Section B In this section, there is one passage
followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summary below
by choosing no more than three words from the passage. Remember to write the
answers on the answer sheet.
Mars with its orange-red colour has fascinated people since
ancient times. Its name derives from the Roman god of war. The planet is similar
to Earth in a number of ways. For example, a day on Mars is about the same
length as a day on Earth. Also the tilt of Mars’ axis is about the same as that
of Earth so it has similar seasons. However, temperatures are
much lower than on Earth—below the freezing temperature of water even in summer
with average daily temperatures of about 60 degrees Celsius. The cold is due to
the lack of heating from the Sun and the lack of greenhouse warming from gases
in the thin atmosphere. What can you see
Mars will be a very prominent object in the night sky in August and
September. Not only will it be the brightest object apart from the moon, but its
reddish colour will make it easy to find. In July Mars was
rising in the east a few hours after sunset. By late August it will be rising
around sunset.
To
see Mars through a telescope during its close approach, contact your local
public observatory, amateur astronomical society or planetarium. Most of them
are likely to hold viewing sessions. Mars is a small planet,
half the size of Earth. When it is distant from us it appears as a tiny
featureless reddish disc even when viewed through a telescope. At oppositions
the disc of Mars appears larger and features can be seen on its surface.
These features include the polar caps and dark markings. Mars
may also have a dust storm raging on its surface. While this sounds exciting, it
can make the appearance of the planet disappointing. Water
on Mars Though there is no liquid water on the surface,
close-up photographs of Mars reveal winding valleys and channels. These indicate
the existence of running water in the past. Scientists using
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft, currently in orbit around Mars, have discovered
large quantities of water ice under the planet’s surface. They found that in
regions of Mars surrounding the south pole the top one meter of soil has more
than 50% water by volume. An instrument called the gamma ray spectrometer
detected the water by searching for the signature of hydrogen in radiation
coming from the planet. As hydrogen is an essential component of water and the
hydrogen-rich regions are in the coldest regions of the planet, the scientists
concluded that the hydrogen indicated the presence of water ice. Summary: The Mars and the Earth have
much in common, such as similar length of a day and similar (51)
However, the temperature is (52) on Mars than
that on Earth. In August and September, Mars is the brightest object in the
night sky secondary to (53) . ff you want to observe the
Mars, you can contact your local public observatory, amateur astronomical
society or planetarium, who are likely to provide viewing sessions. At
oppositions the Mars appears larger and (54) can be seen on
its surface. Evidence show that there is no liquid water on the Mars but
(55) was detected, which is an essential element of water.