首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
What do the speakers mainly discuss? Why is the planet Gliese 58le unlikely to support carbon-based life?
What do the speakers mainly discuss? Why is the planet Gliese 58le unlikely to support carbon-based life?
admin
2022-07-28
51
问题
What do the speakers mainly discuss?
Why is the planet Gliese 58le unlikely to support carbon-based life?
Listen to part of a lecture in an astronomy class. (P =Professor, S = Student)
P: We already studied the planets in our solar system, and how they were detected. Okay, today, I’d like to turn our attention to what are called exoplanets and how researchers discovered them. Well, exoplanets are basically planets that are found outside the solar system. They orbit a star, what’s called host star, in a solar system other than that of Earth. Due to improved observational technologies, the rate of detection has increased rapidly. Over the last 15 years, astronomers have detected nearly 500 exoplanets, and the study of exoplanets has been getting exciting. What makes it so astonishing is the fact that the discovery of the first exoplanet was confirmed only in the mid-1990s. Now, we’re finding new ones every few weeks or so. Yes?
S: I wonder if any of these exoplanets harbor lives on them. Is that why astronomers are so interested in them? I mean, the only exoplanets we know like Jupiter and Saturn, are gas giants and couldn’t support carbon-based life.
P: Okay, let’s talk about that first. As for the habitability, it depends on many factors and well… I think that sort of discovery is pretty far in the future, but it is an eventual goal. We’re now going to consider locating planets around the host star in an area called the habitable zone. It’s the region around a star where conditions are best for life to form. Theoretically, it is possible for a planet to support carbon-based life. So, what conditions are required?
S: Water!
P: Yes, and also it needs to have sufficient atmospheric pressure to maintain liquid water on its surface. What else?
S: Um… it would need to be a rocky planet. I mean, as opposed to a gas giant.
P: An earth-like planet. Okay, good! Actually, there are some recently discovered exoplanets that are earthlike. Um… for instance, it’s a star, a red dwarf star, that’s what most stars are. It’s called Gliese 581. Gliese 581 is… a red dwarf, but it’s more interesting than that name makes it seem. This host star is located 20 light years away, which is pretty close by astronomical standards. So it’s considered a near neighbor of our solar system. And its estimated mass is about a third of that of the Sun. That is, it’s relatively small and cool at least compared with the sun. And researchers have discovered other planets orbiting Gliese 581. These are Gliese 581b, c, d, and e, in alphabetical order of their discovery. What I’d like to focus on now is Gliese 581d, and e. In 2009, a group of astronomers reported that these two exoplanets, orbiting not far from the inner and outer edge of its habitable zone, do have some earth-like qualities. Gliese 581d, had actually been discovered a couple of years earlier, and was initially judged to be too far from its host star, making it too cold for life. However, later its orbit was reexamined and now we see that it is potentially habitable.
S: So, does it have a liquid ocean like Earth?
P: Well, conceivably. See, Gliese 581d, with a mass of roughly seven Earths, or half Uranus, it is too massive to be entirely made of rocks. The researchers studying it said that it could have a rocky core, an ice layer, a large deep ocean, and an atmosphere. Okay, another announcement made by researchers was the discovery of Gliese 58le. This planet is relatively small compared with other exoplanets. Its mass is only about twice that of Earth.
S: So, is Gliese 58le a more earth-like exoplanet?
P: Well, Gliese 58 le orbits its host star in a much shorter period of time than the others in this system. I mean, if you consider its orbit, you’ll find out that it’s very close to the star. Therefore, too hot for water to form liquid. However, the fact that it’s relatively close to the size of earth, small, in astronomical terms, that was pretty exciting. And it’s very impressive that we have more advanced technology to discover it. There’s good reason to believe that the more we search, the more we’ll find.
选项
A、It is too hot.
B、It is too small.
C、It is covered in ice.
D、It is made entirely of gas.
答案
A
解析
题目询问格利泽58le无法支持碳基生命生存的原因。在讲座中,教授问学生,碳基生命所需要的条件是什么?学生回答“冰”。在这个前提下,再来看格利泽58le的情况:温度太高,不能形成液态水(too hot for water to form liquid)。由此判断,格利泽58le无法支持碳基生命的原囡是太热了,选A项。B项“它太小了”、C项“它被冰覆盖”和D项“它完全由气体组成”都缺乏依据。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/2KfO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
WhatinformationdoesAnniegiveaboutskiingoneachofthefollowingmountaintrails?ChooseFOURanswersfromtheboxandwri
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.Episodicmemory-theabilitytorecalldetails,e.g.thetimeand
WhatcommentsdothespeakersmakeabouteachofthefollowingaspectsofRuss’spreviouspresentation?ChooseFIVEanswersfrom
ChooseTWOlettersA-E.WhichTWOchangestotheorganisationofthisyear’sfestivalarementioned?AFreeparking.BFreerefr
Completethenotesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSAND/ORANUMBERforeachanswer.ExampleClearPointTelephoneCompany
ChooseTHREEletters,A-F.WhichTHREEthingsarethestudentsrequiredtosubmittotheirprofessor?AawrittensummaryBnote
Labelthemapbelow.WritethecorrectletterA-H,nexttoQuestions11-15.Stonebridge
Labelthemapbelow.WritethecorrectletterA-I,nexttoQuestions11-15.ArtGallery
Whatdidthewomanfinddifficultaboutthedifferentresearchtechniquessheused?ChooseFIVEanswersfromtheboxandwritet
Accordingtothespeakers,whatfunctionhastapaplayedinthefollowingcountries?Writethecorrectletter,A,B,CorD,ne
随机试题
简述行政组织理论的学科性质。
Americanshaveasenseofspace,notofplace.GotoanAmericanhomeoutsidethecity,andalmostthefirstthingyoudoisdri
试述左心衰病人出现呼吸困难的机制。
对维持与调节机体酸碱平衡起重要作用的脏器有
患者,男,50岁。1年来头晕、乏力,半月来加重伴心悸、纳差、恶心,血压增高为165/105mmHg,化验尿蛋白(++),沉渣RBC4~8/Hp,血Hb80g/L,血肌酐610μmoL/L,BUN25mmol/L。根据国际公认的“肾脏病生存质量指导”(K
某男性患者.10岁.左上颌前磨牙区膨大2年,X线片见边界清楚的透射区.其中有结节状钙化物。镜下见肿物有排列紊乱、相互混杂的牙齿组织,无典型的牙齿结构。病理诊断为
认为“人们在创造历史的活动中,谋事在人,成事在天”,这一观点是()。
下列选项中,在情节严重的情况下,应认定为妨害公务罪的是()。
(A)条件(1)充分,但条件(2)不充分。(B)条件(2)充分,但条件(1)不充分。(C)条件(1)和(2)单独都不充分,但条件(1)和条件(2)联合起来充分。(D)条件(1)充分,条件(2)也充分。(E)条件(1)和(2)单独都不充分,条件(1)
1977本题考查考生对于时间信息的听辨能力。原句为“Hislastrolewasinthe1977televisionmovie‘Don’tPush,I’llChargeWhenI’mReady.’”
最新回复
(
0
)