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课件网) 外刊撷英 Saturn①： What Put the Rings on It Adapted from National Geographic 202303 Without its rings, Saturn looks really boring. Its plain face lacks the energy of Jupiter②'s watercolored bands③， the spicy blue of Neptune④， the suffocating (令人窒息的) murk (昏暗) of Venus⑤. Even rusty⑥ Mars looks more interesting. “The planet was formed at a certain point during the formation of the solar system, and we don't k now if the rings formed at the same time or if they were formed much later，” says Cornell University astrophysicist⑨ Maryame El Moutamid. “And the reason why it's so interesting is not only to know that but to understand the Saturn system—we have a planet, a ring system, and a moon system, and we think there is a connection between the rings and the moons.” The other group suspects the rings are much younger, formed within the past several hundred million years. Under that theory, the rings are so young that if the dinosaurs had had a space program, they'd have seen a ringless Saturn through their telescopes. “Both scenarios have great arguments, but they also have weaknesses，” El Moutamid says. “Honestly, and without trying to be too neutral ， I think the old age makes more sense to me than the young age，” El Moutamid says. “That's my belief up to now, but I am happy to be convinced otherwise.” ①Saturn n. 土星 ②Jupiter n. 木星 ③band n. 带 ④Neptune n. 海王星 ⑤Venus n. 金星 ⑥rusty adj. 铁锈色的 ⑦cosmos n. 宇宙 ⑧genesis n. 发生；起源 ⑨astrophysicist n. 天体物理学家 ⑩enigma n. 谜 dwarf v. 使相形见绌 Great Red Spot (木星)大红斑 (风暴气旋旋涡) enormous adj. 巨大的 suspect v. 猜想，认为 scenario n. 设想 neutral adj. 中立的 make sense 合乎情理 convince v. 说服；使信服 At an why connection fascinating sights to cluster while had had more 1．upgrade n. A．to come together in a small group or groups 2．iconic adj. B．very impressive 3．grip n. C．extremely large or serious 4．spectacular adj. D．acting as a sign or symbol of sth. 5．massive adj. E．an upward slope or grade 6．cluster v. F．an understanding of sth. 答案：1～5.EDFBC 6.A Is space worth exploring and why One possible version： I think space is worth exploring because we have benefited a lot from it, such as using satellites for communication and weather forecast. What's more, with further space research, we may solve the population problem by moving to other planets one day. Most importantly, space exploration will enable us to find new sources to solve the problem of energy shortages on the earth.
