高三英语主题阅读材料3---地球与宇宙(1)教学文案

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主题：the earth and the universe

编写：莘庄中学

A

In it’s 4.5 billion years, Earth has evolved from its hot, violent birth to the celebrated watery blue planet that stands out in pictured from space .But in a new book, two noted University of Washington astrobiologists say the planet already bas begun the log process of devolving into a burned-out cinder, eventually to be swallowed by the sun.

By their reckoning, Earth’s “day in the sun” has reached 4:30 a.m., corresponding to its 4.5 billion-year age. By 5 a.m., the 1 billion-year reign of animals land plants will come to an end. At 8 a.m. the oceans will vaporize. At noon-after 12 billion year-the ever-expanding sun, transformed into a red gain, will engulf the planet, melting away any evidence it ever existed and sending molecules and atoms that once were Earth floating off into space.

“The disappearance of our plane is still 7.5 billion years away, bu t people really should consider the fate of our world and have a realistic understanding of where we are going.” Sa id UW astrophysicist Donald Brownlee. “We live in a fabulous place at a fabulous time. It’s a healthy thing for people to realize what a treasure this is in space and time , and fully appreciate and protect their environment as much as possible.”

The prosp ects of humans surviving by moving to some other habitable planet or moon aren’t good, Brownlee and Ward contend, because event if such a place were found, getting there would be a huge obstacle. Various probes sent into space could survive Earth’s demise, and just a few grams of material could arguably carry a DNA sample from every human, they say, but it’s not likely the human species itself will survive. Long before the planet’s final end, life will become quite challenging, and finally impossible, for humans.

As the sun gets hotter and grows in size, it will envelop Mercury and Venus. It is possible it will stop just short of Earth, the authors say, but the conditions still would make this a most inhospitable planet. More likely, though, the sun will consume earth as well, severing all the chemical bonds between molecules and sending its individual atoms out into space, perhaps eventually to form new planes. That would leave Mars as the nearest planet to the sun, and on Mars the fading sun’s glow would be like that of Earth’s moon.

That end is still some 7.5 billion years distant, but by then Earth will have faced a variety of “ends” along the way, the authors say. The dinosaur perished long ag o. Still to come are the last elephant, the last tree, the last flower, the last glacier, the last snowflake, the last ocean, the last life.

“it’s a healthy thing go think of the place of Earth among the other planets, and its place in the sun. The sun gave life and ultimately it will bring death.”

Word Bank

1. evolve v. 进展, 进化, 形成

e.g. He has evolved a new theory after many years of research.

Many Victorians were shocked by the notion that Man had evolved from lower forms of life. * evolution n. 进化, 发展, 演变theory of evolution 进化论

2. reckon v. 计算, 认为, 估计

e.g. We didn't reckon for such bad weather.

Did you reckon in the cost of the taxi?

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3. contend v. 竞争, 争斗, 争辩, 坚决主张

e.g. A hundred schools of thought contend.

Three armed groups were contending for power.

4. perish v. 毁灭, 消失, 腐烂

e.g. We must plan our civilization or we must perish.

Even the best quality rubber will perish with age.

5. ultimately adv. 最后, 最终

e.g. All wealth comes ultimately from human labor

1. according to the new book, the life expectancy of the Earth is ___.

A. 1 billion years

B. 4.5 billion years

C. 7.5 billion years

D. 12 billion years

2. It can be inferred from this passage that____.

A. life is nothing

B. the world is precious

C. man can never conquer nature

D. the future of human species is gloomy

3. The authors if the new book believe that the human species will___.

A. disappear long before the disappearance of the Earth

B. Survive in the universe even if the Earth disappears

C. Find a place to live after the disappearance of the Earth

D. Be sent into space by various spacecrafts

4. All of the following things would come to an end before the final end of the earth, except___.

A. Mars

B. animals

C. plants

D. oceans

5.The authors of the new book intend to tell readers primarily that___.

A. the Earth is nothing but one planet in the solar system

B. nothing can survive for ever

C. we should cherish our life and environment of Earth

D. the sun gave life and ultimately it will bring death.

key: D,B,A,A,C

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The Kepler orbiting observatory was launched with a simple mission - to find other Earths. NASA describes it as 'a search for habitable planets.'

And ____1____of its first 136 days of data has already begun - with scientists combing through scans of 150,000 stars, and evidence of 1,235 potential planets.

Such information is fascinating in itself - but it also allows scientists to work out projections using statistical analysis.

One analysis has ____2____that one-third of 'sun-like' stars - stars with the classification F, G or K - will have planets similar to Earth.

Traub says, “About one-third of FGK stars are predicted to have at least one terrestrial, habitable-zone planet.”

Traub used statistical analysis to 'predict' planets that had not been _____3__by Kepler, and whether they would be within the 'habitable zone'. Traub's analysis hints that there may be …… 此处隐藏：6212字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……