A
(2018山西重点中学协作体)
One of my first memories as a child in the 1950s was a discussion I had with my brother in our tiny bedroom in the family house in Bethlehem,Pennsylvania.
We had heard in school about a planet called Pluto.It was the farthest,coldest,and darkest thing a child could imagine.We guessed how long it would take to die if we stood on the surface of such a frozen place wearing only the clothes we had on.We tried to figure out how much colder Pluto was than Antarctica,or than the coldest day we had ever experienced in Pennsylvania.
Pluto,which famously was downgraded from a “major planet” to a“dwarf planet”(矮行星)in 2006,captured our imagination because it was a mystery that could complete our picture of what it was like at the most remote corners of our solar system.
Pluto’s underdog discovery story is part of what makes it so attractive.Clyde Tombaugh was a Kansas farm boy who built telescopes out of spare auto parts,old farm equipment and self-ground lenses.As an assistant at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff,Arizona,Tombaugh’s task was to search millions of stars for a moving point of light,a planet that the observatory’s founder thought existed beyond the orbit of Neptune.On February 18,1930,Tombaugh found it.Pluto was the first planet discovered by an American,and represented a moment of light in the midst of the Great Depression’s dark encroachment (入侵).
Pluto is much more than something that is not a planet.It’s a reminder that there are many worlds out there beyond our own and that the sky isn’t the limit at all.We don’t know what kinds of fantastic variations on a theme nature is capable of making until we get there to look.
1.Why did Pluto become famous in 2006 according to the passage?
A.Because it lost its major planet status.
B.Because it disappeared in the sky.
C.Because it was discovered by an American.
D.Because it was proved to be the coldest planet in the universe.
2.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.An American Scientist:Clyde Tombaugh B.Pluto was First Discovered by a Boy
C.Pluto’s Strange Romance D.The Days I Spent with My Brother in Pennsylvania
3.What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A.Clyde Tombaugh discovered the darkness in the Great Depression.
B.Pluto was the only planet that was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh.
C.Clyde Tombaugh’s job was to build telescopes for Lowell Observatory.
D.Clyde Tombaugh’s telescopes used for searching stars were very simple.
4.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph most probably mean?
A.Pluto is no less than a planet in the solar system.
B.Pluto is much more than a planet in the solar system.
C.Pluto is more important than any other planet in the sky.
D.Pluto is not a planet in the solar system,but it is more than a planet.
语篇解读:文章介绍了冥王星的传奇故事,介绍了冥王星被发现的过程以及对人类的意义。
答案及剖析:
1.A 细节理解题。根据第三段的Pluto,which famously was downgraded from a “major planet” to a “dwarf planet”(矮行星) in 2006可知,2006年冥王星之所以出名是因为其地位下降了,从一个大行星变成了一颗矮行星。故选A。
2.C 文章标题题。根据文章的整体内容可推知,本文主要介绍了冥王星被发现的过程以及对人类的意义,故“冥王星的传奇故事”适合作文章的标题。故选C。
3.D 推理判断题。根据第四段的第二句Clyde Tombaugh was a Kansas farm boy who built telescopes out of spare auto parts,old farm equipment and self-ground lenses可推知,Clyde Tombaugh所使用的望远镜比较简单。故选D。
4.D 语义理解题。根据最后一段的第二句It’s a reminder that there are many worlds out there beyond our own and that the sky isn’t the limit at all.和第三段中because it was a mystery that could complete our picture of what it was like at the most remote corners of our solar system可推知,冥王星虽然不是太阳系边缘的行星,但是它的发现意义重大,比行星还重要。故选D。
