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When the first of the two Viking landers touched down
来源 :焚题库 2022-04-13
中The scientists were soon ready to turn their attention from visible life to microorganisms.The twin Viking landers carried three experiments designed to detect current biological activity and one to detect organic compounds, because researchers thought it possible that life had developed on early Mars just as it is thought to have developed on earth, through the gradual chemical evolution of complex organic molecules. To detect biological activity, Martian soil samples were treated with various nutrients that would produce characteristic by-products if life forms were active in the soil. The results from all three experiments were inconclusive. The fourth experiment heated a soil sample to look for signs of organic material, but found none, an unexpected result because at least organic compounds from the bombardment of the Martian surface by meteorites were thought to have been present.
The absence of organic materials, some scientists speculated, was the result of intense ultraviolet radiation penetrating the atmosphere of Mars and destroying organic compounds in the soil. Although Mars’ atmosphere was, at one time, rich in carbon dioxide and thus thick enough to protect its surface from the harmful rays of the sun, the carbon dioxide had gradually left the atmosphere and been converted into rocks. This means that even if life had gotten a start on early Mars, it could not have survived the exposure to ultraviolet radiation when the atmosphere thinned.
Despite the disappointing Viking results, there are those who still keep the possibility of life on Mars open. They point out that the Viking data cannot be considered the final word on Martian life because the two landers only sampled two limited and uninteresting sites. The Viking landing sites were not chosen for what they might tell of the planet's biology.They were chosen primarily because they appeared to be safe for landing a spacecraft. The landing sites were on parts of the Martian plains that appeared relatively featureless from orbital photographs.
The type of Martian terrain that these researchers suggest may be a possible hiding place because active life has an earthly parallel: the ice-free region of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, where the temperatures in some dry valleys average below zero. Organisms known as endoliths, a form of blue-green algae that has adapted to this harsh environment,were found living inside certain rocks in these Antarctic valleys. The argument based on this discovery is that if life did exist on early Mars, it is possible that it escaped worsening conditions by similarly seeking refuge in rocks. Skeptics object, however, that Mars in its present state is simply too dry, even compared with Antarctic valleys, to sustain any life whatsoever.
Should Mars eventually prove to be completely barren of life, as some suspect, then this would have a significant impact on the current view of the chemical origin of life. It could be much more difficult to get life started on a planet than scientists thought before the Viking landings.
单选题第1题Which of the following titles is proper for the passage ?
A.Relationship Between Life on Mars and Evolutionary Theory
B.Scientific Achievement of the Viking Mission
C.Possibility of Life Existence on Mars
D.Limitations of Scientific Investigation of Mars
参考答案：C
答案解析：主旨题。全文围绕火星上是否有生命的话题展开,故选C。注意,选项B和D提到的维京任务和对火星的探索均在文内提及,不过均为辅证,不能认定为标题。
单选题第2题The word “suppress” underlined in Paragraph 1 means to.
A.vanquish
B.prohibit
C.oppose
D.stifle
参考答案：D
答案解析：语义题。文中suppress与anticipation搭配,表示抑制情感或反应。 suppress常用搭配有suppress a smile忍俊不禁, suppress anger强压怒火。 stifle表示控制（感情或行为） ,其常见搭配有stifle curiosity忍住好奇心, stifle a yawn/smile忍住哈欠/微笑。两词意思相近,故选D。
单选题第3题The phrase “holding a lottery ticket” underlined in Paragraph 1 is used to ______.
A.indicate how likely it was that the photographs would show Martian life
B.suggest that scientists thought the camera might not function
C.refute the belief that life may exist on Mars
D.imply that any mission to another planet is a venture
参考答案：A
答案解析：语义题。第1段第1句提到“当……着陆,并开始向地球发回照片图像时”科学家们的心情。第2句描述第一组图像发回后显示并无生命的迹象,由此可推出答案A。“手中拿着彩票”有百万分之一的中奖率,即有极小的可能证明火星上有生命。
单选题第4题The four Viking experiments were designed to______.
A.prove that meteorites do not strike the surface of Mars as often as scientists thought
B.show that biological activity is completely void of life on Mars
C.determine whether life exists on Mars
D.provide evidence for the existence of nutrients that produce life forms
参考答案：C
答案解析：推断题。第2段第1句提到维京登陆器进行了三次实验以探测当前的生物活动迹象,一次实验探测有机化合物,这四次实验均是为了探寻火星上的生命迹象,故选C。
单选题第5题According to Paragraph 3, which of the following statements is true?
A.Viking experiments were not sensitive enough to detect life on Mars.
B.Organic materials on Mars might have been destroyed by ultraviolet radiation.
C.Microbes from dry Antarctic valleys will reproduce only every few months.
D.Mars had a shallow ocean covering much of its northern hemisphere in the first few hundred million years.
参考答案：B
答案解析：细节题。第3段第1句指出某些科学家推测火星上缺乏有机物,原因是强烈的紫外线透过火星大气杀死了土壤中的有机化合物。故选B。
单选题第6题Paragraph 3 provides______.
A.an analysis of a theory set forth earlier
B.a theory about findings presented earlier
C.some evidence supporting a statement made earlier
D.a summation of facts reviewed earlier
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。本题应结合上下文推断。从第2段可知,科学家从探测器发回的数据发现,火星上没有有机化合物存在的迹象,第3段提出一个理论对这一发现的结果进行了解释一紫外线过强,故选B。第3段均为理论推测,并无实际的证据,不可选C。此外,本段是在推理可能性,并不是总结,故不可选D。
单选题第7题It can be inferred from the passage that Mars______.
A.was not able to support any life as the earth is
B.possessed at one time an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, but the earth did not
C.accumulated organic compounds from meteorites
D.had an atmospheric layer that protected organic compounds
参考答案：A
答案解析：推断题。从前文关于紫外线的推测到第5段最后一句“火星目前的状态过于干燥,即便是能在南极存活的有机物在火星上也无法生存” ,可以看出,火星上的条件无法维持生命。故选A。第3段第2句提到火星大气一度富含二氧化碳,但未提及地球的情况,故排除B。第3段第1句明确提出火星大气无法有效阻挡紫外线,无法保护有机化合物,故排除D。
单选题第8题What did the author emphasize by mentioning the Viking landing sites in Paragraph 4?
A.Uninteresting as the landing sites were, they could have harbored Martian life.
B.The landers9 failure of finding evidence of life does not mean that Mars is devoid of life.
C.The Viking mission was unsuccessful largely due to selection of improper landing sites.
D.Scientists were not expecting to discover life on the Martian plains.
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。第4段第1句“尽管维京行动的结果令人失望,但还是有人坚持火星上存在生命的可能性” ,故选B。注意选项C容易误选,选择的登陆地点正确与否与维京行动的成败并没有直接的因果关系,只是一种推测,不可成为定论。
单选题第9题In Paragraph 5, the researchers’ argument that life may exist in Martian rocks is grounded on the fact that_______.
A.endoliths are capable of living in the harsh Martian environment
B.life developed in the form of blue-green algae on Mars
C.organisms may adopt identical survival strategies in comparable environments
D.organisms that have survived in Antarctica could survive the Martian environment
参考答案：C
答案解析：雕断题。第5段第1句指出地球上有一处与火星相似的地方,那里存在一种“岩内微生物” ,为了适应严酷的生存环境,它们采用了在干谷某些岩石内生存的策略。故选C （有机物在类似的环境下可能采用相同的生存策略） 。
单选题第10题The author concludes the passage by stating that______.
A.human beings could eventually discover life on Mars even if there are many difficulties
B.it is a tougher job for scientists to spot life on Mars than they expected
C.the detection of life on Mars was not a primary objective of the scientists who sent the Viking landers
D.Viking landing influences scientific theory regarding the chemical origin of life on the earth
参考答案：B
答案解析：推断题。根据第6段最后一句可推出答案应选B。第6段第1句指出如果证实火星上不存在生命,这将对当今生命的化学起源产生巨大的影响,并不具体指地球上生命的化学起源,故不能选D。
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2020翻译二级笔译综合能力考试大纲
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