英语听力精选进阶版 7173（在线收听）

Background: 天文学家发现了能满足人类生存条件的行星，并称此行星和太阳系外已发现的所有行星相比，其特征更近似于地球。

Gliese 581g is the sixth planet to be found circling a dwarf star some 20 light-years away, in the constellation of Libra.

On paper it looks good – three times the mass of the Earth with possibly a rocky surface and enough gravity to hold on to an atmosphere.

The researchers also promised shirt-sleeve weather in some regions, but not everywhere. One side of the planet is almost always in sunshine; the other almost always in darkness. And estimated temperatures range from minus four degrees Celsius to a very hot 71 degrees.

A year meanwhile would go by in just 37 days.

Of course, whether life could be supported on Gliese 581g would need much more investigation and most probably technologies which don't exist yet. But the astronomers say that planethunting is getting easier and they were surprised how quickly they detected the tell-tale signs of this distant body using ground-based telescopes.

Glossary 词汇表

dwarf star 矮星 

light-years 光年 

constellation 星座 

on paper 理论上 

mass 质量 

rocky surface 多岩石表面 

shirt-sleeve weather 暖和舒适的 

planet hunting 寻找行星 

to detect something 发现某物 

tell-tale signs 有迹象显示 

body 天体 

ground-based 地面上的

Questions and Answers

Is it a big star? 

No, it is a dwarf star, so it is of average size or smaller.

In what ways could this planet have conditions to support life? 

The new planet has enough gravity to retain an atmosphere and the weather seems to be warm in some regions.

What makes it difficult for astronomers to confirm if life can be supported? 

The technology needed to investigate the planet further probably hasn't been invented yet.

True or False: Planets can only be identified with scientific equipment sent to space. 

False. Information about this planet was gathered using a telescope mounted on the surface of the Earth.