Move Earth – it’s no science fiction
LONDON – Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)— by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
1.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A.A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.
B.Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.
C.Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.
D.The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.
2.If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.
A.12 billion B.6 billion C.18 billion D.24 billion
3.What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A.The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon.
B.Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.
C.The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.
D.Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.
4.What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
A.provide B.benefit C.share D.endanger
高三英语阅读理解简单题
Move Earth – it’s no science fiction
LONDON – Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)— by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
1.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A.A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.
B.Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.
C.Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.
D.The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.
2.If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.
A.12 billion B.6 billion C.18 billion D.24 billion
3.What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A.The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon.
B.Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.
C.The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.
D.Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.
4.What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
A.provide B.benefit C.share D.endanger
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Move Earth – it’s no science fiction
LONDON – Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)— by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
1.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A.A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.
B.Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.
C.Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.
D.The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.
2.If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.
A.12 billion B.6 billion C.18 billion D.24 billion
3.What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A.The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon.
B.Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.
C.The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.
D.Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.
4.What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
A.provide B.benefit C.share D.endanger
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Move Earth—It’s Not Science Fiction
LONDON—Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets(彗星)in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr. Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams, needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun, ”Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated.
In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The Sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so“seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)—by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position, it is“most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth”. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
1.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A. A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.
B. Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.
C. Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.
D. The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.
2.If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of years.
A. 12 billion B. 6 billion
C. 18 billion D. 24 billion
3.What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A. The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the Moon.
B. Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.
C. The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.
D. Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.
4.What does the underlined word“compromise”mean?
A. Provide. B. Benefit.
C. Share. D. Endanger.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Many of us have wondered what Earth is like beneath the surface. So have writers and scientists. In French novelist Jules Verne’s masterpiece Journey to the Center of the Earth, explorers go down to Earth’s center and discover amazing wonders.
But in real life, human beings haven’t even come close to the planet’s core (核心). The core is over 6,000 km down. The deepest hole ever created, according to the BBC, is the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, which only goes 12.3 km down.
So how do we know about everything down below without any samples?
One good way to start is to think about the Earth’s density (密度), Simon Redfern of the University of Cambridge in the UK told the BBC.
“The density of the material on Earth’s surface is much lower than the average density of the whole Earth, so that tells us there’s something that has greater density,” Redfern said.
The challenge is to find out which heavy materials the core is made of. And the main material scientists have found is iron. The idea is that when Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, a lot of iron made its way down to the core, taking up about 80 percent of it. Today scientists are still working on finding out which other materials the core could be made up of.
You might also wonder how we know the size of the core. There’s a one-word answer: seismology (地震学).
When an earthquake happens, seismic stations around the world record the shockwaves it sends throughout the planet. It’s like hitting one side of the planet with a huge hammer and listening on the other side for the noise.
Early research found that some shockwaves, called “S-waves”, went missing. S-waves can only travel through solid material, but not through liquid, so they must have found something molten in Earth’s center. By following the S-waves’ paths, scientists found out that rocks became liquid around 3,000 km down.
There are still many questions about the Earth’s core to answer. But the study of the dark world below isn’t just for scientists’ curiosity.
The movement of Earth’s molten iron core builds up a powerful magnetic (有磁力的) field. It protects us from radiation from the sun and is needed for compasses and GPS systems to work.
So perhaps none of us will ever set eyes on the core, but it’s good to know it’s there.
1.The author mentions Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Center of the Earth in the first paragraph to .
A. discuss the possibility of going down to Earth’s center
B. show how much humans have discovered about Earth
C. paint a picture in our imagination of the dark world below
D. show humans’ deep interest in Earth’s center
2.We can learn from the article that “S-waves” .
A. are often used to predict earthquakes
B. cannot travel through liquid material
C. are the most noticeable shockwaves produced by earthquakes
D. can travel most rapidly at 3,000 kilometers below Earth’s surface
3.We can infer from the last three paragraphs that .
A. research into Earth’s core has hardly made any progress in recent years
B. improvements in GPS systems could help people find out more about Earth
C. Earth’s core helps to protect humans from harm
D. scientists are likely to reach Earth’s center within dozens of years
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming — for now
One of oceans’most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge (海绵), oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change — they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system."
"That’s the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated (积累的) heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans’ currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A change to oceans’ circulation (循环) patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures.
1.We can infer from the passage that .
A.oceans cause global warming
B.oceans stop global warming
C.oceans release nutrients and heat
D.ocean ecosystems face more dangers
2.From the passage we can learn that oceans’ currents .
A.produce oxygen and nutrients everywhere
B.absorb 25% to 50% of the energy from the sun
C.distribute heat and nutrients around the globe
D.change oceans’ circulation patterns
3.Which of the following is NOT the result of oceans absorbing heat and carbon dioxide?
A.It causes further acidification.
B.It affects shell-forming species.
C.It makes the atmosphere hotter.
D.It regulates the Earth’s climate.
4.This passage mainly talks about .
A.the roles of oceans B.global warming
C.ocean currents D.carbon dioxide
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in controlling the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 per cent of the surface of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component(组成部分) of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming—for now
One of the oceans’ most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide(CO2), one of the gases that causes global warming. Acting as something absorbing heat, the oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains, “the oceans are saving us from faster climate change—they are putting a brake on the climate system.”
“That’s the good news,” he adds. “The bad news is that the oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once the oceans come to balance with a greenhouse-gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter.” But where and how the oceans release this slowly increased heat is uncertain. And as the ocean stores heat, fragile(脆弱的) underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) also notes with concern that the ocean is acidifying(酸化) because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2. and thus causing a threat to shell-forming species. Sharp increase in CO2 levels will cause further acidification of the ocean.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role the oceans play is that of distributor(散布者). Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrition around the globe. Just as blood tube bring oxygen and nutrition to cells in the human body, the ocean’s currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. The ocean distributes 25 to 50 per cent of energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern European a milder climate that it would normally have so far north. A change to the ocean’s circulation patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of the world is experiencing warmer temperatures.
1. We can infer from the passage that _______.
A.the oceans cause global warming | B.the oceans stop global warming |
C.the oceans release nutrients and heat | D.the ocean ecosystems face more dangers |
2. From the passage we can learn that ocean’s currents _______.
produce oxygen and nutrients around absorb 25-50% of the energy from the sun distribute the atmosphere hotterD. change the ocean’s circulation patterns
3. Which of the following are the results of the ocean absorbing heat and CO2?
a. It causes further acidification.
b. It makes the atmosphere hotter.
c. It balances the oceans with a green-house gas.
d. It affects shell-forming species.
e. It makes the oceans act as a heat sponge.
f. It controls the Earth’s climate.
A.a-c-f | B.a-d-f | C.b-d-e | D.b-c-e |
4. If the ocean’s circulation pattern changed, ______.
A.Asia would suffer a hotter climate. |
B.Europe would become hotter |
C.the rest of the world would become warmer. |
D.the climate of Europe would become colder. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants(污染物)can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy. To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and more healthy place.
1. Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because _ .
A.indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill
B.there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings
C.man-made building materials give off dangerous gases
D.the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful
2. Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in _______.
A.every old house B.every modern house
C.all kinds of houses D.all kinds of offices
3. The indoor air pollution is caused by ______.
A.the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow
B.the building way that the builders want to save energy
C.the building things that are made of man-made materials
D.the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside
4. The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ______.
A.plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors
B.plants may take in more oxygen which people need
C.plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy
D.plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants(污染物) can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy. To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building--green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and more healthy place.
1.Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because________.
A. indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill
B. there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings
C. the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful
D. man-made building materials give off dangerous gases
2.Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in _______.
A. every modern house B. every old house
C. all kinds of houses D. all kinds of offices
3.The indoor air pollution is caused by ______.
A. the building way that the builders want to save energy
B. the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow
C. the building things that are made of man-made materials
D. the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside
4.The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ______.
A. plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors
B. plants may take in more oxygen which people need
C. plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals
D. plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For years scientists have been concerned about the effects of air pollution on the earth's natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired,to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems.Some pollutants(污染物)can cause breathing disorders,diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.People began to notice the problem in the early 1970s.It is said that when builders began making houses and offices they did not want to waste energy.To do this,they built buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside.They also began using man-made building materials.These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it.They discovered a natural pollution control system for building-green plants.Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution.They believe that a plant's leaves absorb or take in the pollutants.In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and through its tiny organizations on its roots.Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square metres of space.Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals.So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants.Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and healthier place.
77.What is the topic of the passage?
A.Air pollution.
B.Green plants indoors.
C.Indoor air pollution.
D.Environment protecting.
78.What makes indoor air pollution more harmful than that of the air outside?
A.The limited flow of air indoors.
B.Man-made building materials.
C.Fewer green plants inside houses.
D.The energy-saving materials indoors.
79.The most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants because______.
A.they can make houses pettier and healthier
B.they may let out oxygen which people need
C.they can take in all kinds of indoor pollutants
D.they can absorb different harmful indoor chemicals
80.Which of the following is implied but NOT stated?
A.keep windows open and let fresh air in.
B.Scientists have a clear idea how plants control air pollution.
C.Oxygen is let out through the leaves and roots of the plants.
D.Green plants are a natural pollution control system for building.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Scientists have come to the conclusion_______ the temperature on Earth is getting higher and higher.
A.what B.that C.which D.when
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析