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NASA scientists said on June 1 , 2008 they had found ice on Mars-a step towards finding
evidence of life.
" Sharp new images received from their Phoenix lander convinced scientists that the
spacecraft ' s thrusters (推进器) had uncovered a large patch of ice just below the Martian
surface, " team members said.
That bodes (预示) well for the mission ' s main goal of digging for ice that can be tested
for evidence of organic compounds that are the chemical building blocks of life.
Washington University scientist Ray Arvidson said the spacecraft' s thrusters may have blown
away dirt covering the ice when the robot landed one week ago.
Scientists said a detailed image taken under the lander shows one of the craft's three legs
sitting on rough dirt and a large patch of what appears to be ice-possibly 3 feet(0. 9 metres) in
diameter(直径) -that apparently had been covered by a thin layer of dirt.
" We were worried that it may be 30-,40-,50-centimeter deep, which would be a lot of
work. Now we are fairly certain that we can easily get down to the ice table, " said Peter Smith,
a University of Arizona scientist who is in charge of the project.
The spacecraft is equipped with a shovel-like robot arm that will be used to dig into the ground
and collect samples for testing in the lander's small laboratories.
The lander was sent to a spot on Mars' northern regions in hopes of finding frozen water, but
just how deep underground it would be found was unknown.
The robot arm is expected to begin its first digging operations after several more days of testing.
Once the arm starts digging, dirt and ice it scoops up will be deposited(存放 ) in several small
ovens to be heated. Measuring devices will test the resulting gases.
The University of Arizona in Tucson is leading and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is managing
the three-month scientific mission.
1. What was the Phoenix lander meant to do?
A. To search for frozen water on Mars.
B. To explore life in outer space.
C. To study the minerals in the soil.
D. To discover new resources in outer space.
2. Why did NASA scientists feel worried about the finding?
A. Because the ice is too large for NASA scientists to dig up.
B. Because it takes some time to deal with the large patch of ice.
C. Because it' s impossible for Phoenix lander to collect the ice.
D. Because it's hard to carry the ice back to laboratories on the earth .
3. "The spacecraft" in Paragraph 7 refers to"_______".
A. The project
B. The ice table
C. The robot arm
D. The Phoenix lander
4. Which of the following is WRONG according to the text?
A. A large patch of ice had uncovered.
B. The goal of sending Phoenix lander to Mars is to look for frozen water.
C. The goal of sending Phoenix Iander to Mars is to discover new resources.
D. It takes some time to deal with the large patch of ice for Phoenix lander.
5. What is the text mainly about?
A. New findings about space exploration.
B. NASA sent another spacecraft to Mars.
C. NASA Phoenix lander finds frozen water on Mars.
D. Washington University scientists study Mars.