ChinesescientistsdiscoverChangesite⁃(Y)中国科学家发现“嫦娥石”

赵巧玲

在月球上发现新矿物，中国科学家谱写空间探索新征程。

主题语境：宇宙探索 篇幅：309词 建议用时：6分钟

1 Chinese scientists have for the first timediscovered a new mineral on the moon，making  China the third country to dis⁃cover a new mineral on the moon.

2 Changesite⁃（Y） is a chemical mineral incolumnar crystal （晶体） found in lunarbasalt（玄武岩）particles. Scientists fromBeijing Research Institute of UraniumGeology isolated a single crystal particlewith a radius （半径） of about 10 microns through high⁃tech means such as X⁃ray fromthe 140，000 lunar sample particles， and interpreted its crystal structure.

3 The Commission on New Minerals， Nomenclature and Classification （CNMNC） of  theInternational Mineralogical Association （IMA） confirmed it as a new mineral. It is thesixth new mineral discovered by humanity on the moon， and China becomes the thirdcountry in the world to discover a new mineral on the moon.

4 The name of the new mineral， Changesite⁃（Y）， is the combination of “Chang’e” and“site”， which is to pay tribute to the great achievement of China’s lunar explorationproject as it is often called Chang’e Project.

5 According to experts， the site where Chang’e⁃5 mission collected samples is about 1 bil⁃lion years younger than where some samples were previously collected. It is significantin understanding the origin and evolution of the moon. Chang’e⁃5 mission managed toget samples from the moon weighing about 1，731 grams in 2020， which were the firstlunar samples in the world in over 40 years.

6 Scientists from several departments including Chinese Academy of Sciences， Ministryof Education and Ministry of Natural Resources were involved in the research of themoon samples， and the achievements they have made so far are of great significance forunderstanding the origin and evolution of the moon and exploring the effective utiliza⁃tion of lunar resources.

Reading Check

Detail

1. What do we know about Changesite⁃（Y）？

A. It is a kind of lunar basalt particle.

B. It is common on the moon’s surface.

C. It exists in the form of columnar crystals.

D. It usually has a radius of about 10 microns.

Detail

2. How many new lunar minerals did humans find before Changesite?（Y）？

A. Two. B. Three. C. Five. D. Six.

Detail

3. What’s the new lunar mineral Changesite⁃（Y） named for？

A. A Chinese scientist.

B. China’s Chang’e Project.

C. Chang’e⁃5 mission.

D. A Chinese legendary figure.

Detail

4. What are Chinese scientists expecting to learn from Changesite⁃（Y）？

A. The exact age of the solar system.

B. The origin and evolution of the moon.

C. The origin of lunar basalt on the moon.

D. The distribution of various lunar resources.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

The name of the new mineral， Changesite⁃（Y）， is the combination of “Chang’e” and“site”， which is to pay tribute to the great achievement of China’s lunar exploration projectas it is often called Chang’e Project. 这种新矿物“嫦娥石”的命名，是“嫦娥”和“居住地”两个词汇的结合，是为了纪念被称为“嫦娥”的中国探月工程的伟大成就。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。The name of the new mineral， Changesite⁃（Y）， isthe combination of “Chang’e” and “site”是主句；which引导非限制性定语从句，该定语从句中含有一个由as引导的原因状语从句。

Ⅱ. Text⁃centered chunks

pay tribute to 向……致赞辞；向……表示敬意

manage to do 设法做……

so far 到目前为止

be involved in 牵涉进；卷入；参加