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Over the weekend, NASA’s newest Mars rover, the Curiosity, which landed early on Aug. 6 after an eight-month flight, started sending back a 360-degree high-resolution panorama of its surroundings.

At a news conference on Wednesday, John P. Grotzinger, a professor of geology at the Califor- nia Institute of Technology who serves as the mission’s project scientist, compared the view with a place just a few hours’ drive from Pasadena, Calif, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the rover’s birthplace. “You would really be forgiven for thinking that NASA was trying to pull a fast one on you,” he said, “and we actually put a rover out in the Mojave Desert and took a picture—a little L.A.(Los Angeles) smog coming in there.” He added, “To a certain extent, the first impression you get is how Earth-like it seems.”

Where the Curiosity actually sits is a 96-mile-wide crater named Gale near the Martian equator. To the north, the images show part of the crater rim that is believed to have been eroded by flowing water. To the south is a 3.4-mile-high peak that the scientists call Mount Sharp, which Curiosity is meant to reach and to climb. By investigating the layers of sedimentary rock on Mount Sharp, mis-

sion scientists hope to reconstruct the climate and environment of early Mars and tell whether it could have been once been habitable for life.

The photos also show marks that Curiosity has made at the landing site. As Curiosity was lowered to the surface of Mars, blasts from the descent-stage engines created indentations in the nearby soil, exposing the bedrock below. This exposed bedrock is likely to be one of the first areas of scientific exploration on the rover’s planned two-year journey.

After the flawless landing, the first week of operations of the rover on the ground also proceeded almost perfectly, too, as engineers started checking out the rover’s system, deployed the high-gain antenna, and raised the mast that holds the cameras.

So far, no significant trouble has arisen. The weather instrument experienced a problem that engineers figured out a day later. The rover’s internal temperatures are slightly warmer than expected, possibly because the crater is warmer than predicted or because NASA’s computer models of Curiosity were not quite right. Worries about overheating could put constraints on when certain instruments can be used. But the heat is also a boon, reducing the energy Curiosity needs to

warm up its joints and wheels before moving.

36. The phrase “pull a fast” (Para. 2) most probably means ________.

[A] hasten [B] conceal [C] deceive [D] beautify

37. Where is the rover Curiosity’s real location?

[A] In the middle Mojave Desert near its birthplace in the US.

[B] To the south of crater Gale that is near the Martian equator.

[C] Near the Martian equator which is eroded by flowing water.

[D] On top of a 3.4-mile-high peak which used to be habitable.

38. It can be inferred from the passage that the rover’s investigation________ .

[A] is likely to start with the study of the rocks on Mars

[B] is determined on the reconstruction of the climate on Mars

[C] started immediately after the rover’s perfect landing

[D] can only begin after a week’s preparation on the ground

39. What caused the rover’s unexpected warmer internal temperature?

[A] A minor problem of the weather instrument.

[B] Problems of NASA’s computer models of Curiosity.

[C] The impact on the rover during landing.

[D] Overheating of certain instrument in the rover.

40. What is the main idea of the passage?

[A] How earthlike the surface of Mars is. [B] The success landing of Curiosity.

[C] NASA’s achievement in investigating Mars. [D] How far the mission of Curiosity has gone.

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