1、高三英语培优外刊阅读班级：_学号：_姓名：_外刊精选NASA计划再探金星：那里真的有生命吗？近日，美国航空航天局（NASA）宣布将启动两项新任务，再次展开对金星的探索。距离美国上一次探索金星，已经过去了30多年。这颗一度被忽视的星球，为何重新成为了NASA关注的重点？这两项探索任务的目标是什么？New NASA Missions Will Study Venus, a World Overlooked for DecadesBy Kenneth ChangNASA is finally going back to Venus, for the first time in more than t
2、hree decades. And a second time too. Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, announced the agencys latest choices for robotic planetary missions, both expected to head to Venus in the late 2020s: DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.Venus is in many ways a twin of Earth - it is comparable in size, mass and composition
3、, and it is the planet whose orbit is the closest to Earths. But the history of the two planets diverged. While Earth is moderate in temperature and largely covered with water, Venus, with a dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, is a hellishly hot 900 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface. In the past yea
4、r, a neglected Venus re-entered the planetary limelight after a team of scientists using Earth-based telescopes claimed they had discovered compelling evidence for microbes living in the clouds of Venus today where temperatures remain comfortably warm instead of scorching. DAVINCI+ could conclusivel
5、y confirm the presence of phosphine. Tentatively scheduled for launch in 2029, the spacecraft would make scientific observations during two flybys in 2030. VERITAS, short for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography & Spectroscopy, is to launch about a year before DAVINCI+.【词汇过关】请写出下面文单词在文
6、章中的中文意思。1.mission mn n._2.study stdi v. _3.overlook vlk v. _4.finally fanli adv. _5.announce nans v. _6.agency ednsi n. _7.robotic rbtk adj._parable kmprbl adj. _position kmpzn n._10.orbit bt n. _；v. _11.diverge davd v. _12.moderate mdrt adj. _13.hellishly helli adv. _14.Fahrenheit frnhat n. _15.neg
7、lected nlektd adj._16.re-enter rient v. _17.limelight lamlat n. _pelling kmpel adj. _19.microbe makrb n. _20.scorching skt adj._21.conclusively knklusvli adv._22.phosphine fsfin n. _23.tentatively tenttvli adv. _24.flyby flaba n. _25.emissivity emsvt n._26.topography tprfi n. _27.spectroscopy spektr
8、skp n._【词块学习】请从文章中找到下面中文相对应的文词块。1.多长时间以来第一次._2.根据预期，预计会做某事_3.在很多方面，从很多层面上讲_4.进行科学观测_5.无线电科学_拓展练习阅读理解Lets go back to VenusPhosphine (磷化氢) in Venus atmosphere could be a sign that life is there. The only way to find out for sure is to go have a look.If Mars were the popular kid in school,Venus (金星) wo
9、uld be the nerd sitting in the corner, largely ignored. Despite its image, Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon, its orbit taking it closer to Earth than any other planet in the solar system. It has nearly the same mass and size as Earth, but being closer to our star,
10、it gets nearly twice as much heat from the sun.However, instead of having a climate that is just a warmer version of Earths, Venus surface and atmosphere are hellish: clouds of sulphuric (含硫的) acid blanket the planet while at ground level it is hot enough to melt lead. Despite this, there is now a s
11、ign that Venus may harbour life.Jane Greaves at Cardiff University, UK and her colleagues recently detected phosphine in Venus atmosphere, with one potential explanation that it is the by-product of biology. That is because the only way this gas is made on Earth is in laboratories or by microbes. Th
12、ough this doesnt mean it was produced by life on Venus, attempts to find nonbiological explanations for its presence have so far fallen short.Our best hope for confirming or rejecting the possibility of life on Venus is to go and have a proper look. During the cold war, the USSR sent more than a doz
13、en missions to Venus, including several landers and a pair of balloons, but these ended well before the dawn of the 1990s. Likewise, NASA hasnt launched a mission dedicated to Venus since the late 1980s. Whats more no US mission has plumbed the depths of its atmosphere and probed its surface since t
14、he Pioneer Venus missions that departed Earth in the 1970s.Other countries have had more recent efforts: the European Space Agencys Venus Express orbited the planet throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, while Japans Akatsuki orbiter is exploring Venus right now. But these missions were ill-equi
15、pped for detecting phosphine or life.While Mars has been the focus of interplanetary (太阳系内的) exploration efforts of late, with some space agencies focusing on landing more craft and even people on its surface, the phosphine discovery has people looking at Venus in a new light. As NASA administrator
16、Jim Bridenstine tweeted:“Its time to prioritize Venus.”In the months and years to come, computer simulations (模拟) will be used to further study the possible chemistries of the atmosphere on Venus. More observations will be made (and the old ones reanalysed) and laboratory experiments will be conduct
17、ed to try to identify other ways the phosphine there could be produced. However, there is no guarantee that these efforts will reveal the true nature of this substance on Venus.A new mission to directly sample the atmosphere and surface would be a watershed moment in planetary science. It need not o
18、nly look for signs of life, but also answer some of our many questions about Venus, such as why it became so different to Earth and whether it was once habitable.Some options to do this already exist. There are two NASA missions currently vying for approval. India aims to send an orbiter to Venus in
19、 2023 and private company RocketLab also has plans to visit in that year, hopefully with a probe passing through the planets atmosphere.The discovery of phosphine in Venus atmosphere is a great accomplishment. The scientific endeavour it has set in motion is as if a sleeping giant has awakened and i
20、t may be just what we need to finally refocus on this neglected world. The quiet kid in the corner may yet have the last laugh.1.Venus is compared to the nerd sitting in the corner because _.A.its the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moonB.its mass and size shape its image as a quie
21、t and neglected kidC.Its orbit takes it close to Earth and the sun in the solar systemD.it has been neglected in recent interplanetary exploration efforts2.Which of the following descriptions is true about the climate in Venus?A.Its hell-like climate rules out the possibility that there may be life
22、on Venus.B.Its enveloped in clouds of sulphuric acid and its surface is hot enough to melt lead.C.It has nearly the same mass and size as Earth and is closer to Earth than any other planet.D.Getting about twice as much heat from the sun, its climate is a warmer version of Earths.3.The exploratory ef
23、forts in paragraphs 4 and 5 are intended to illustrate that _.A.the phosphine discovery has shed new light on VenusB.Mars has been the focus of interplanetary exploration efforts of lateC.Our best hope for confirming the possibility of life on Venus is to have a lookD.Previous missions to Venus have
24、 hardly borne significant scientific or biological results4.According to the passage, what is the significance of the discovery of the phosphine on Venus to planetary science?A.It has called upon scientists to refocus on Venus.B.It gives a clue as to how to make phosphine out of labs on Earth.C.It h
25、as cleared away the doubt regarding whether Venus may habour life.D.It has overturned scientists previous perception of how Venus atmosphere was formed.外刊精选答案【词汇过关】请写出下面文单词在文章中的中文意思。1.mission mn n. 任务，使命2.study stdi v. 研究、探究3.overlook vlk v. 忽视；忽略，没注意到4.finally fanli adv. 最后；终于5.announce nans v. （尤指
26、公开地）宣布，宣告，通告6.agency ednsi n. 政府专门机构；政府内的局，部，处7.robotic rbtk adj. 机器人的；机器人似的parable kmprbl adj. 类似的，相当的，可比的position kmpzn n. 成分；构成；结构10.orbit bt n. 轨道；v. 绕轨道运行11.diverge davd v. （道路）分叉；发生分歧；出现差异12.moderate mdrt adj. 适中的，温和的13.hellishly helli adv. 极端地；极度令人讨厌地14.Fahrenheit frnhat n. 华氏温度15.neglected n
27、lektd adj. 被疏忽的，被忽视的；被疏于照顾的16.re-enter rient v. 重新进入；重新开始17.limelight lamlat n. 公众关注pelling kmpel adj. 令人信服的，很有说服力的19.microbe makrb n. 微生物；（尤指致病的）细菌20.scorching skt adj. 灼热的；极热的21.conclusively knklusvli adv. 不容置疑地；决定性地；结论性地22.phosphine fsfin n. 磷化氢；三氢化磷23.tentatively tenttvli adv. 试验地，试探地，暂时地24.flyb
28、y flaba n. 近天体飞行25.emissivity emsvt n. 辐射系数；辐射率26.topography tprfi n. 地形学27.spectroscopy spektrskp n. 光谱学【词块学习】请从文章中找到下面中文相对应的文词块。1.for the first time in + 一段时间多长时间以来第一次.2.be expected to do something根据预期，预计会做某事3.in many ways在很多方面，从很多层面上讲4.make scientific observation进行科学观测5.Radio Science无线电科学【全文翻译】美国
29、宇航局新任务：研究被忽略几十年的金星美国宇航局（NASA）终于计划再次造访金星，这也是三十多年来的头一次。NASA局长比尔纳尔逊宣布，该机构最新的两项机器人行星探测任务，分别名为“达芬奇+”和“真理号”。两项任务都预计于2020年代晚期前往金星。从很多方面看，金星都可以说是地球的双胞胎：它们在大小、质量和结构上都相当，而且在各大行星中，金星的轨道离地球也最近。然而，两个星球的历史走向却相去甚远。地球温度适中，大部分被水覆盖；而金星的大气层中却含有大量的二氧化碳，其表面如地狱般炽热，温度高达900华氏度。去年，一度被忽视的金星再度引起了行星科学界的关注。一个科学家团队称，他们运用地面望远镜发现了强有力的证据，表明金星的云层中现存着微生物。金星云层的温度并非灼热难当，而是舒适温暖。达芬奇+有可能会确认磷化氢的存在。该航天器初步定于2029年发射，并将在2030年的两次近天体飞行中进行科学观测。真理号（VERITAS）是金星辐射率、无线电科学、干涉雷达、地形学和光谱学的简称，预计其发射将比达芬奇+早一年。拓展练习阅读理解参考答案1.D 2.B 3.D 4.A
