on Mars would be better in some ways. People would have more space. They might live in houses with huge comfortable rooms. Also, robots would do most of their work so that they could have more time to relax. There would probably be no schools on Mars. Every student would study at online schools with “e-teachers”.
Life on Mars would be interesting and challenging (有挑战性的). However, it may take hundreds of years to make it true. So the most important thing we need to do now is to protect our beautiful blue planet—the Earth!
【小题1】People would move to Mars because ________.| A．flying to Mars would be fun | B．plants could grow better there |
| C．the earth is crowded and polluted | D．they want to challenge themselves |
| A．plane | B．spaceships | C．space stations | D．hot-air balloons |
| A．Slow and boring. | B．Fast and enjoyable. |
| C．Slow but comfortable. | D．Fast but uncomfortable. |
| A．People would be busy with work on Mars. |
| B．There would be enough water and air on Mars for people. |
| C．Food on Mars would he more delicious than that on the earth. |
| D．The writer thinks living on Mars would be full of challenges. |
| A．Life on Mars | B．Food on Mars | C．Schools on Mars | D．Environment on the Earth |
In 1997, a spaceship called Cassini was sent to explore Saturn (土星) and its moons. Now Cassini’s mission (使命) has come to an end. Scientists made it fall and burn up in 2017. But before that happened, the spaceship had made many trips between Saturn and its rings, sending photos and other information back to the Earth.
Cassini was a project carried out by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. It took Cassini about seven years to reach Saturn.
Scientists have learned many exciting things from Cassini. In 2005, Cassini sent a space probe (探测器) to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, so scientists could get a closer look at the moon’s surface. One of the most important discoveries Cassini made was that there is warm liquid water (液态水) under the ice that covers one of Saturn’s smaller moons, Enceladus. Scientists believe conditions on Enceladus could be similar to the conditions that led to the development of life on Earth.
Cassini’s mission was supposed to be ended in 2008, but because it was still in good shape, scientists increased its life to 2017. Cassini performed the last task of its mission on September 15, 2017.
When Cassini ran out of its fuel (燃料) and entered Saturn’s atmosphere (大气层), it burned up. Scientists said it was necessary for Cassini to be totally destroyed (毁坏) so there was no chance that microbes (微生物) from the Earth could be harmful to any possible life on Saturn.
【小题1】What made scientists think that there might be life on Enceladus?
| A．Animals’ waste was found. |
| B．They heard strange sounds. |
| C．Some ice was seen to cover it. |
| D．There is warm liquid water on it. |
| A．It might destroy Saturn’s surface. |
| B．It will fall onto the Earth. |
| C．The microbes from the Earth might be bad for Saturn’s possible life. |
| D．It will continue to send back information. |
| A．Its findings. | B．Its lasting time. |
| C．Its burning. | D．Its later use. |
| A．Cassini was a very successful and useful spaceship. |
| B．Cassini has stayed in Saturn for ten years. |
| C．The project of exploring Saturn was carried out by America alone. |
| D．Enceladus is the biggest moon of Saturn. |
| A．The process (过程) of sending Cassini to Saturn. |
| B．The moons and rings of Saturn. |
| C．The end of Cassini’s mission. |
| D．The life on Saturn. |
The 2022 Winter Olympics were held successfully. Athletes (运动员) across the world came to Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Winter sports need to be in cold places. So, is it possible to hold the Winter Olympics on other planets?
| Mercury (水星) It’s the closest planet to the sun. In the daytime, the temperature can be 430℃. At night it cools down to -200℃. There’s one area that the sun can never reach. There’s lots of ice there. Maybe we could go speed skating there! |
| Mars The temperature on Mars is between -140℃ and 30℃. At the north and south poles of Mars, there are areas covered by ice and snow. Some of the ice is made of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳), not water. There is also a big mountain called Mount Olympus. So maybe we can ski on Mars! |
| Pluto (冥王星) Pluto is a small dwarf planet (矮行星) far away from the sun. It’s very cold there, about -229℃. There’s lots of ice. It’s even harder than steel (铁). So maybe we could go sledding (滑雪橇) on Pluto. |
【小题1】Which is the nearest to the sun?
| A．Pluto | B．Mars. | C．Mercury | D．Earth |
| A．430℃. | B．30℃. | C．-200℃. | D．-140℃. |
| A．Because some areas of Mars are covered by ice and snow. |
| B．Because some of the ice on Mars is made of water. |
| C．Because of the highest temperature on Mars. |
| D．Because of the highest mountain on Mars. |
| A．It’s very cold only in the daytime. |
| B．It’s very cold all day and all night. |
| C．It’s very hot in the night. |
| D．It’s very hot in the daytime. |
| A．Life. | B．News. | C．Health. | D．Science. |
What's a spacewalk? Any time an astronaut gets out of a spacecraft (航天器) while in space, it is called a spacewalk. Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. For example, experiments can be placed on the outside of a spacecraft. This lets scientists learn how being in space affects ( 影响) different things. By going on spacewalks, astronauts can also fix things instead of bringing them back to the earth to fix.
When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits to keep themselves safe. Inside spacesuits, astronauts have the oxygen (氧气) they need to breathe and the water they need to drink. To keep the astronauts and the spacecraft safe, the astronauts must leave and go back to the spacecraft through a special door. When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to stay close to their spacecraft. Tethers are like ropes, connect the spacewalkers with the spacecraft. They keep astronauts from floating (漂浮) away into space. Another way astronauts stay safe during spacewalks is by wearing a SAFER. SAFER is worn like a backpack. It helps an astronaut move around in space.
How do astronauts train for spacewalks? One way is by going for a swim. Floating in space is a lot like floating in water. Astronauts practice spacewalks underwater in a huge special swimming pool. For every one hour they will spend on a spacewalk, astronauts need to train seven hours in the pool. Another way astronauts practice for a spacewalk is by using virtual reality(虚拟现实). It looks and feels just like a spacewalk.
Today, only three countries have finished spacewalks independently. They are Russia, the United States and China. The first person to go on a spacewalk in the world was Alexei Leonov from Russia. Zhai Zhigang is the first Chinese astronaut to go on a spacewalk. The world record of spacewalks is held by Russian astronaut Anatoly Solovyev. He has been on 16 spacewalks and spent more than 82 hours outside in space.
【小题1】About the spacewalk, we can know ____________.| A．some things can be fixed by astronauts during spacewalks |
| B．all experiments must be placed on the outside of a spacecraft |
| C．an astronaut can get out of a spacecraft any time while in space |
| A．It keeps an astronaut from floating away into space. |
| B．It helps an astronaut move around in space. |
| C．It helps an astronaut have the oxygen to breathe and the water to drink. |
| A．spacewalkers | B．tethers | C．spaceship |
| A．floating in space | B．using virtual reality | C．training in water in a common swimming pool |
| A．16hours | B．more than 80 hours | C．more than 82 hours |
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