2021-2022学年度第37期总第867期
Welcome space guest (P6)
北京市和平街第一中学  甘露

Predict
Read the title and predict what will be talked about in the article?
Welcome space guest

Read and explore
Read the article quickly and check your prediction.

What is it mainly about?
A. The introduction of Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet.
B. Discoveries related to the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet.
C. The process of discovering Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet.
Key: A

Read it again and answer the following questions.

1. Why have comets fascinated humans?
Because the comets, with their long, bright tails, streak across the sky and then disappear, some of which even return in the future.

2. How big is Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet?
Its core measures 128 kilometers across and it is a pretty snowball with a nucleus 50 times larger than those of other comets. Its mass is estimated at 500 trillion tons, which is 100,000 times greater than average.

3. When will the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet  reach its closest distance to our planet?
In 2031.

4. What is Oort Cloud?
It is a “bubble” of orbiting debris that encircles our solar system, where there are trillions of comets. BB has traveled at least 300 trillion kilometers from the Oort Cloud.

Critical thinking
Why is the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet called the new record-breaking object?
It’s 4 billion years old.
It is one of the largest comets and travels at 35,000 km/h.
Its core measures 128 km across, 50 times larger than other comets’ nucleus.
It has been falling toward the Sun for more than 1 million years.
It has traveled at least 300 trillion kms.
It could help us better understand Oort Cloud.
It experiences a 3-million-year-long, oval-shaped orbit.
It visited the Earth 3.5 million years ago and will return in 2031.
Viewing time
Watch the video and learn more about comets.
Language study

1. It’s no wonder that comets have fascinated humans since our earliest days on the planet.
难怪自从人类出现早期，彗星就吸引着我们。
(1) It’s no wonder that...主语从句
    eg. It is no wonder that the children love science fictions.
    难怪孩子们喜欢科幻小说。     
(2) fascinate sb 吸引某人，使......着迷
   be fascinated by  对......着迷，被......吸引
   eg. The child was so fascinated by the mysterious star sky.   
   孩子对神秘的星空很着迷。          

2. The comets of the Oort Cloud are thought to have originated from much closer to our star.
目前认为奥尔特云彗星起源于离我们星球更近的地方。
句式：is thought to have done 被认为做了某事
可以改写为：It is thought that ...
= It is thought that the comets of the Oort Cloud have originated from much closer to our star.
  eg. Left-handed people are thought to be much smarter.
  据说左撇子更加聪明。
  = It is thought that left-handed people are much smarter.