Question

 Planet Hunter

  When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope. Every night, he would go onto the roof outside his window to see the wonders of the sky.

  "What excited me most was whether there were planets(行星)in other solar(太阳的)systems where life might exist," he says. "I decided to try to find planets orbiting(沿............. 轨道运行)other stars like our sun.”

And he did. " My fellow researcher Paul Butler and I found our first planet in 1995 ，”Dr. Marcy says. "We worked for ten years without finding anything！But we stuck with it,and our patience paid off.”

  Since then,the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planets found orbit?ing other stars. Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler also spotted the first " family" of three planets. In June 2002 they announced another discovery：a Jupiter-like(像木星一样的)planet orbiting star 55 Cancri.

  At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars. Recently, the sci?entists found planets farther out. The planet orbiting 55 Cancri is a major breakthrough;it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the sun.

  Why is this important? Scientists think that life on the earth may exist because of two spe?cial features(特征)in our solar system. The first is Jupiter.

  "Because it's so big,Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids(小行星)，or they all come and hit the earth. " Dr. Marcy explains. " Without Jupiter, life on the earth would likely have been destroyed.”

  A second feature is that the earth is a rocky planet where liquid water，which is necessary for life，can exist. Unlike gas planets，rocky planets like the earth have surfaces where water can gather in pools and seas,which may support life. A huge space exists between the Jupiter?like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55 Cancri. Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us to notice? If so,says Dr. Marcy, "We would have two striking similarities to our solar system：a Jupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet. And there may be life!"

(   ) 1. What can we learn about Dr. Marcy from the passage?

A.     He is fond of watching Jupiter.

B.     He is from a scientist family.

 

C.     He dislikes working with Paul Butler.

D.     He is interested in finding life in outer space.

(   ) 2. Which of the following is true of the recent discovery?

A.     The planet is not as protective as Jupiter.

B.     The planet is close to star 55 Cancri.

C.     The planet proves to be a gas planet.

D.     The planet is as large as Jupiter.

(   ) 3. Dr. Marcy thinks that life may exist in the 55 Cancri system because      

A.     he has found the system similar to the solar system

B.     he has discovered an Earth-like planet there

C.     he has discovered a rocky planet there

D.     he has found signs of life in the system

(   ) 4. "But we stuck with it" (in Paragraph 3) means      

A.     they felt discouraged

B.     they carried on with it

C.     they failed in their attempt

D.     they made some progress

Answer 1

1-4 DCAB 

A篇介绍了Mr. Marcy对外太空生命的研究历程及发现。

1. D主旨大意题从第二段Marcy所说的话及下文对其研究过程的描述可知该答案。

2. C细节理解题从"The planet orbiting 55 Cancri is a major breakthrough：it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the sun."我们得知，这个行星是气体行星。

3.A推理判断题Mr. Marcy首先分析了地球上能够存在生命是因为有了巨大的木星。从"A huge space exists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55 Cancri."我们知道在"55 Cancri"附近也有一个"Jupiter-like planet"，因此他提出"Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us to notice?"由此我们可以推断，如果有一个"Earth-like planet "，那么外太空就可能会有生命存在。

4. B句意理解题。从短文中我们知道Mr. Marcy—直坚定不移地寻找外空生命。stick with意为"坚持做……"。因此A、C、D不合题意。