Webb telescope

谷战峰

首批詹姆斯·韋布空间望远镜拍摄的全彩宇宙深空图像公布。美国国家航空航天局表示，这是迄今为止人类历史上拍摄到的最遥远、最清晰的宇宙红外图像。

主题语境：科技    篇幅：361词 建议用时：7分钟

NASA released James Webb Space Telescope's first full?color images of the universe—cosmic cliffs of gas， spinning galaxies， dying stars... The telescope caught those images of ancient history—billions of light years away， showing what the universe looked like when it was just forming after the Big Bang.

Webb's first observations tell the story of the hidden universe through every phase of cosmic history—from neighboring exoplanets（外星球） to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.

“Today， we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope—a view the world has never seen before，” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

The images released by NASA include detailed spectrums（光谱） of an exoplanet atmosphere： Southern Ring Nebula， an expanding cloud of gas that surrounds a dying star which is about 2，000 light years away; Stephan's Quintet， a group of galaxies located in Pegasus; Carina Nebula， the earliest， rapid phases of star formation that were previously hidden.

“These images， including the deepest view of our universe that has ever been taken， show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don't even yet know to ask， and questions that will help us better understand our universe and humanity's place within it，” Nelson said.

The release of Webb's first images and spectrums kicks off the beginning of Webb's science operations， where astronomers around the world will have their chance to observe anything from objects within the solar system to the early universe using Webb's four instruments， according to NASA.

Webb was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou， French Guiana， on Dec. 25， 2021， to probe structures and origins of the universe.

After completing a complex arrangement in space， Webb experienced months of adjustments where its mirrors and instruments were well adjusted to its space environment and prepared for science.

Webb is NASA's largest and most powerful space science telescope ever constructed. The key objectives of Webb's telescope include taking pictures of the very first stars to shine in the universe from more than 13.5 billion years ago and finding habitable planets beyond our solar system， according to NASA.

Reading Check

1. What can we learn about the telescope from paragraph 1？

A. It uncovers the secret of the Big Bang.

B. It tells us what is happening in the universe.

C. It reaches as far as billions of light years away.

D. It presents what the cosmos looked like when it was forming.

2. Which word has the similar meaning to the underlined word “groundbreaking” in paragraph 3？

A. Innovative. B. Complex.       C. Ordinary. D. Traditional.

3. What's Webb's contribution in Nelson's opinion？

A. Finding the real origin of the universe.

B. Taking photos of stars that were previously hidden.

C. Helping humans learn more about the universe.

D. Answering questions humans have ever asked.

4. What's one of Webb's main missions according to NASA？

A. To take more images within the most distant observable galaxies.

B. To find other places suitable for humans to live in outer space.

C. To study the universe's environment for further experiments.

D. To provide humans with detailed information on living in outer space.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

The release of Webb's first images and spectrums kicks off the beginning of Webb's science operations， where astronomers around the world will have their chance to observe anything from objects within the solar system to the early universe using Webb's four instruments， according to NASA. 据美国国家航空航天局称，韦布空间望远镜首批图像和光谱图的发布标志着其科学运作的开端，世界各地的天文学家将有机会使用韦布空间望远镜的四种仪器来观测太阳系及早期宇宙中的天体。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句，句中的where引导定语从句，修饰先行词Webb's science operations。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

look like 看起来像；看上去像

billions of 数以亿计的

a group of 一群……

kick off 开始

according to 據……所说

be prepared for 准备好