Investigating the Red Planet|探索红色星球

by Rebecca A. Say

Will it be possible for humans to walk on Mars in our lifetime?

We all know Mars. It is the fourth planet from the sun. It was named _(1)_ the Roman god of war and got its nickname from its red iron oxide filled soil. How much do we really know about Mars? For years, people _(2)_ about Martians and strange civilizations living on the Red Planet. When NASA finally got a spacecraft to fly by Mars in 1965, something much different but just as awe-inspiring was discovered.

There are many _(3)_ between Earth and Mars. They both have polar ice caps and similar seasonal transitions. There are volcanoes, valleys, mountains, and deserts on Mars like we have here. Its soil even has many of the _(4)_ nutrients needed for growing plants. Because of all this, scientists cannot help but _(5)_ if one day we will be able to build colonies on Mars.

Our _(6)_ about Mars is so strong that we are currently getting data from five different sources on or around the planet. Three orbiters monitor changes in the seasons and time. Two rovers take samples and give ground-level views of the planet's terrain. One question scientists hope to answer is about the streaks in the Martian soil. New ones often appear on the sides of mountains and valleys. They are very dark in color in the beginning, but become lighter _(7)_. Are they caused by dust storms or avalanches? Could they be growing organisms? At the moment, scientists don't have an answer. This is just one of the many mysteries they hope to solve as they keep exploring the Red Planet.

1. (A) into (B) after   (C) as  (D) with

2. (A) speculated   (B) competed    (C) proceeded   (D) suffered

3. (A) decorations  (B) impressions (C) similarities    (D) capabilities

4. (A) abstract (B) flexible    (C) respectful  (D) essential

5. (A) wonder   (B) to wonder   (C) wondering   (D) wondered

6. (A) permission   (B) tolerance   (C) approval    (D) curiosity

7. (A) by accident  (B) over time   (C) in advance  (D) at random

探索红色星球

人类在有生之年有可能踏上火星吗？

我们都知道火星。它是以太阳为中心数来的第 4 颗行星。火星是以罗马神话中的战神来命名，并由于土壤中充满红色氧化铁而获得红色星球这个昵称。我们对火星究竟了解多少？多年来，人们推测这颗红色星球上存在着火星人和奇特的文明。当美国太空总署终于在 1965 年发射宇宙飞船前往火星，发现了某些截然不同、但同样令人敬畏的事情。

地球和火星间有许多相似点。两者都有极地冰帽及相似的季节变换。火星上也和我们在地球一样有火山、山谷、山脉和沙漠。火星的土壤中甚至还含有许多栽种植物所需的必要养分。基于这种种理由，科学家不禁怀疑是否有一天我们可以在火星建立殖民地。

我们对火星非常好奇，因此目前我们从 5 个不同的来源来获取火星及其外围的信息。有 3枚人造卫星监控着火星上季节和时间的变化。两台探测车采集样本并传送火星地形上的地平面影像。有个科学家希望回答的问题就是有关于火星土壤中的条纹。新的条纹会出现在山脉及山谷的侧边。这些条纹一开始颜色很深，但随着时间颜色会变得较浅。它们是由于沙尘暴或是山崩所导致的吗？它们会长出生物吗？目前，科学家还没有答案。这只是科学家持续在探索这颗红色星球时所希望解决的众多谜团之一。

答案：  1.  B   2.  A   3.  C   4.  D   5.  A

   6.  D   7.  B

玛尔斯（Mars）是罗马神话中的战神，也是天神朱庇特（Jupiter）与朱诺（Juno）之子。他是罗马人所崇拜的战神中最重要的一位，其重要程度仅次于朱庇特。玛尔斯的节日是在三月和十月。拉丁语的

『火星』和英语的『三月』正是源自玛尔斯。

起初玛尔斯是罗马神话中的繁殖与植物之神，同时亦是牲畜、农田与农夫的守护神。后来，随着罗马帝国的扩张，玛尔斯成为了战争的象征。玛尔斯被视为是传说中建立罗马的罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯的父亲，所以罗马人有时自称为『玛尔斯之子』。

（数据源：维基百科）