Module 5　课下能力提升(十七)

　　阅读理解

　　A

　　Astronomers (天文学家) say they are on the point of finding planets like Earth orbiting other stars, which is a key step in determining if we are alone in the universe.

　　A top NASA official and other leading scientists say that within four or five years they should discover the first Earth­like planet where life could develop, or may have already. A planet close to the size of Earth could even be found sometime this year.

　　At the annual American Astronomical Society conference this week, each discovery involving so­called "exoplanets" - those outside our solar system - pointed to the same conclusion: Quiet planets like Earth where life could develop probably are plentiful.

　　NASA's new Kepler telescope and a lot of new research from the suddenly hot and competitive exoplanet field caused noticeable buzz at the meeting. Scientists are talking about being at "an incredible special place in history" and closer to answering a question that has dogged humanity since the beginning of civilization. "Are we alone? For the first time, there's an optimism that sometime in our lifetimes we're going to get_to_the_bottom_of that，" said Simon Worden, an astronomer who heads NASA's Ames Research Center. "If I were a betting man, which I am, I would bet we're not alone."

　　"These are big questions that reflect upon the meaning of the human race in the universe，" the director of the Vatican Observatory, the Rev. Jose Funes, said on Wednesday in an interview at this week's conference.

　　Worden told The Associated Press: "I would certainly expect in the next four or five years we'd have an Earthsized planet in the habitable (可居住的) zone."　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　1. From the first two paragraphs we can learn ________.

　　A. astronomers has found planets like Earth orbiting other stars

　　B. finding other stars is a key step in determining if we are alone

　　C. it's possible that a planet like Earth will be found this year

　　D. scientists say that life have developed on the first Earth­like planet

　　2. According to the passage an exoplanet is a planet ________.

　　A. like Earth

　　B. outside our solar system

C. orbiting the sun