2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解一百四十集选练：（141）_高考复习指南

2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解一百四十集选练：（141）

　　After a period of calm within the Sun,scientists have detected the signs of a fresh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2016,just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

　　Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth,causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and internet links sending live Olympic broadcast from London.

　　“The Sun’s activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites,“ said Professor Richard Harrison,head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

　　At the peak of the cycle,violent outbursts calledcoronal mass ejections(日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun’s atmosphere,throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. “A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount,can disable satellites,cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications,” Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.

　　Next week in America,NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO),which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.