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China Cracks Open First Ever Sample From Moon’s Far Side
中国启动首份月球背面样品研究
The state-run China Daily newspaper reports that samples from the Chang’e 6 robotic lunar lander, which touched down back on Earth last week, brought back 1.953 kilograms (or roughly 4.3 pounds) from the side of the Moon that permanently faces away from our planet — and already, they’re proving to be stranger than expected.
Ge Ping, a senior space official overseeing China’s lunar programs, told reporters after an unveiling ceremony that the samples appear to be “thicker and stickier” than ones collected from the Moon’s near side. He added that they contain some “lumps.”While the Chang’e 6 mission was the first ever to collect samples from the Moon’s far side — sometimes referred to as its “dark” side because we never see it from the Earth, though the Sun does indeed shine upon it — it wasn’t the first time a human craft has breached its mysterious territory.That distinction also belongs to China, which in 2019 became the first country in the world to land on the Moon's mountainous far side with its Chang’e 4 rover mission. With the return of these groundbreaking samples, the country is making history yet again.In another press statement quoted by the South China Morning Post, the deputy designer of the China National Space Administration mission to the far side of the Moon said that although the samples have yet to be analyzed, they “may have very different mineral chemical compositions” than previous samples collected before.“In other words,” said the official, Li Chunlai, “we only know about half of the moon from the samples collected in the past.”Now that the samples are back on terra firma, CNSA officials say scientists in China should be able to study them by the year’s end. After that, China plans to open the samples up to the international community.阅读理解：
从每题所给的 A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。1. Why is the Moon’s far side sometimes referred to as its “dark” side?
A. Because it never receives sunlight.
B. Because it cannot be seen from the Earth.
C. Because it has more craters and rough terrain.
D. Because it is always in the shadow of the Earth.
2. What is the main implication of the samples being “thicker and stickier”?
A. They are easier to analyze.
B. They might have different properties.
C. They are older than previous samples.
D. They are from a deeper layer of the Moon.
3. How did the Chang’e 6 mission make history again for China?
A. By landing on Mars for the first time.
B. By bringing back samples from the Moon’s near side.
C. By collecting the first samples from the Moon’s far side.
D. By being the first mission to return from the Moon's far side.
4. What does Li Chunlai say about the samples?
A. They are of great value to the Moon.
B. They are collected from the Moon's near side.
C. They are the first samples to be brought back.
D. They might differ from earlier versions.
5. What can be inferred about the future of lunar exploration based on the article?
A. Lunar exploration will likely be abandoned.
B. Future missions will focus more on the Moon’s far side.
C. The Moon’s near side will remain the primary focus of study.
D. Lunar exploration will become exclusively a Chinese endeavor.
1. B 细节理解题。根据文章第三段的内容可知，月球背面尽管阳光确实照射到它，但因这一面总是背向地球，我们从地球上看不到它，所以有时被称为“暗”面。
2. B 推理判断题。结合文章第五段的内容可知，这些样本比从月球正面采集的样本“更黏稠”，这意味着它们可能有不同的特性。
3. C 细节理解题。根据文章第四段的内容可知，嫦娥六号任务通过从月球背面采集样本，再次为中国创造了历史。
4. D 细节理解题。根据第五段最后一句可知，李春来认为这些样本可能与之前的样本在矿物化学成分上有很大不同。
5. B 推理判断题。文中提到这次新采集的月球背面样本与之前采集的月球正面样本不同，新样本将提供关于月球的更多重要信息，这暗示未来月球探测任务可能会更多地关注月球的背面。
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据官方媒体《中国日报》报道，上周返回地球的嫦娥六号机器人月球着陆器从月球背面带回了1.953公斤（约4.3磅）的样本，而且这些样本已经被证明比预期的要奇怪。
中国月球项目的高级太空官员葛平在揭幕仪式后告诉记者，这些样本比从月球正面采集的样本“更黏稠”。他补充说，它们含有一些“结块”。虽然嫦娥六号任务是有史以来第一次从月球背面采集样本——有时被称为月球的“暗”面，因为我们在地球上没法看到它，尽管太阳确实会照射到它——但这并不是人类探测器第一次突破这片神秘的领域。这一荣誉同样属于中国，2019年中国成为世界上第一个在月球崎岖不平的背面着陆的国家，当时的任务是嫦娥四号月球车。这些开创性样本的返回，再次让中国创造了历史。在《南华早报》引用的另一份新闻声明中，中国国家航天局月球背面任务的副总设计师表示，尽管这些样本尚未进行分析，但它们“可能具有与之前收集的样本非常不同的矿物化学成分”。李春来表示，“换句话说，我们从之前采集的样本中只了解了月球的一半。”现在这些样本已经返回地球，中国国家航天局官员说，中国的科学家应该能够在今年年底之前对它们进行研究。之后，中国计划将这些样本开放给国际社会。-END-
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