Judgewhetherthefollowingstatementsaretrue(T)orfalse(F).()1.Theearthcirclesthesun.()2.Ittakestheearthonemonthtocirclethesun.()3.Theearthistheonlyplanetthatcirclesthesun.()4.Themoonmovesaroundtheearth.()5.Thereisatmosphereonthemoon.Groupwork.CanyoumatchthepicturesoftheeightplanetsinthesolarsystemwiththeirEnglishandChinesenames?Completetheblankswithcorrectnameslistedbelow.TFFTFGroupwork.CanyoumatchthepicturesoftheeightplanetsinthesolarsystemwiththeirEnglishandChinesenames?Completetheblankswithcorrectnameslistedbelow.Question:HowcanyouremembertheEnglishnamesoftheeightplanets?水星Mercury金星Venus海王星Neptune火星Mars地球Earth土星Saturn天王星Uranus木星JupiterThesentencesaredrawnoutfromthepassagebelow.Puteachofthembackintheproperblankafteryourfirstreading.A.Today,withrecreationalastronomybooming,comparedwithitsundergroundstatusinthe'50s,thesituationiscompletelydifferent.B.Forme,itiscommuningwithnatureonagrandscale.C.Forthousandsofastronomyenthusiasts,theultimateinself-discoveryistheexplorationofsomeofthesecelestialwonderswithabackyardtelescope.D.Hardlyamonthgoesbywithoutsomethingnewtoponder.BecomingaBackyardSinceIfirstbecamefascinatedwiththecosmoshalfacenturyago,humankind'sknowledgeoftheuniversehasexpandedenormously.Ithasbeenalmostacontinuousintoxicantformeasthediscoverieshavecomethickandfast:quasars,pulsars,blackholes,volcanicmoons,bodiesmadeentirelyoficeorbitinglargerworldsofliquidhydrogen.(1)Thementalexerciseofgrapplingwiththevastdistancesandsizesofcelestialobjectsiscaptivatinginitself.Buttobeabletostandunderthosestarsandplanetsonadarknightiswhatmakesbackyardastronomyanaddictivepastime.(2)Ihavecometoknowthoseremotestarsandgalaxies.Thestellarpanoramacomesalivewhenonecanrecall:“There'sthestarthatis250timesbiggerthanourSun...overthere,inaspotIcancoverwithmyfingernail,isaclusterof500galaxies,eachliketheMilkyWay...andoverhereisthenucleusofourgalaxy,justbehindthatriftintheMilkWay.”Allthiscanbeseenandappreciatedwiththeunaidedeye.Onebecomesanaturalistofthenight,andexpertinthesubtletiesthatdistinguishonecelestialobjectfromanother.Theexperienceisbothhumblingandexhilarating.DB(3)Mytelescopehasshownmethegalacticnurserieswherestarsarebornandthegaseoustomb-stonestheyleavebehindwhentheydie.Onenightnotlongago,mytelescope,whichistypicalofthoseusedbyamateurastronomers,revealedthedelicatespindle-shapedimageofagalaxy70millionlight-yearsaway.ThelightIsawfromthatremotecontinentofstarshadbeenhurtlingthroughspaceatonebillionkilometersperhoursincethetimedinosaursruledtheEarth.Backyardastronomyisjustasmuchacerebralasavisualadventure.WhenIwasateenagerinthe1950s,IlookedlonginglyatthetelescopeadsinSky&TelescopeMagazine.Butitwasjustadream.Fewastronomybuffsofthateracouldaffordcommerciallyproducedtelescopes,whichweregenerallyhandcraftedandveryexpensive,somostoptedtomaketheirown.Someofthesehomegrowninstrumentswereofexceptionalquality,althoughmany—myownincluded—werenotmuchmorethanglorifiedjunk.(4)Telescopemakingisnowaminorcomponentofthehobby.Dozensofdifferentmodelsofgood-qualitytelescopesareavailableforlessthan$1,000,while$5,000buysatelescopethatcanoutperformvirtuallyanythingthatwasbeingusedbyastronomyhobbyistsagenerationago.CAWhenviewingtheMoonthroughatop-quality6or8-inchtelescope(thesizesoftenusedbyamateurastronomerstoday),onecandetectfeaturesthewidthofalargefootballstadiumandsubtleripplesonlytensofmetersinheightonthelunarplains—viewscorrespondingtothosevisibleoutthewindowofaspacecraftorbitingafewhundredkilometersabovetheMoon'ssurface.WhenyouturnatypicalamateurtelescopetoJupiter,themightyplanet'soceanofcloudsexhibitsbeltsandzonesinyellow,salmon,gray,whiteandbrown.Jupiter'sfourlargemoonscirclethegiantlikeobedientservantsditheringtopleasethemaster.BrilliantVenus,sodazzlingtotheeye,offersphasesliketheMoon's.ThenthereisSaturn'sexquisitesystemofringscastingplainlyevidentshadowsonthegreatplanet.Answerthequestionsaccordingtothepassage.1.Whyhasthecosmosbeenalmostacontinuousintoxicantfortheauthor?

2.Whyisbackyardastronomyanaddictivepastimefortheauthor?

3.Whatistheultimateinself-discoveryforthousandsofastronomyenthusiasts?Humankind'sdiscoveriesoftheuniversehavecomethickandfast.Fortheauthor,itiscommuningwithnatureonagrandscale.Theultimateinself-discoveryistheexplorationofsomeofthesecelestialwonderswithabackyardtelescope.Readthepassageagainandfillintheblanksbelowwithwordsorphrasesfromthepassage.Theauthorhasbeenfascinatedwiththecosmosfor

.Theknowledgeoftheuniversehasbeenalmostacontinuous

fortheauthor.Buttobeabletostandunderthosestarsandplanetsonadarknightiswhatmakesbackyardastronomyanaddictive

.Fortheauthor,itis

withnatureonagrandscale,whichcanbeseenandappreciatedwiththe

.Abackyard

isveryimportantforastronomyenthusiaststoexploresomecelestialwonders.Totheauthor,backyardastronomyisjustasmuchacerebralasavisual

.Whentheauthorwasateenager,owningatelescopewasjusta

.Nowadays,theinstrumentofthetelescopeis

easilyandcheaply.Withtheaidofatelescope,onecanviewthelunarplainsonthe

orthemightyplanet'soceanofcloudson

.halfacenturyintoxicantpastimecommuningunaidedeyetelescopeadventuredreamavailableMoonJupiterSusanandMikearetalkingaboutthetechniqueofmeasuringthedistancesbetweenstarsinthesky.Listentothedialog,writedownhowmanydegreeseachofthegesturesrepresents.onedegreefivedegreetendegreefifteendegreetwenty-fivedegreeListentothedialogandanswerthequestionsbelowaccordingtowhatyouhaveheard.1.Whattechniquehaveastronomerscomeupwithtoestimatehowfarawayanygivenstaris?

2.Whatisthemethodofreadingcelestialguidemaps?

3.Whydoestheresultofthehand-spanmeasurevaryfromonemantoanother?

Listentothedialogagainandfillinthemissingwordsorphrasesaccordingtowhatyouhaveheard.Accordingtocelestialguidemaps.Byhandmeasurement.Becausesomepeoplecanextendtheirthumbandlittlefingermorewidelythanotherscan.Fragment1Susan:Mike,howcanyou(1)

stars?Tome,theyseemverysimilar.Mike:Well,astronomershavecomeupwithatechniqueto(2)

howfarawayanygivenstaris...Fragment2Susan:Celestial(3)

maps?Whatarethey?Mike:Theyarejustlikeroadmaps.Roadmapshavedistanceindicatorsbetween(4)

,andcelestialguidemapsdenotedistancesbetween(5)

and(6)

bydegrees.Fragment3Susan:Butasyousee,yourarmisalittle(7)

thanmineandyourfingersarenotas(8)

asmine,dowehavethesameresultinusingthismethod?Mike:Definitelythesame.Thesystemisreasonably(9)

formen,womenandchildren,sincepeoplewithsmallerhandstendtohaveshorterarms.Butthereisonlyone(10)

,thatisthehand-spanmeasure.Becausesomepeoplecanextendtheir(11)

andlittle(12)

morewidelythanotherscan.identifyidentifyguidecitieskeystarsstargroupslongerthinaccurateexceptionthumbfingerStuffThatMoves(1)

Pulsatingaircraftlightsoccasionallypunctuatethescene.Dartingflashessignaltheincinerationofmeteors—bitsofcosmicdebrisenteringtheEarth'satmosphere.Andtherearenumerousmovinglightsthat,apartfromtheirmotion,looklikestars.TheseareEarth-orbitingsatellites,shiningwithanunblinkingwhiteglowfromsun-lightreflectingofftheirmetallicbodiesandsolarpanels.Theprimetimetolookforsatellitesisduringthefirsthourofdarknessonspringandsummerevenings.Tryareclininglawnchair,andwatchtheoverheadregion.(2)

Onemightbethespaceshuttle,anotherasecretmilitarysatellite,athirdsimplyaspentrocketstillinorbit.Asatelliteeasilyvisibletotheunaidedeyeistypicallythesizeofadeliveryvan,travelsat28,000kilometersperhourandcrossestheskyintwotothreeminutesatanaltitudeof300to500kilometers.(3)

Mostaircrafthaveeitherflashinglightsorred/greenwinglights,althoughafewhaveasteadywhitelightlikeasatellite.Binocularsusuallyrevealengineexhaustorotherlightsonplanesthatappeartothenakedeyeassinglewhitelights.Satellitesalwaysappearwhite,star-likeandun-twinkling.Ifthesatellitedisappearsasitcruisesacrossthesky,ithasenteredtheEarth'sshadow.TheshadowclimbshigherastheSunsinkslower,whichiswhythebesttimetoscanforsatellitesisthehourafterdarknessfalls.CADStuffThatMovesAsasatellitepassesover,itchangesorientationwithrespecttotheobserver.Itsbrightnessmaysurgeforafewsecondswhensunlightreflectsoffasolarpanelorotherflatsurface.OnegroupofsatellitesthattakesthisbehaviortoextremesisIridium,agangof66satellitesusedforglobalwireless-telephonecommunications.Thesespacevehicles,eachroughlythesizeofasmallcar,haveflat,highlyreflectivetelecommunicationspanelsthatarenear-perfectreflectors.WhenoneislineduptoreflectsunlightatEarth,abrilliant,slow-moving“star”appearsthat,withinseconds,reachesapeakbrightnessasgreatasmagnitude—7,thenjustrapidlyfadestoobscurity.Iridiumflashpredictionsforyourlocation,alongwithothersatelliteviewingtimesandmagnitudes,includingtheInternationalSpaceStation,canbeobtainedatthefollowingwebsite:www..Wellawayfromcitylights,acarefulobservershouldseeatleast10satellitesinthatcrucialfirsthourafternightfall.Thenumberdeclinesafterthatandisquitelowaroundmidnight.Sightingsalsodropoffduringthefallandwintermonths,whentheEarth'sshadowishigherinthesky.Sometimes,asatelliteappearstopulsateinaregularrhythm,whichmeanstheentiredeviceistumbling.Activesatellitesarealwaysstabilized,soifthepulsingisobvious,youcanbesurethatyou'reseeingsomethinginactive.StuffThatMoves(4)

TheU.S.AirForceSpaceCommandkeepstabsonabout11,000objects,rangingfromspentrocketbodiestoametalhingethesizeofapaperbackbook.Fewerthan1,000orbitingobjectsaredoingsomethinguseful;therestarerubbishthathasaccumulatedsincethedawnofthespaceage.Whethersatelliteshaveasteadyorafluctuatingbrightness,mostnoviceobserversagreethattheydonotappeartomoveacrosstheskyinaperfectlystraightline.Thereseemstobeaperceptiblewavinesstotheirpathsorajerkinessinspeedastheyglidethroughthestarrybackground.Infact,theseoscillationsareinthemind,notthesky.Thesatellitesactuallymoveatasmoothpaceinpreciselinearpaths.Thehumanbraintendstolinkpatternsintoarecognizableimage.Thisisdoneinstantaneouslyindailylife.However,whenwelookatonemovinglightinarandomlydottedblacksky,thebrainconstantlytriestoproducethesepatternsbutfails.Whatarethoughttobeoscillationsinthesatellite'spatharereallytheunconsciousworkingsofthemindtryingtomakesenseoutofanunfamiliarvisualenvironment.Theresultis,ineffect,anopticalillusion.BThefollowingsentencesaredrawnoutfromthepassagebelow.Puteachofthembackintheproperblankafteryourfirstreading.A.Withinafewminutes,youshouldseeseveralstar-likedotsmarchthroughtheconstellations.B.Howmuchstuffisupthere?C.Thereismoretoastarrynightthanjuststars,planetsandtheMoon.D.Onceyouhavealittleexperience,