Days after a streaking fireball was spotted in the skies over three Southern states, NASA scientists have confirmed that fragments(碎片) from the meteor(流星) have been found on the ground in Mississippi. NASA said the exceptionally bright meteor was going 35,000 mph when it exploded in the sky near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. “There are confirmed reports of meteorites(陨石) being found in the area east of Natchez,” NASA said, while sharing an image of one of the meteorite pieces in a Facebook post on Monday.

Dozens of people in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi reported seeing the meteor in the sky around 8 a.m. Wednesday after hearing loud booms in the area. At its peak, the fireball was more than 10 times brighter than a full moon, officials said. The fireball disintegrated about 34 miles above Louisiana, generating “an energy equivalent of 3 tons of TNT,” NASA said.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency previously posted a satellite image on Facebook in which the bright object can be seen just east of the Louisiana-Mississippi border, along with NASA’s confirmation. The agency said the fireball caused no injuries or property damage and that it ran to the Mississippi River. 

Law dictates that meteorites belong to the owner of the property on which they fell, so NASA said it would not disclose the locations of any fragments that are found. NASA also said it would not authenticate any possible meteorite discoveries and referred the public to a meteorite website hosted by Washington University in St. Louis. “We are not meteorite people, as our main focus is protecting spacecraft and astronauts from meteoroids,” NASA said. So we will be unable to identify any strange rocks you may find—please do not send us rock photos.” NASA said that if confirmed, this will mark the fifth recorded meteorite fall in Mississippi. The others happened in 1854, 1910, 1922 and 2012.

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1.What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A The sky.

B The fireball.

C The ground.

D The meteorites.

解析：选B。B词意指代题。根据本句内容“这颗异常明亮的流星在爆炸时，时速为3.5万英里/小时”可知这里的it指代的是流星，即那颗火球。故选B。

2.What did the fireball happen in the sky?

A It became a very large moon.

B It produced three tons of TNT.

C It exploded with a great noise.

D It damaged some satellites.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第一段的“...when it exploded in the sky near the Louisiana-Mississippi border.”和第二段的“...after hearing loud booms in the area.”可知该火球爆炸了且发出了巨大声响。故选C。

3.Why didn’t the fireball do harm to people?

A It was watched by scientists.

B It just flew high in the sky.

C It ended in the river at last.

D It was made to change its way

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第三段第二句“The agency said the fireball caused no injuries or property damage and that it ran to the Mississippi River.”可知火球去到了密西西比河里面，因此没造成伤害。故选C。

4.What will NASA do with the meteorites?

A It will pay attention to the meteorites.

B It will help residents locate the fragment.

C It will focus on taking photos of meteorites.

D It will not assist people in identifying rocks.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据最后一段的“NASA also said it would not authenticate any possible meteorite discoveries”可知该机构不会帮助人们鉴别任何人们发现的不寻常的石头。故选D。