Question

In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon (惡魔) that was determined to throw the world into darkness forever. A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a threat now rushing towards Earth from outer space. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metere wide asteroid (小行星) discovered last year, which is potentially on a collision (碰撞)course with the planet.

NASA has estimated that Apophis has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036. If it did hit us, thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by the explosion but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust sent into the atmosphere. At a recent meeting of experts in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid.

The Apophis asteroid is placed at four out of ten on the Torino scale—a measure of the threat caused by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global disaster. This is the most possible danger of any asteroid in recorded history and it has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth.

Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen’s University Belfast, said, “When it does pass close to us on April 13, 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There is a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, the Earth’s gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us.” The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-meter patch of space, is 1 in 5,500, based on current information.

There is no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency has led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids that are on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.

1.The best title for this passage would be ___________.

A. Apophis Asteroid, a Possible Destroyer of Earth

B. Apophis, a Good Name for Dangerous Asteroid

C. Our Planet Will Be Ruined in 2036

D. Scientists Study Apophis Asteroid

2.The name Apophis mentioned in the passage indicates that the asteroid is _________.

A. powerfulB. mysteriousC. boringD. destructive

3.The underlined word “deflect” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________.

A. destroy the quality of

B. change the direction of

C. measure the size of

D. look into the truth of

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. If Apophis hit the earth, its impact would be enormous.

B. No way to deal with Apophis is available at present.

C. Apophis is the first dangerous asteroid in recorded history.

D. It is uncertain whether Apophis will hit the earth in 2036.

5.What would the passage talk about if it continued?

A. An Egyptian myth about Apophis.

B. NASA’s study on NEOs.

C. How the keyhole influences Apophis.

D. What methods can be used to deflect the asteroid.

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.C

5.D

【解析】

試題分析: 科學(xué)家們正在對一顆直徑為390米的小行星進(jìn)行密切觀測。這顆被命名為Apophis(埃及神話中的災(zāi)難和破壞之神)現(xiàn)在正以非常高的速度接近地球，科學(xué)家分析這顆于去年發(fā)現(xiàn)的小型天體有可能會與地球相撞。

1.主旨大意題。文章開頭介紹埃及神話中的惡魔Apophis，引出可能會對地球產(chǎn)生強(qiáng)大破壞力的小行星，然后在下文具體進(jìn)行介紹，由此可知文章中心內(nèi)容是介紹小行星Apohis，故A選項內(nèi)容能夠體現(xiàn)文章中心。

2.推理判斷題。從文章首段Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon (惡魔) that was determined to throw the world into darkness forever.可知Apophis是一個可以毀滅世界的惡魔，而天文學(xué)家認(rèn)為這個名字適合這個小行星，由此判斷這個小行星有著很大的破壞力，選D。

3.詞義猜測題。文章第二段介紹了這個小行星可能會碰撞地球，從而對地球帶來很大的災(zāi)難，由此判斷科學(xué)家們應(yīng)該去研究如何不讓小行星撞上地球，也就是要去改變小行星的軌道，故答案選B。

4.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第三段This is the most possible danger of any asteroid in recorded history可以判斷Apophis不是有記錄以來的第一個對地球存在威脅的行星，而是最危險的一個，選C。

5.推理判斷題。文章末段提到如何去改變小行星的航道是沒有捷徑的，科學(xué)家已經(jīng)在嘗試著去努力，由此判斷接下來作者要介紹的是具體的做法，選D。

考點：考查社會科學(xué)類短文閱讀。