Karl Jansky是一电话公司的工程师。1931年他接到了一项艰巨的任务：为什么电话线中有很多噪音？为了找到答案，Karl Jansky做了些什么？结果如何呢？
Karl Jansky was an engineer working for a telephone company. In 1931, he was given a hard task. His company told him that it needed to know why so much noise, or static(天电干扰）, came over its telephone lines.
To find the answer, Jansky built a funny-looking antenna. He hoped the antenna would find the cause of the static. Up to that time, everyone believed that static came from thunderstorms. Jansky discovered that some of the static did indeed come from storms. But one kind of static was always there and was not caused by thunderstorms. This static came from stars far out in space. Radio waves given off by the stars caused the static.
Other people wanted to study these waves, too. They built other large antennas. The new antennas were the first radio telescopes. Using radio telescopes, scientists were able to find groups of stars that were too far away to be seen with other telescopes.
Today, scientists send new kinds of telescopes into space. NASA launched the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory(CGRO) in 1991. Instead of listening to the stars, CGRO “feels” them. A collision between gamma rays and an atom creates a shower of particles. When these particles hit the CGRO it gives off a burst of light. Scientists can use these bursts to figure out where the gamma rays come from. When they find the source of the gamma rays, they know they have found a star! By 1996, CGRO had recorded over 1,400 bursts.
Fill in the blanks or choose the best answer to each question.
1. Long ago, people believed that all static came from________.
A. outer space B. large antennas C. thunderstorms
2. The words “the first radio telescopes” in paragraph 3 describe the new________.
3. Radio telescopes have made it possible for scientists to________.
A. find new groups of stars
B. stop static
C. see gamma rays
4. Some static does come from thunderstorms.
A. Yes. B. No. C. Does not say.
5. On the whole, this story is about ________.
A. modern types of telescopes
B. static that comes over TV sets
C. rockets and spacecraft
6. When________, it gives off bursts of light.
参考答案:
1. C 2. antennas 3. A 4. A 5. A 6. the CGRO is hit by particles
