Question

Oumuamua,an object through space that was discovered on October 19th, has already made history.The speed at which it is moving relative to the sun means that it cannot be native to the solar system. Its official name is thus II/2017 UI, with the “I” standing for “interstellar(星际)”—the first time this name has ever been used.

That is exciting.Some scientists, though, entertain an even more exciting possibility: what if Oumuamua is not an asteroid(小行星),as most think, but an alien(外星的)spacecraft? Asteroids come in ll sorts of shapes and sizes, but Oumuamua seems particularly different.As best as astronomers can tell, it is cigarlike,being roughly 180 meters long but only about 30 meters wide.That makes it longer than anything known of in the solar system.Such a shape would be a sensible choice for a spaceship,since it would minimize the scouring(冲刷)effect of interstellar dust.

With that in mind the Breakthrough Listen project, an organization aimed at hunting for alien life, plans to turn the world’s biggest radio telescope,the Green Bank instrument in Virginia,towards Oumuamua to see if it can hear anything interesting.Oumuamua is currently about twice as far from Earth as Earth is from the sun. At that range,the telescope should be sensitive enough to pick up a transmitter about as powerful as a mobile phone after just a few seconds—worthy of observations.

Will it find anything? Almost certainly not.Oumuamua has the same reddish color as many as asteroids,so probably has a similar composition.And, if it really is a spaceship, it is strange that signs of its artificial origin have not been seen already.It could, in theory, be a derelict(遗弃星球). But in that case the telescope is unlikely to hear anything. By far the most likely option is that it is exactly what it seems to be: a huge space rock, one that has come to the solar system from the vast space between the stars.

1.What makes some scientists think Oumuamua is possibly an alien spacecraft?

A. Its size.    B. Its color.

C. Its shape.    D. Its speed.

2.What does the underlined word“that”in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. The research into the solar system.

B. The purpose of hunting for alien life.

C. The effect of interstellar dust on Oumuamua.

D. The possibility of Oumuamua being a spaceship.

3.What is Oumuamua most likely to be according to the author?

A. An asteroid.    B. A space rock.

C. Interstellar dust.    D. An alien spacecraft.

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that__________.

A. Oumuamua will return to where it’s from soon

B. Oumuamua’s real identity remains to be found out

C. astronomers have not seen signs of Oumuamua’s artificial origin

D. the Green Bank telescope has already heard something from Oumuamua

Answer

1. C

2. D

3. B

4. B

【解析】

本文是一篇科普类的文章。Oumuamua的形状让一些科学家认为它可能是外星飞船，按着这篇文章来说它最有可能是A space rock，但是Oumuamua的真实身份还有待发现。

1.C

推理判断题。根据第二段中Such a shape would be a sensible choice for a spaceship,since it would minimize the scouring(冲刷)effect of interstellar dust.可知，是它形状让一些科学家认为Oumuamua可能是外星飞船。故选C。

2.D

词义指代题。根据第二段中Such a shape would be a sensible choice for a spaceship,since it would minimize the scouring(冲刷)effect of interstellar dust和第三段最后一句At that range,the telescope should be sensitive enough to pick up a transmitter about as powerful as a mobile phone after just a few seconds—worth of observations.可知，此处that的意思是指Oumuamua是一艘宇宙飞船的可能性。故选D。

3.B

细节理解题。根据最后一段中By far the most likely option is that it is exactly what it seems to be: a huge space rock,可知，按着这篇文章Oumuamua最有可能是A space rock.故选B。

4.B

推理判断题。根据最后一段第一、二句Will it find anything? Almost certainly not.Oumuamua has the same reddish color as many as asteroids,so probably has a similar composition.可知，Oumuamua的真实身份还有待发现。故选B。