高中英语(外研版)选修八Module 5 Section 1Introduction and Reading阅读学案设计(5页含答案)

2019学年度外研版选修八Module 5 Section 1Introduction and Reading阅读学案设计

阅读理解

A

Astronomers (天文学家) say they are on the point of finding planets like Earth orbiting other stars, which is a key step in determining if we are alone in the universe.

A top NASA official and other leading scientists say that within four or five years they should discover the first Earth-like planet where life could develop, or may have already. A planet close to the size of Earth could even be found sometime this year.

At the annual American Astronomical Society conference this week, each discovery involving so-called “exoplanets” —those outside our solar system —pointed to the same conclusion: Quiet planets like Earth where life could develop probably are plentiful.

NASA's new Kepler telescope and a lot of new research from the suddenly hot and competitive exoplanet field caused noticeable buzz at the meeting. Scientists are talking about being at “an incredible special place in history” and closer to answering a question that has dogge d humanity since the beginning of civilization. “Are we alone? For the first time, there's an optimism that sometime in our lifetimes we're going to get_to_the_bottom_of that，” said Simon Worden, an astronomer who heads NASA's Ames Research Center. “If I were a betting man, which I am, I would bet we're not alone.”

“These are big questions that reflect upon the meaning of the human race in the universe，”the director of the Vatican Observatory, the Rev. Jose Funes, said on Wednesday in an interview at this week's conference.

Worden told The Associated Press: “I would certainly expect in the next four or five years we'd have an Earthsized planet in the habitable (可居住的) zone.”

1. From the first two paragraphs we can learn ________.

A. astronomers has found planets like Earth orbiting other stars

B. finding other stars is a key step in determining if we are alone

C. it's possible that a planet like Earth will be found this year

D. scientists say that life have developed on the first Earth-like planet

2. According to the passage an exoplanet is a planet ________.

A. like Earth

B. outside our solar system

C. orbiting the sun

D. where life have developed

3. The underline d words “get to the bottom of” in Paragraph 4 probably mean “________”.

A. understand fully

B. make full use of

C. search for

D. do more research on

4. From the passage we can learn ________.

A. an Earth-like planet has been found

B. it's been proved we are not alone in the universe

C. Jose Funes has found the meaning of the human race in the universe

D. the discovery of an Earth-like planet could happen in the near future

B

Elon Musk says Space X is developing a plan for trips to Mars (火星) that will eventually cost just $500,000 per seat. Musk founded Space X 10 years ago and space travel has always been one of his goals for the company. Few details were provided about the Martian voyage, but Musk did say we can expect to hear more about the plan in less than a year.

The price for a trip to Mars also highlights (突出) Musk's main effort behind Space X, to bring down the cost of delivering a human into space. In an interview with the BBC, Musk admitted that the first seats won't be selling for $500,000. It will take a while to get down to that price. But Musk says the half-million dollar ticket could happen a decade after trips begin. “Land on Mars, a roundtrip ticket — half a million dollars. It can be done，” he told the BBC.

Musk did say that one of the keys to low-cost trips to the red planet would be the ability to not only fuel there, but also to reuse the entire spaceship on the return trip. In the BBC interview Musk said by reusing the spaceship, you end up with the same sorts of costs airlines face. Musk compared it to flying today where a 747 isn't simply thrown away after a flight to London. Like the airplane, the cost of the spaceship could be spread out over many flights rather than just a single trip. The $500,000 price is around one percent of the cost NASA is now paying to send a person to the space station on a Russian rocket.

The talk of Martian travel came with Space X's most recent development news of its Dragon capsule. As the California company prepares to send a Dragon to the International Space Station next month, it completed the first crew trial with NASA. The event gave NASA astronauts a chance to test out the 7-seat capsule that is being developed to carry human passengers as well as goods.

5. According to the passage, Elon Musk ________.

A. will go to Mars at the cost of $500,000

B. is the leader of the Space X company

C. is an American astronaut from NASA

D. will send people to Mars in less than a year

6. What makes the trip to Mars at such a low cost possible?

A. Taking enough fuel.

B. Reusing the spaceship.

C. Using the airplane again.

D. Building the space station.

7. From the passage we can infer ________.

A. its Dragon capsule has taken the first passengers to Mars

B. NASA pays $5,000,000 for Russia to take one astronaut into space

C. the Dragon capsule is a spaceship made by NASA astronauts

D. Space X will use a Dragon capsule for passengers to make a trip to Mars

8. The main idea of the passage is ________.

A. the ticket to Mars will cost just $500,000

B. Space X is working together with NASA

C. the Dragon capsule is a cheap spaceship

D. the travel to Mars is becoming popular

C

240 BC: Greek astronomer, geographer, mathematician and librarian Eratosthenes worked out the Earth's circumference (the distance around it). His data was rough, but he wasn't far off.

Eratosthenes was an all-around man. Some people then called him Pentathalos, a champion of many skills. His rich knowledge made him a natural for the post of librarian of the library of Alexandria, Egypt, the greatest repository of classical knowledge.

Eratosthenes knew that at noon on the day of the summer solstice, the sun was observed to be directly overhead at Syene (modern-day Aswan): You could see it from the bottom of a deep well, and a sundial (日晷) left no shadow. Yet, to the north at Alexandria, a sundial left a shadow even at the solstice midday, because the sun was not directly overhead there. Therefore, the Earth must be round — already firmly believed by the astronomers of his day.

What's more, if one supposed the sun to be far away enough to be sending parallel (平行的) rays at Syene and Alexandria, it would be possible to figure out the Earth's circumference. Of course, his measurements were slightly off. And we don't know today the exact size of the measurement unit Eratosthenes was using when he came up with the final figure of 252,000 stades. So how big is 252,000 stades? It's somewhere between 24,663 and 27,967 miles. The accepted figure for circumference today is 24,902 miles. Pretty good for a guy without modern measurement tools.

Eratosthenes went further and worked out the extension of the year as 3651/4days. He suggested that calendars should have a leap day every fourth year, an idea taken up two centuries later by Julius Caesar.

It was known long before Columbus that the Earth was round and even how big it is. But it was just not widely known among the masses in 15th-century Europe. One reason is that

Eratosthenes' own library of Alexandria had been destroyed, and there was no complete backup of its data.

9. Why did some people call him Pentathalos?

A. Because he was an astronomer and mathematician.

B. Because he worked out the Earth's circumference.

C. Because he was an expert in many skills.

D. Because he had rich knowledge as a librarian.

10. Where could the sun be seen from the bottom of a deep well at noon?

A. At Syene.

B. At Alexandria.

C. To the north of Aswan.

D. To the north of Alexandria.

11. From the fourth paragraph we can learn ________.

A. his measurements of the Earth's circumference were very exact

B. stades are the measurement unit that Eratosthenes was using

C. his figure for the Earth's circumference was 24,902 miles

D. he used some modern measurement tools to draw a conclusion

12. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Eratosthenes was the most famous Greek astronomer in Egypt.

B. Eratosthenes and Julius Caesar lived at the same age.

C. Columbus knew the Earth was round long before Eratosthenes.

D. It's a pity that Eratosthenes' conclusion was not widely known then.

答案：

语篇解读：天文学家说，他们即将在其他恒星周围找到类似地球的行星，在那里生命可以形成，或者可能已经形成。到那时候就可以回答人类在宇宙中是否孤单这一问题了。

1. 解析：选C细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句话可知，一颗类似地球的行星可能在今年的某个时候被发现。故答案为C。

2. 解析：选B细节理解题。根据第三段“‘exoplanets’—those outside our solar system”可得出答案。

3. 解析：选A词义猜测题。get to the bottom of“弄清真相，彻底弄明白”。句意：我们第一次有了乐观的看法，在我们的有生之年，我们将能弄清这个问题的真相。

4. 解析：选D推理判断题。通读全文可知，天文学家们认为在不久的将来，他们将在其他恒星周围找到类似地球的行星，证明人类在宇宙中并不孤单。

语篇解读：“Space X”公司宣称，火星旅行开始后的十年内，一张往返票仅需50万美元。火星游客所乘坐的“龙”式太空舱现在正在研发和试验中。

5. 解析：选B细节理解题。根据第一段可知，马斯克于十年前成立了“Space X”公司。故答案为B。

6. 解析：选B细节理解题。根据第三段可知，通过反复使用飞船，它们就能像飞机一样，宇宙飞船的成本不是由单次飞行承担，而可以通过多次飞行被平摊。故答案为B。

7. 解析：选D推理判断题。根据最后一段可知，“Space X”公司与NASA(美国国家航空航天局)合作完成了首次机组试验，这一事件为NASA宇航员提供了试验七座式太空舱的机会，这种七座式飞船仍处于研发中，以实现运送旅客和货物的目的。故答案为D。

8. 解析：选A主旨大意题。本文第一段第一句就点明了文章的主旨：马斯克称“Space X”公司正在开发火星旅行计划，每个座位最终会仅售50万美元。后面内容是对这一主旨的详细说明。故答案为A。

语篇解读：公元前240年，希腊天文学家、地理学家、数学家以及图书管理员埃拉托色尼测出了地球的周长。虽然他的数据只是近似，但也没差多少。但他的成就并不为大多数人所知。其中一个原因是他所工作的图书馆被摧毁，而他的计算数据也没有备份。

9. 解析：选C细节理解题。根据第二段可知，埃拉托色尼是个全面发展的人，当时一些人称他为“Pentathalos”，意思是“在很多技能上都是第一的人”。解答此题的关键是对Pentathalos后的同位语“a champion of many skills”的正确理解。故答案为C。

10. 解析：选A细节理解题。根据第三段可知，他知道在夏至的中午，西奈城(现在的阿斯旺)的太阳处在正上方：也就是说你可以从一口深井的底部看到太阳，日晷也不会有影子。故答案为A。

11. 解析：选B推理判断题。根据第四段可知，我们现在也不知道他当时用的是什么计量单位，只知道他最后得出的数字是“252,000 stades”。由此可判断出“stades”是他当时使用的计量单位。共他选项与第四段内容不相符。故答案为B。

12. 解析：选D判断正误题。根据最后一段可知，埃拉托色尼早在哥伦布之前就知道

了地球是圆的。但在15世纪的欧洲，他的成就并不为大多数人所知。其中一个原因是他所工作的图书馆被摧毁，而他的计算数据也没有备份。由此可判断出答案为D。