A new planet-hunting technique has detected the most earth-like planet yet around a star other than our sun, raising hopes of finding a space rock that might support life, astronomers (天文学家) reported recently.

“This is an important discovery to answer the question ‘Are we alone?’” said Michael Turner of the National Science Foundation.

“The team has discovered the most earth-like planet yet, and more importantly, has proved the power of a new technique that is sensitive (灵敏的) to detecting planets that are fit for people to live on,” Turner said in a statement.

In the last decade, astronomers have detected more than 160 planets moving around stars outside our solar system. Most of these have been gas giant planets like Jupiter, which are unfit for life.

But an international team has detected a cold planet about 5.5 times more massive than the earth — still small enough to be considered earth-like — moving around a star about 20,000 light years away, close to the center of the Milky Way.

To find this new planet, the team used a technique called gravitational microlensing (引力微观透镜法). When a planet is circling the closest star, the planet’s gravity can add its own signature to the light. This kind of light signature was observed on July 11 by a group of telescopes in a project known as OGLE, short for Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment.

“The main advantage of microlensing is the signals for low-mass planets: They’re not weak signals. They’re just rare,” Bennett of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana said by telephone. “If there happens to be a straight line between a foreground star with its planet and the background source star, then you’re able to detect that planet.”

1.The underlined word “detected” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.

A. discovered B. destroyed

C. created D. searched

2.The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ____.

A. prove that scientists have a lot of difficulties in doing scientific research

B. explain why this planet moves around a star like our sun

C. teach the readers some basic knowledge about the universe

D. tell people about a new technique that finds the most earth-like planet moving round another star

3.From the news report we can infer that _________.

A. the planet is like the earth because it is close to the center of the Milky Way

B. it is quite possible that life may exist on other planets in the universe

C. people have no interest in finding a planet that might support life

D. the question “Are we alone” is too difficult for scientists to answer

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The signals coming from low-mass planets are too weak to be noticed.

B. Most of the discovered planets are not fit for people to live on.

C. If a star with its planet happens to be in line with the source star, then the planet can be found.

D. The power of the new technique is proved by the discovery of the earth-like planet.

根据短文内容,从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

House Sitting

In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting.It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

In Australia, many people travel.After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country.1.

So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy.House sitters might have to care for pets.Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning.2. I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

3. There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.

There are some requirements to be a house sitter.You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything.You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time.4.You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owner have a short holiday.Sometimes it is for much longer.We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

5. Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there.One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed.A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well.You can show these letters to prospective house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A.I have done house sitting many times.

B.Thousands of people do this all the time.

C.It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D.Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E.You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F.This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G.You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

Grandma celebrated her fifty-third birthday just weeks before grandpa died of cancer in 1965. Although his passing was very difficult for her, I think their shared struggle to make his life longer taught grandma that good health was not to be taken for granted, and she made up her mind to live the rest of her own life as fully and as long as she could. One day, when she announced to attend lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Portland, Oregon, where she lived, we rolled our eyes in embarrassment and helplessly wished she would just stay home and bake cookies as normal grandmothers did. Many years filled with countless dance lessons passed before we learned to appreciate the wonder of having a dancing grandma.

I suppose grandma's primary motivation for wanting to learn to dance was social. She had been a shy girl, always very tall and heavy, and had married into grandpa's quiet lifestyle before developing any elegance or confidence in her personal appearance. Dancing, on the other hand, filled her life with flash lights, wonderful parties, beautiful dresses, handsome young dance instructors, and the challenge of learning. Although the weekly dance lessons did not change her ample, two-hundred-pound figure, grandma surprised everyone with energetic performances on the dance floor, which soon gave her as much elegance and confidence as any Miss American competitor.

Having taken weekly dance lessons for years, my grandma learned various dances easily and was soon participating in dancing matches all over the Northwest. When I was fourteen, grandma proudly invited me to watch her compete in one of these matches to be held in the grand ballroom of the Red Lion Inn. My attitude was still unenthusiastic at that point, but to make her happy, my mother and I attended the match. As if to prove me wrong, grandma made a wonderful showing in every event she entered. I thought she was truly the queen of the ball during the dance, and my thoughts were shared by the judges a short time later when she was awarded a gold cup for her outstanding performance.

1.What did grandma learn from grandpa's death?

A. Good health was not there for everyone.

B. She should take dance lessons.

C. She had to struggle to live a better life.

D. She should wear beautiful dresses.

2.Normal grandmas usually ________ in the author's point of view?

A. took dance lessons

B. did some exercises at home

C. took care of grandchildren at home

D. did some housework at home

3.The author felt ______ when he was invited to watch grandma's match.

A. happy B. proud

C. excited D. uninterested

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