In August of 2018, NASA launched(发射) the Parker Solar Probe, the first human spacecraft(航天器) to “touch” the Sun, to learn more about what goes on in the Sun’s corona. The corona is the outer atmosphere(大气) of the Sun. If you imagine a simple drawing of the Sun as a yellow ball with lines coming out of it, the corona is the part where the lines are.

The corona is far hotter than the surface of the Sun itself. Scientists are trying to understand why. In order to work so close to the Sun, the probe is protected by special, thick material. This allows it to keep cool inside, even when the heat is as high as 2,500 ℃.

In April, on its eighth trip around the Sun, the probe actually entered the Sun’s corona. It flew through the corona for about five hours. Later, the probe flew in and out of the corona several more times.

On its first trip through the corona, the probe was traveling at about 223,200 mph. At its closest, the probe was about 10.5 million kilometers above the surface of the Sun. Though this happened in April, it took months for the information to reach Earth and for scientists to confirm it.

Scientists are looking forward to learning more as the probe enters the corona in the future. Its next trip into the corona will be in January of 2022. In 2025, the probe will go even closer — 6. 16 million kilometers from the Sun’s surface. And it is expected to end its planned mission(飞行任务) in the same year.

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1.The underlined word “corona” probably means_____________in Chinese.

A 日冕

B 轨迹

C 日食

D 辐射

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据该词后一句“The corona is the outer atmosphere(大气) of the Sun.”可知，corona是太阳的外圈大气，即日冕。故选A。

2.How many times did the probe fly around the Sun before it entered the corona?

A 4.

B 5.

C 7.

D 8.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“In April, on its eighth trip around the Sun, the probe actually entered the Sun’s corona”可知，探测器在绕日第八次飞行时才进入日冕，即之前已经飞行了7次。故选C。

3.How close has the probe been to the surface of the Sun?

A 2, 500 kilometers.

B 223, 200 kilometers.

C 10.5 million kilometers.

D 6.16 million kilometers.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第四段第二句“At its closest, the probe was about 10.5 million kilometers above the surface of the Sun”可知目前探测器距太阳最近的时候，距太阳表层的距离是10.5 million kilometers；6. 16 million kilometers是在2025年将要到达的距离。故选C。

4.How long is the probe expected to work?

A For a few months.

B For four years.

C For eight years.

D For seven years.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章第一句可知探测器是在2018年发射升空的，根据文章最后两句可知该探测器预计将在2025年结束飞行任务，即总共七年时间。选D。

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A The solar system.

B Introduction of Parker Solar Probe.

C Solar probe “touches” the Sun.

D The research of the Sun.

解析：选C。C 文章标题题。本文主要介绍“帕克”太阳探测器(Parker Solar Probe)第一次进入太阳的日冕层中的情况，也是离太阳最近的一次。C项(太阳探测器 “触及” 太阳)最贴合文意。故选C。