2024年5月3日发(作者：)

2023年中考英语时事热点阅读专练

热点40 人类火星探测的新进展

一、阅读理解

1

For a long time, humans have used technology (

科技

) to study the world around us, and Mars is the latest

place we’re using machines to explore. Besides the earth, the “red planet” is seen, as the one place in our solar

system most likely to have life.

Early last month, the first American robot, Spirit, landed on Mars without any problem. Opportunity, the

second robot, landed on the planet more than a week ago. Scientists are very excited about these machines’ safe

landing on Mars. It means that now we have an excellent chance to look for water and other signs of life. So far, the

robots have found some stones that could show Mars was once a wet and warm planet.

But the trips made by Spirit and Opportunity were dangerous. Mars is often called the “death planet”, because

in the past its environment has been unfriendly to the robot explorers. Before Spirit and Opportunity, nearly forty

spaceships had been sent to Mars since the 1960s. Two-thirds of them failed. The first spaceship, Korabl, sent in

1962 by Russia was among them. It broke apart (

分裂

) near the earth.

1. For a long time humans think ________.

A. they can surely find life on Mars

B. there may be life on Mars

C. it’s too late for them to explore Mars now

D. Mars is the only planet that has life on it

2. The two robots ________.

A. have found out that it is warm and wet on Mars

B. were sent to Mars to find some stones

C. were the first two American robots that landed on Mars

D. are the only machines that have landed on Mars so far

3. The third paragraph mainly tell us ________.

A. it’s a very hard and dangerous trip for spaceships to Mars

B. two-thirds of the spaceships sent to Mars have failed

C. Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars successfully

D. Mars is called the “death planet”

2

After traveling more than seven months in space, Tianwen 1 is one step closer to Mars! Tianwen 1, China’s

first Mars probe, successfully entered Mars orbit (

轨道

) in February, according to the China National Space

Administration (CNSA). It will stay in orbit for about three months before landing on the red planet.

A small step on the red planet will be a big step for human beings. Humans have launched 46 Mars exploration

missions since October 1960, but only 19 of them have been successful, according to China Daily. It’s China’s first

spacecraft to Mars, and the missions are rather ambitious. Tianwen 1 aims to achieve “orbiting, landing, and roving

(

环绕，着陆，巡视

)” all in one journey, which will make the country the world’s first to achieve all three goals with

one probe, mission scientists said.

Among the three tasks, touchdown on the red planet is the most difficult. The result mainly depends on the

“breathtaking (

惊险的

) seven minutes” to make sure Tianwen 1 land safely, according to the Global Times.

February was Mars month. NASA’s Perseverance Rover (

毅力号火星车

) landed on Mars on Feb 19, and

China’s Tianwen 1 and United Arab Emirates’ Hope Probe have arrived within orbit of the red planet. Although the

three countries started their Mars journeys at almost the same time, their missions vary. Hope Probe successfully

entered the orbit of Mars on Feb 9. Perseverance will collect samples (

样品

) of rock and soil for further research.

Tianwen 1’s ultimate goal is to land a rover on Mars in May or June, and it will carry out scientific research on

Mars’ soil, environment, water and so on.

“When we step into the far planets of the solar system, the magnitude (

量

) of the resources and timeline

required will take global action,” a US official said, highlighting (

强调

) the importance of international cooperation

(

合作

) in space.

4. Tianwen 1 aims to achieve ________ to set a record in Mars exploration.

A. landing a rover on the red planet

B. bringing back samples from Mars

C. staying in orbit around Mars for months

D. orbiting, landing and roving with one probe

5. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.