Chinese scientists discover Changesite-(Y)

安徽 趙巧玲

在月球上發現新礦物，中國科學家譜寫空間探索新征程。

主題語境：宇宙探索 篇幅：309詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1 Chinese scientists have for the first time discovered a new mineral on the moon,making China the third country to discover a new mineral on the moon.

2 Changesite-(Y) is a chemical mineral in columnar crystal (晶 體) found in lunar basalt（玄武巖）particles.Scientists from Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology isolated a single crystal particle with a radius (半徑) of about 10 microns through high-tech means such as X-ray from the 140,000 lunar sample particles,and interpreted its crystal structure.

3 The Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) confirmed it as a new mineral.It is the sixth new mineral discovered by humanity on the moon, and China becomes the third country 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 exploration project as it is often called Chang'e Project.

5 According to experts,the site where Chang'e-5 mission collected samples is about 1 billion years younger than where some samples were previously collected.It is significant in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon.Chang'e-5 mission managed to get samples from the moon weighing about 1,731 grams in 2020, which were the first lunar samples in the world in over 40 years.

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

Reading Check

Detail1.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.

Detail2.How many new lunar minerals did humans find before Changesite-(Y)?

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

Detail3.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.

Detail4.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 project as it is often called Chang'e Project.這種新礦物“嫦娥石”的命名，是“嫦娥”和“居住地”兩個詞匯的結合，是為了紀念被稱為“嫦娥”的中國探月工程的偉大成就。

【點石成金】本句是一個復合句。The name of the new mineral, Changesite-(Y), is the combination of“Chang'e”and“site”是主句；which 引導非限制性定語從句，該定語從句中含有一個由as引導的原因狀語從句。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

pay tribute to 向……致贊辭；向……表示敬意

manage to do 設法做……

so far 到目前為止

be involved in 牽涉進；卷入；參加