高中英语外刊时文阅读训练
专题 03
NASA 发现火星生命迹象
Ⅰ.外刊原文阅读
Ⅱ.阅读理解专项针对性练习
Ш.新课标高频词汇提取及训练
Ⅳ.参考译文赏析
【原文·外刊阅读】
NASA found possible signs of life on Mars
（文章来源：NASA）
Yesterday, NASA announced that a rock spotted on
Mars by its Perseverance rover contained some of the
best signs yet that ancient microbial life may have once
existed on the Red Planet. The rock provides clear
evidence for water, organic matter, and chemical
reactions that could provide an energy source, Laurie
Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
which operates Perseverance, posted on the social media
platform X. “This is the kind of discovery you hope for — where mind-bending observations make your
heart beat just a little faster,” she added.
Catch your breath, everyone. There are a lot of maybes that won’t be resolved anytime soon, if
ever. And there’s a long history of martian rocks getting some of the life on our planet a little too
excited.
Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, martian rock is Allan Hills 84001, a meteorite discovered in
Antarctica. In a 1996 Science paper, researchers suggested it harbored nanofossils of bacteria. The newsspread far and wide and even led to a congratulatory speech by then-President Bill Clinton. The debate
continues, but most researchers today believe the fossillike features arose without life. Similar hype has
followed rocks found by earlier Mars rovers, including Curiosity, which, with its onboard chemical lab,
has detected all sorts of organic molecules during its long odyssey in Gale crater.
Perseverance lacks such an onboard lab. Its job is to drill rocks and put them in capsules that could
eventually be returned to Earth for detailed study, as part of the long-planned but now stalled Mars
Sample Return mission that JPL would oversee. So, its instruments are more limited than Curiosity’s.
Still, they provided enough information to be excited about the Cheyava Falls rock it just drilled, taken
from a site where researchers believe a river once flowed into the Jezero crater, dumping silt and creating
a now-fossilized delta.
Running through the rock are white veins of calcium sulfate—minerals that precipitate out of water.
Scans by a rover instrument also indicate the rock contains organic compounds. Such carbon-bearing
molecules are essential building blocks of life, but they can also be formed by nonbiological processes.
Perhaps most intriguing were mineral “leopard spots” in the rock, millimeter-size whitish splotches
ringed by black material, which seem to contain iron and phosphate. On Earth, such spotting can form
when organic molecules react with hematite, or rusted iron. These reactions, in turn, can fuel microbial
life.
That’s only one explanation. Others may exist. For example, the rock also contains olivine crystals
—minerals formed in volcanic eruptions that could indicate the rock was created at high temperatures no
life could tolerate. But more than that, Perseverance cannot say.
This is the 22nd rock core it has collected, and many of them are intriguing to astrobiologists. Some
of the cores contain mudstones or carbonate deposits that on Earth would be capable of hosting microbial
life. Whether these samples will be returned to Earth for further analysis anytime soon remains in doubt.
Existing plans for Mars Sample Return would have cost up to $11 billion dollars, and NASA has ordered
a total rethink, requesting plans from outside companies and its research centers, including JPL, which
developed the existing strategy. Until then, the program is on a barebones budget.
Although there is no doubt about the scientific value of the new sample, the provocative
announcement about the rock by JPL, which is desperate not to lose Mars Sample Return funding, has
raised some eyebrows. As Marc Fries, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and
member of the Perseverance team, posted on X, “It should come with a conflict of interest warningsticker.”
【原创·阅读理解】
1.What did NASA’s Perseverance rover find in the rock on Mars?
A. Evidence of life
B. Water and organic matter
C. A complete fossil record
D. Signs of volcanic activity
2.What was the significance of the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite?
A. It was the first rock to show signs of life on Mars.
B. It led to a congratulatory speech by President Bill Clinton.
C. It was confirmed to contain living bacteria.
D. It was the first meteorite discovered on Mars.
3.Why is the Cheyava Falls rock of interest to scientists?
A. It contains high amounts of olivine crystals.
B. It has mineral “leopard spots”.
C. It is the oldest rock sample collected by Perseverance.
D. It shows clear evidence of volcanic eruptions.
4.What challenges are facing the Mars Sample Return mission?
A. Lack of scientific interest in the samples.
B. High costs and a need for new plans.
C. The inability to return samples to Earth.
D. Difficulty in analyzing samples on Mars.
【高频词汇训练】
1．The achievement of one’s purpose in his life depends largely upon one’s (persevere). (所给词的适当
形式填空)
2．If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not today. (exist)（所给词的适
当形式填空）
3．Moreover, I can find out whether my (reaction) to an event are reasonable enough by reading about
those of others on the Internet. （所给词的适当形式填空）
4． (resolve) conflicts, we should learn to communicate more and put ourselves in others’ place. (所给词的适当形式填空)
5．The situation was severe that there was no time to debate who was to blame. (用适当的单词填空)
6．Recently, financial experts (detect) signs that the economy is beginning to improve. (所给词的适
当形式填空)
7． (eventual), education also enables learners to establish the right values and attitudes. （用所给词的
正确形式填空）
8．Don't touch the instruments in the lab your teacher allows you. (用适当的词填空)
9．It is essential that the diet (vary) and balanced. (所给词的适当形式填空)
10．It seems that another (erupt) could be right around the corner. (所给词的适当形式填空)
11．Human beings have limited (tolerate) to noise. （所给词的适当形式填空）
12．Just before and an hour after each workout, the scientists took additional (sample) of the men’s
blood and fat tissue. (所给词的适当形式填空)
13．Totally (absorb) in her book, Julia nodded her head unconsciously. (所给词的适当形式填空)
14．The government (budget) 10 million pounds for education spending recently. (所给词的适当形式
填空)
15．Coming conflict with others is common in everyday life. (用适当的词填空)
【参考译文】
美国国家航空航天局在火星上发现多种可能生命迹象
昨天，美国国家航空航天局宣布，其毅力号火星车在火星上发现的一块岩石包含了一些迄今为止最好
的迹象，表明这颗红色星球上可能曾经存在过古代微生物。“这块岩石为水、有机物和化学反应提供了明
确的证据，这些反应可以提供能量来源，”运营Perseverance的喷气推进实验室（JPL）主任Laurie Leshin
在社交媒体平台X上发帖称。“这是你所希望的发现——令人费解的观察会让你的心跳加快一点，”她补
充道。
大家屏住呼吸。有很多可能不会很快得到解决，如果有的话。火星岩石让我们星球上的一些生命有点
过于兴奋的历史由来已久。
也许最著名或最臭名昭著的火星岩石是在南极洲发现的陨石Allan Hills 84001。在1996年的一篇《科
学》杂志论文中，研究人员认为它含有细菌的纳米化石。这一消息传播得很广，甚至导致时任总统比尔·克
林顿发表了祝贺演讲。争论仍在继续，但今天大多数研究人员认为，这些化石般的特征是在没有生命的情况下出现的。类似的炒作也出现在早期火星探测器发现的岩石之后，包括好奇号，好奇号及其机载化学实
验室在盖尔陨石坑的漫长旅程中探测到了各种有机分子。
毅力号缺乏这样一个机载实验室。它的工作是钻探岩石并将其放入太空舱中，最终可以返回地球进行
详细研究，这是喷气推进实验室长期计划但现已停滞的火星样本返回任务的一部分。因此，它的仪器比好
奇号的仪器更有限。尽管如此，他们还是提供了足够的信息，让人对它刚刚钻探的 Cheyava Falls岩石感到
兴奋，该岩石取自研究人员认为曾经有一条河流流入Jezero火山口的地方，倾倒淤泥，形成了一个现在已
经变成化石的三角洲。
穿过岩石的是白色的硫酸钙矿脉——从水中沉淀出来的矿物质。月球车仪器的扫描也表明这块岩石含
有有机化合物。这种含碳分子是生命的重要组成部分，但它们也可以通过非生物过程形成。也许最有趣的
是岩石中的矿物“豹斑”，即毫米大小的白色斑点，周围环绕着黑色物质，似乎含有铁和磷酸盐。在地球
上，当有机分子与赤铁矿或生锈的铁反应时，就会形成这种斑点。反过来，这些反应可以为微生物的生命
提供燃料。
这只是一种解释。其他可能存在。例如，这块岩石还含有橄榄石晶体——火山爆发中形成的矿物质，
可能表明这块岩石是在生命无法忍受的高温下形成的。但更重要的是，毅力不能说。
这是它收集的第22个岩芯，其中许多对天体生物学家来说都很有趣。一些岩心含有泥岩或碳酸盐沉积
物，在地球上可能存在微生物。这些样本是否会很快返回地球进行进一步分析仍然存在疑问。现有的火星
样本返回计划将耗资高达110亿美元，美国国家航空航天局已下令全面重新考虑，要求外部公司及其研究
中心制定计划，包括制定现有战略的喷气推进实验室。在那之前，该项目的预算仅为基本预算。
尽管新样本的科学价值毋庸置疑，但喷气推进实验室关于这块岩石的挑衅性声明引起了一些人的关
注，喷气推进实验室迫切希望不失去火星样本返回的资金。正如美国国家航空航天局约翰逊航天中心的行
星科学家、毅力团队成员Marc Fries在X上发布的那样，“它应该附有利益冲突警告贴纸。”
