Question

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 is designed to carefully direct a comet or asteroid（小行星） 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（誤算）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(剝?nèi)? 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

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.A

4.D

【解析】

試題分析: 本文介紹了由于地球升溫，人們想辦法移動(dòng)地球以及由此產(chǎn)生的后果。

1.】C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段第一句末to prevent our planet from overheating及第六段the plan provides an ideal way to global warming該計(jì)劃提供了解決全球變暖問題的理想辦法可知選C

2.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章第二段They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life可知選A.

3. 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章最后兩段的描述可知選A項(xiàng)。

4.4】D 詞義猜測(cè)題。由倒數(shù)第四段中by cooking us. 可推測(cè)選D。

考點(diǎn)：科普類閱讀。