Planet Hunter When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope. Every

PlanetHunter

    When Geoff Marcy was 14,his parents bought him a telescope. Every night, he would go onto the roofoutside his window to see the wonders of the sky.

    “What excited me most waswhether there were planets（行星）in other solar（太陽的）systems where life might exist, ”he says. “I decided to try tofind planets orbiting（沿…軌道運行）other stars like our Sun.”

    And he did. “My fellowresearcher, Paul Butler, and I found our first planet in 1995, ”Dr. Marcy says. “We worked for tenyears without finding anything! But we stuck with it, and our patience paidoff. ”

   Since then, the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planetsfound orbiting other stars. Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler also spotted the first “family”of three planets. InJune 2002 they announced another discovery: a Jupiter-like（像木星一樣的）planetorbiting star 55 Cancri.

   At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars.Recently, the scientists found planets farther out. The planet orbiting 55Cancri is a major breakthrough: it is the first sighting of a large gas planetabout the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the Sun.

   Why is this important? Scientists think that life on Earth may exist because oftwo special features（特徵）in our solar system. The first is Jupiter.

   “Becauseit’s so big, Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids（小行星）, or they all come and hitthe Earth. ”Dr. Marcy explains. “Without Jupiter, life on Earth would likely have been destroyed. ”

   A second feature is that Earth is a rocky planet where liquid water, which is necessaryfor life, can exist. Unlike gas planets, rocky planets like Earth have surfaceswhere water can gather in pools and seas, which may support life. A huge spaceexists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to55 Cancri. Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us tonotice? If so, says Dr. Marcy, “We would have two striking similarities to our solar system: aJupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet. And there may be life! ”

1.What can we learn about Dr.Marcy from the passage?

   A.He is fond of watching Jupiter.

   B.He is from a scientist family.

   C.He dislikes working with Paul Butler.

   D.He is interested in finding life in outer space.

2.Which of the following istrue of the recent discovery?

   A.The planet is not as protective as Jupiter.

   B.The planet is close to star 55 Cancri.

   C.The planet proves to be a gas planet.

   D.The planet is as large as Jupiter.

3.How many planets orbitingother stars have the two scientists discovered so far?

   A.100                B. 69                     C. 66                        D. 65

4.Dr. Marcy thinks that lifemay exist in the 55 Cancri system because ______.

   A.he has found the system similar to the solar system

   B.he has discovered an Earth-like planet there

   C.he has discovered a rocky planet there

   D.he has found signs of life in the system

5.“But we stuck with it”（in Paragraph 3）means ______.

   A.they felt discouraged

   B.they carried on with it

   C.they failed in their attempt

D. they made someprogress

试题答案

【答案】

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.B