A Record-Breaking Rover

　　NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before—at least in terms of distance. ____1____

　　On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart-sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder—a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973.

　　“This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance,” says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager.

　　____2____ “But what is really importantly is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance.”

　　OPPORTUNITY

　　The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars 10 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. ____3____

　　Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks.

　　During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. ____4____

　　MARATHON ROVER

　　The rover doesn’t seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. ____5____

　　Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars’s ancient environment1. Opportunity’s continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

　　詞匯：

　　Mars rover n. 火星車

　　panoramic adj. 全景的

　　odometer n. 里程計

　　rack up v. 積累

　　microscopic adj. 微觀的

　　練習(xí)：

　　A　It has also provided scientists with data on the planet’s atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain.

　　B　He works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

　　C　Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars.

　　D　Opportunity has been working on Mars since January 2004.

　　E　The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life，such as the possible presence of water.

　　F　Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles, more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world.

　　答案與題解：

　　1.F　前文講“機(jī)遇號”在距離上比之前的任何漫游車行進(jìn)的距離都長，因此接下來應(yīng)該討論關(guān)于行進(jìn)距離的問題。

　　2.B　前文引入了一個新人物John Callas，而后文是他說的一些話，因此這里應(yīng)該填寫的內(nèi)容是對這個人的進(jìn)一步介紹。

　　3.E　前文講了同時被送入太空的兩臺漫游車“機(jī)遇號”和“勇氣號”，因此下文應(yīng)該對它們的情況進(jìn)行介紹，而關(guān)于發(fā)射目的的介紹在這里是合適的。

　　4.A　前文講到“機(jī)遇號”給地面?zhèn)骰亓嗽S多照片，而選項A中講到它還給地面?zhèn)骰亓嗽S多其他信息，在這里是一致的。

　　5.C　前文講漫游車在行進(jìn)到26.2英里的時候會到達(dá)一個地點(diǎn)，而后文提到了馬拉松谷這個地方，因此這里應(yīng)該是關(guān)于這個地點(diǎn)的介紹。