Question

  The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields,and then fill it with creatures from the earth. This idea may sound like something from a science fiction,but it is actually being taken seriously by many re?searchers.

  This suggested future for the "red planet" will be the main topic for the discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event. It comes as NASA is preparing a multi-billion-dollar Mars research programme. "Turning Mars into a little earth has been a topic in science fiction," said Dr Michael Meyer,NASA's senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物学) ."Now with scientists exploring the reality,we can ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars."

  Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth although much time would be needed to achieve this goal.

  But many experts are shocked by this idea. "We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet," said Paul Murdin,an expert of the Institute of Astronomy,Cam?bridge,UK.

  Over the past months,scientists have become increasingly confident that they will find Martian life forms. Europe and America's robot explorers have found proof that water,mixed with soil,exists in large amounts on the plan?et. In addition,two different groups of scientists announced on March 28        that they had found signs of methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere. The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet's soil.

  But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt,a biologist at Indiana University,say that these microbes will be put in danger by the little earth project. "Before we have discovered if there is life on the Mars,we are talking about carrying out project that would destroy all these native life forms,all the strange microbes that we hope to find buried in the soil," said Dr Pratt. This view is shared by Monica Grady,a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum,London. "We can't risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for. " She said, "This is just wrong."

1. The passage is about       .

   A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth

   B. the necessity of changing Mars

   C. Mars supporting life

   D. finding water on the Mars

2. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?

   A. The project would wipe out all the native life forms on the Mars.

   B. The project will cost too much money and work.

   C. We would ruin Mars.

   D. We are destroying the precious information we are looking for.

3. We can infer from the passage that       .

   A. water is a crucial factor for life

   B. the project will have little effect on the native life forms supposed to live on the Mars

   C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project

   D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction

4. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars' soil?

   A. Scientists found liquid water on the Mars.

   B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

   C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.

   D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.

Answer 1

1. A主旨大意题。根据第一段第一句"The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields,and then fill it with creatures from the earth."可知本文主要讲的是改造火星计划的设想。

2. B细节理解题。根据文章所述，科学家反对这个设想的理由有："We are destroying our own world at an unbe?lievable speed and now we are talking about ruining an?other planet”，和"...that would destroy all these native life forms..."以及最后一段倒数第二句。B项没有提到。

3. A推理判断题。根据文章内容可知，科学家越来越相信火星上存在生命，因为有证据表明火星土壤中存在大量的水，故可断定水是生命存在的关键要素。

4. B推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句"The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet's soil."可知，火星大气层中存在甲烷的迹象，而甲烷是生物产生的废物，据此科学家们推断这可能是生活在火星上的微生物产生的。故选B.