时间:2019-02-13 作者:英语课 分类:英语听力精选进阶版


英语课

We might not be alone in the universe. Actually, it may be confirmed as a very crowded place by new computer models developed to help identify habitable planets.


Estimates of places that can sustain life have been based on the likelihood of them having surface water. But software recently developed by the Aberdeen University allows researchers to identify planets with underground water kept liquid by planetary heat.


Water is fundamental for life and planets too close to the sun lose water to the atmosphere through evaporation 1. On the other hand, planets located in distant reaches from their star have their surface water locked away as ice.


Sean McMahon, who is carrying out the work, explained: "Traditionally people have said that if a planet is in this Goldilocks zone - not too hot and not too cold - then it can have liquid water on its surface and be habitable."


But this perception might change when considering that planets can receive two sources of heat - heat direct from the star and heat generated deep inside the planet.


It is easy to observe it in our own planet. As you descend 2 through the crust of the Earth, the temperature gets higher and higher. Even when the surface is frozen, water can exist below ground.


There could be immense quantities of water in fact - teeming 3 with primitive 4 life.


Professor John Parnell, also from Aberdeen University said: "There is a significant habitat for microorganisms below the surface of the Earth, extending down several kilometres".


"And some believe that the bulk of life on Earth could even reside in this deep biosphere 5."


So the Aberdeen team are developing models to predict which far-flung planets might harbour underground reservoirs of liquid water with the possibility of alien life.


Quiz 测验


What sign suggests to scientists that a planet can sustain life?


The existence of water.


Where might the heat in a planet come from?


The heat can come directly from its star or be generated deep inside the planet.


Is the following statement true, false or not given? Even at high temperatures there is plenty of life deep below the surface of the Earth.


True.


What phrasal verb in the article means to put something in a place from where it cannot be removed easily?


To lock away


What word is used to refer to beings that are very small?


Microorganisms


Glossary 词汇表


computer model 计算机模型


habitable 可居住的


to sustain 维持


likelihood 可能性


surface 地表


underground 地下


fundamental 基本的


atmosphere 大气层


evaporation 蒸发,挥发


on the other hand 另一方面


locked away 锁了起来


Goldilocks zone 宜居带,可居住地区


to descend 向下


crust of the Earth 地球的地壳


to teem 充满


habitat 生存环境


microorganism 微生物


biosphere 生物圈


far-flung 遥远的


to harbour 隐藏


reservoir 水库



n.蒸发,消失
  • Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
  • Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗,由此可以蒸发散热。
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降
  • I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
  • We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。
adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 );到处都是;(指水、雨等)暴降;倾注
  • The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
  • the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
n.生命层,生物圈
  • The entire biosphere was becoming more transparent.整个生物圈越来越透明。
  • The impact of modern technology on the biosphere is evident worldwide.现代技术对生物圈的影响在全世界是明显的。
学英语单词
-tin
alecosts
allopurinol nucleotide
annamaries
arcus occipito-parietalis
automatic digital interchange system
axle bolt
Ban Phalai
Batian, Mt.
beam solid angle
Ben Buie
biotite juvite
buble
castists
cavalrywoman
ceanothine
chemical vapour transport
CMCTL (current mode complementary transistor logic)
courier route
crank turning moment
Cuban Revolution
cudonia convoluta
cylindrical resonator
Cyspin
degree of rusting
delicacy cucumber
describers
discerning
disemvowelling
Dogen-ko
duty memo
Engelmann's disk
European rowan
eutrapely
excepting
expansion adjusting rail
extroduction
fart taxes
favorous
flapperhood
flexible plastic surgical depressor
friction drag
full effective dose
funds transfer system
gallow-top
gyro-reciprocating engine
habitation
heterospory
highlites
hollow-rotor motor
hook model
humid room
imaginary cube root
Immunoactivators
internal-pressure
iron and steel base
isabels
isek
issuing opening bank
L'Espérance Rock
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
leather top roller
light armored battalion
luchembe
Martin furnace
metric entropy
mids-on
miner oil
MITP
null delimiter
nutritive tissue
on-line computer data processing system
ophiolepidinae
optimum composition
paraminyl maleate
preventively
Republic of Kiribati
residual vibration auto-spectrum analysis
reskilled
rijekas
screen sth out
sheaf of germs of a function
short loaded
sialotranscriptomes
Smith Sd.
solid mixer
solmization
spatterdashed
specified distribution
spin a tale
stauncheon
telescopic drill boom
turn indicator
uloma excisa excisa
unauthorish
unbarbarize
Urispas
vulgar English
wall girder
welting cord
wormatic
Zaunguzskiye Karakumy