Grade 9 Unit 4 Topic 2 Section C

What do you know about Mars? What does it look like?

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun in our solar ^[1]solar: US: [ˈsoʊlər]  UK: [ˈsəʊlə(r)]  adj. 太阳的；太阳能的 system and is named after ^[2]be named after: 以……名字命名 Mars, the Roman ^[3]Roman: US: [‘roʊmən]  UK: [‘rəʊmən]  adj. 古罗马的；古罗马帝国的；罗马城的；天主教的 god ^[4]god: US: [ɡɑd]  UK: [ɡɒd]  n. 上帝；天主；真主；（某些宗教中主宰某个领域的）神 of war. Its diameter ^[5]diameter: US: [daɪˈæmətər]  UK: [daɪˈæmɪtə(r)]  n. 直径；对径；放大率；放大倍数 is 53% as wide as ^[6]53% as wide as: （…的）宽度的53%   用同级比较表达倍数“倍数/分数 + as … as” that of the earth. Mars goes around the sun at a distance of ^[7]at a distance of: 在…远的地方；相距；在……的距离 about 228 million kilometers. You can tell which planet is Mars because it is bright red in the night sky. It looks like a red and orange ball. It’s very beautiful. But during spring and summer, the surface of Mars is covered by strong storms ^[8]storm: US: [stɔrm] UK: [stɔː(r)m]  n. 暴风雨；和风暴有关的恶劣天气；（群情迸发的）浪潮. The gravity ^[9]gravity: US: [ˈɡrævəti]  UK: [‘ɡrævəti]  n. 重力；严重性；地球引力 on the surface of Mars is about two-fifths as strong as it is on earth. So a person who weighs ^[10]weigh: US: [weɪ]  UK: [weɪ]  linkv. 重；有…重  v. 权衡；斟酌；称重量；认真考虑 90 kilos on earth weighs only 36 kilos on Mars. The temperature on Mars is between -138% and 28%. The air has only 0.13% oxygen.

It takes a spaceship about eight months to ^[11]It takes sb. st. to do sth. : 做某事花费某人多少时间 reach Mars from the earth when the two planets are closest to each other. Scientists are still searching for ^[12]search for: 寻找；寻求；探求 more information about Mars.