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1、*第三八篇第三八篇 “Life Form Found“ on Saturns Titan Scientists say they have discovered hints of alien life1 on the Saturns moon2. The discovery of a sort of life was announced after researchers at the US space agency,NASA3,analyzed data from spacecraft Cassini4,which pointed to,the existence of methane-ba
2、sed form of life on Saturns biggest moon. Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings are“breathing“ in Titans dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen. They argue that hydrogen gets absorbed before hitting Titans planet-like surface covered with methane lakes and rivers.
3、 This,they say,points to the existence of some“bugs“5 consuming the hydrogen at the surface of the moon less than half the size of the Earth. “We suggested hydrogen consumption because its the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan,similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth,“says NASA scientist
4、 Chris McKay.“If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life,it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth.“ To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere,though there are liquid- water-based microorgani
5、sms on Earth that grow well on methane or produce it as a waste product. On Titan, where temperatures are around 90 Kelvin6(minus 290 degrees Farenheit),a methanebased organism would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes, but not water itself. Water is frozen soli
6、d on Titans surface and much too cold to support life as we know it. Scientists had expected the Suns interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce a coating of acetylene on Titans surface. But Cassini detected no acetylene on the surface. The absence of detectable acetylene on the Titans
7、 surface can very well have a non-biological explanation,said Mark Allen,a principal investigator7 of the NASA Titan team. “Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non- biological explanations are addressed,“Allen said. “We have a lot of wor
8、k to do to rule out8 possible non- biological explanations. It is more likely that a chemical process,without biology,can explain these results.“ 词汇： Saturn /stn/ n土星 methane/mi:ein/ n甲烷， 沼气 Titan/taitn/ n土卫六 acetylene/setili:n/ n乙 炔 alien/eiljn/ n外星人；adj外星球的；相异的 conservatism/kns:vtizm/ n保守主义,守旧注释：
9、1.hints of alien life：外星生命迹象。 2.the Saturns moon：指土卫六（Titan) 。 3.NASA：美国国家航空航天局的缩写 4.spacecraft Cassini：卡西尼号探测器 5.bugs：微生物。非正式口语表达，所以使用了引号。6.Kelvin：可翻译成“绝对温度”。7.principal investigator：研究项目负责人 8.rule out：排除的可能性理工类 B 级 第三十八篇 土卫六上发现了生命迹象科学家们说，在土卫六上发现了外星生命迹象并宣布了这一发现。美国国家航空航天局(NASA)的研究 者们对卡西尼号探测器所传回来的数据进
10、行了分析， 数据表明，土星卫星中最大的一颗卫星有以甲烷为基 础的生命的存在迹象。据报道，科学家们已经找到了在土卫六高浓度氢 气大气层里“呼吸”的原始外星生命的线索。他们认为，氢气在到达布满甲烷河流湖泊的土卫 六类似行星一样的表层前就已经被吸收了。这就证明 在这个不及半个地球大小的卫星表面有某种微生物在 依靠氢气生存。美国国家航空航天局的科学家 Chris Mckay 说， “我们提出有氢气的消耗，是由于它是土卫六上生命赖 以生存的显而易见的气体，就像我们地球上用氧气呼 吸一样。如果这些迹象最终证明是生命的迹象，它会 加倍令人兴奋，因为它会代表完全不同于地球上水基 生命的第二种生命。 ”时至今日
11、，尽管地球上的依赖液体水的微生物在 甲烷里生长良好或把它作为废物排出，科学家在任何 地方都没有探测到这种生命的形式。在土卫六上，绝 对温度达到 90 度(相当于摄氏-27315 度)，依赖于甲 烷的微生物不得不用某种液体物质作为生存的介质， 这种液体不是水，水在土卫六上会冻成冰块，不能融 化。我们知道，冰块太冷不能维持生命。科学家们原指望太阳与大气层中的化学物质相互 作用会在土卫六上产生一层乙炔。但卡西尼号在它的 表面没有探测到乙炔。Mark Allen 是美国宇航局土卫六项目组的主要负 责人，他说道，既然在土卫六的表面没有探测到乙炔， 那就充分说明上面没有生物。 Allen 说：“科学界的保
12、守主义者们建议，要做出 土卫六上有生物的结论，首先必须对土卫六上所有没 有生物的观点做出回应；要排除土卫六上可能没有生 物的观点，我们任重道远。极为可能的是，一种化学 过程而非生物学能解释这些结果。 ”练习： 1 .What have scientists found about Saturn? A They have found a new moon orbiting Saturn. B They have found methane-based life on Saturn. C They have found methane-based life on Titan. D They hav
13、e found earthlike life on a Saturns moon.2. What do scientists say about Titan? A There are life clues there. B There is acetylene there. C Water on Titan exists in the form of ice. D Rivers and lakes there contain life formls.3. To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life.(paragraph
14、5)What does“this form of life“ refer to? A Water-based life. B Methane-based life. C Liquid-water-based microorganisms. D Gas-based life.4. What can be inferred from what Allen said? A Scientists have different arguments over whether there is life on Titan. B Scientists all agree that there is life
15、on Titan. C Scientists all suggest that a biological explanation is reasonable. D Scientists all agree that a non-biological chemical reaction is a possible explanation.5. Which of the following can replace the title of this passage? A Earthlike Living Beings Found on Titan. B Finding of One More Mo
16、on of Saturn. C Titan,a New Satellite Found. D A different Life Form, a Possibility.答案与题解： 1. C 短文的第一段提供了答案。该段告诉读者，科 学家在土星的卫星土卫六（ Titan ）上发现了生 命的迹象，这些生命的存在是以甲烷为基础的。2.A 根据第二段“Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings are breathing in Titans dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen.”，说明土卫六（Titan）有生命迹象。因此 A 是答案。3. B this form of life 指的是土卫六（ Titan ）上以甲 烷为生命基础呼吸氢气的生物，即该文讨论的主题。4.A 科学
