本文为大家带来雅思阅读全真练习(7)的内容，希望大家能够关注。本系列的模拟试题均以国外报刊上的文章为素材，按雅思阅读题型出题并提供答案及简单注释。相信大家在使用的时候也会十分方便。
Search begins for 'Earth' beyond solarsystem
1. A European spacecraft took off today tospearhead the search for another "Earth" among the stars.
2. The Corot space telescope blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonurcosmodrome in Kazakhstan shortly after 2.20pm.
3. Corot, short for convection rotation and planetary transits, is the first instrumentcapable of finding small rocky planets beyond the solar system. Any such planet situated inthe right orbit stands a good chance of having liquid water on its surface, and quite possiblylife, although a leading scientist involved in the project said it was unlikely to find "any littlegreen men".
4. Developed by the French space agency, CNES, and partnered by the European SpaceAgency (ESA), Austria, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and Spain, Corot will monitor around 120,000stars with its 27cm telescope from a polar orbit 514 miles above the Earth. Over two and a halfyears, it will focus on five to six different areas of the sky, measuring the brightness of about10,000 stars every 512 seconds.
5. "At the present moment we are hoping to find out more about the nature of planetsaround stars which are potential habitats. We are looking at habitable planets, not inhabitedplanets. We are not going to find any little green men," Professor Ian Roxburgh, an ESAscientist who has been involved with Corot since its inception, told the BBC Radio 4 Todayprogramme.
6. Prof Roxburgh said it was hoped Corot would find "rocky planets that could develop anatmosphere and, if they are the right distance from their parent star, they could have water".
7. To search for planets, the telescope will look for the dimming of starlight caused when anobject passes in front of a star, known as a "transit". Although it will take more sophisticatedspace telescopes planned in the next 10 years to confirm the presence of an Earth-like planetwith oxygen and liquid water, Corot will let scientists know where to point their lenses.
8. Measurements of minute changes in brightness will enable scientists to detect giantJupiter-like gas planets as well as small rocky ones. It is the rocky planets - that could be nobigger than about twice the size of the Earth - which will cause the most excitement. Scientistsexpect to find between 10 and 40 of these smaller planets.
9. Corot will also probe into stellar interiors by studying the acoustic waves that rippleacross the surface of stars, a technique called "asteroseismology".
10. The nature of the ripples allows astronomers to calculate a star's precise mass, ageand chemical composition.
11. "A planet passing in front of a star can be detected by the fall in light from that star.Small oscillations of the star also produce changes in the light emitted, which reveal what thestar is made of and how they are structured internally. This data will provide a major boost toour understanding of how stars form and evolve," Prof Roxburgh said.
12. Since the discovery in 1995 of the first "exoplanet" - a planet orbiting a star other thanthe Sun - more than 200 others have been found by ground-based observatories.
13. Until now the usual method of finding exoplanets has been to detect the "wobble" theirgravity imparts on parent stars. But only giant gaseous planets bigger than Jupiter can befound this way, and they are unlikely to harbour life.
14. In the 2010s, ESA plans to launch Darwin, a fleet of four or five interlinked spacetelescopes that will not only spot small rocky planets, but analyse their atmospheres for signsof biological activity.
15. At around the same time, the US space agency, Nasa, will launch Terrestrial PlanetFinder, another space telescope designed to locate Earth-like planets.
(615 words)
Choose the appropriate letter from A-D for question 1.
1. Corot is an instrument which
(A) can help to search for certain planets
(B) is used to find planets in the orbit
(C) can locate planets with human beings
(D) can spot any planets with water.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? Forquestions 2-5 write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contraicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
2. Scientists are trying to find out about the planets that can be inhabited.
3. BBC Radio 4 recently focuses on the broadcasting of Corot.
4. Passing objects might cause a fall in light.
5. Corot can tell whether there is another Earth-like planet.
Based on your reading of the passage, complete the sentences below with words takenfrom the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
With measurements, scientists will be able to search for some gaseous and rocky planets.They will be extremely excited if they can discover some small 6. __________, the expectednumber of which could be up to 7. __________ .
Corot will enable scientists to study the 8. __________ of stars. In this way, a star’s mass,age and chemical composition can be calculated.
According to Prof Roxburgh, changes in light can be caused by passing planets or star 9. __________. The related statistics can gain us a better 10. __________ of the starformation and evolvement.
Observatories have found many exoplanets, which are 11. __________ other stars thanthe Sun. The common way used in finding exoplanets can only detect huge gas planets, whichdo not 12. ___________ .
With the launching of Darwin, astronomers will be able to analyse whether those rockyplanets have 13. __________ for life.
答案及解析 Key and Explanations：
Answer keys:
1. 答案：A (第3段第1句：Corot, short forconvection rotation and planetary transits, is thefirst instrument capable of finding small rockyplanets beyond the solar system. A项中的certainplanets指small rocky planets beyond the solarsystem.)
2. 答案：TRUE (第5段第1、2句： At the present moment we are hoping to find out moreabout the nature of planets around stars which are potential habitats. We are looking athabitable planets, not inhabited planets. 问题中的“that can be inhabited”意思就是inhabitable.)
3. 答案：NOT GIVEN (文中没有提及该信息。)
4. 答案：TRUE (第7段第1句：To search for planets, the telescope will look for the dimming ofstarlight caused when an object passes in front of a star, known as a "transit".)
5. 答案：FASLE (第7段第2、3句：Although it will take more sophisticated space telescopesplanned in the next 10 years to confirm the presence of an Earth-like planet with oxygen andliquid water, Corot will let scientists know where to point their lenses. )
6. 答案：rocky planets (第8段第2句：It is the rocky planets - that could be no bigger thanabout twice the size of the Earth - which will cause the most excitement.)
7. 答案：40 (第8段第3句：Scientists expect to find between 10 and 40 of these smallerplanets.问题中短语“up to”的意思是“达到，高达”，所以应该选择最高的数字40。)
8. 答案：interiors (第9段第1句： Corot will also probe into stellar interiors by studying theacoustic waves that ripple across the surface of stars, a technique called "asteroseismology". 单词"probe”的词义是“探查，探索”。)
9. 答案：oscillations (第11段第2句：Small oscillations of the star also produce changes in thelight emitted, which reveal what the star is made of and how they are structured internally.)
10. 答案：understanding (第11段第3句：This data will provide a major boost to ourunderstanding of how stars form and evolve.)
11. 答案：orbiting (第12段第1句：Since the discovery in 1995 of the first "exoplanet" - aplanet orbiting a star other than the Sun - more than 200 others have been found by ground-based observatories.)
12. 答案：harbour life (第13段：Until now the usual method of finding exoplanets has beento detect the "wobble" their gravity imparts on parent stars. But only giant gaseous planetsbigger than Jupiter can be found this way, and they are unlikely to harbour life.)
13. 答案：atmospheres (第14段：In the 2010s, ESA plans to launch Darwin, a fleet of fouror five interlinked space telescopes that will not only spot small rocky planets, but analyse theiratmospheres for signs of biological activity.)
以上就是雅思阅读全真练习(7)的具体内容介绍，希望大家能够关注。相信本文内容，考生做起来还是有一定难度的，但是这是锲合雅思阅读考题的，考生必须多多练习。最后，祝大家取得满意的雅思阅读成绩。
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