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Water on the Moon could sustain a lunar base

 

    Having dropped tantalizing hints days ago about an "exciting new discovery about the Moon", the US space
agency has revealed conclusive evidence of water on our only natural satellite. And this "unambiguous detection
of molecular water" will boost Nasa's hopes of establishing a lunar base.
    The aim is to sustain that base by tapping into the Moon's natural resources. The findings have been
published as two papers in the journal Nature Astronomy. Unlike previous detections of water in permanently
shadowed parts of lunar craters, scientists have now detected the molecule in sunlit regions of the Moon's
surface.
    Speaking during a virtual teleconference, co-author Casey Honniball, postdoctoral fellow at Nasa's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Maryland, said: "The amount of water is roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water in
a cubic metre of lunar soil." Her Nasa colleague Jacob Bleacher, from the agency's human exploration directorate,
said researchers still needed to understand the nature of the watery deposits. This would help them determine
how accessible they would be for future lunar explorers to use.
    And while there have previously been signs of water on the lunar surface, these new discoveries suggest it
is more abundant than previously thought. "It gives us more options for potential water sources on the Moon," said
Hannah Sargeant, a planetary scientist from the Open University in Milton Keynes, on BBC News.
    The first of these new discoveries was made from an airborne infrared telescope known as Sofia. This
observatory, on board a modified Boeing 747, flies above much of Earth's atmosphere, giving a largely
unobstructed view of the Solar System.
    Using this infrared telescope, researchers picked up the "signature" colour of water molecules. The
researchers think it is stored in bubbles of lunar glass or between grains on the surface that protect it from the
harsh environment. In the other study, scientists looked for permanently shadowed areas - known as cold traps -
where water could be captured and remain permanently. They found these cold traps at both poles and concluded
that approximately 40,000 kilometres squared of the lunar surface has the capacity to trap water.
    What does this discovery mean? According to Dr Sargeant this discovery mean that this could broaden the
list of places where we might want to build a lunar base. There are quite a few one-off missions to the Moon's
polar regions coming up in the next few years. In the longer term, there are plans to build a permanent habitation
on the lunar surface.
    “We were going to go to the Moon anyway”, said the Open University researcher. This study gives Nasa
some time to do some investigation, but it doesn't give it much time because and the US space agency is already
working on Moon base ideas and where they are going to go and it is promising.
    Experts say that water-ice could form the basis of a future lunar economy, once we've figured out how to
extract it. Definitely, it would be much cheaper to make rocket fuel on the Moon than send it from Earth. So when
future lunar explorers want to return to Earth, or travel on to other destinations, they could turn the water into the
hydrogen and oxygen commonly used to power space vehicles.
    Re-fuelling at the Moon could therefore bring down the cost of space travel and make a lunar base more
affordable and a potential lunar settlement is on the way to become into a reality.

Disponível em: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54666328. Acesso em: 27 out. 2020.

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The virus and the way we internet

 

    With nearly all public gatherings called off, Americans are seeking out entertainment on streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, and looking to connect with one another on social media outlets like Facebook. In the past few years, users of these services were increasingly moving to their smartphones, creating an industrywide focus on mobile. Now that we are spending our days at home, with computers close at hand, Americans appear to be remembering how unpleasant it can be to squint at those little phone screens. Facebook, Netflix and YouTube have all seen user numbers on their phone apps stagnate or fall off as their websites have grown, the data from SimilarWeb and Apptopia indicates.

    While traditional social media sites have been growing, it seems that we want to do more than just connect through messaging and text — we want to see one another. This has given a big boost to apps that used to linger in relative obscurity, like Google’s video chatting application, Duo, and Houseparty, which allows groups of friends to join a single video chat and play games together. We have also grown much more interested in our immediate environment, and how it is changing and responding to the virus and the quarantine measures. Amid the uncertainty about how bad the outbreak could get, Americans appear to want few things more than the latest news on the coronavirus. Among the biggest beneficiaries are local news sites, as people try to learn how the pandemic is affecting their hometowns.

    Americans have also been seeking out more established media brands. CNBC, the business news site, has seen readership skyrocket. The websites for The New York Times and The Washington Post have both grown traffic more than 50 percent over the last month. The desire for the latest facts on the virus appears to be curbing interest in the more opinionated takes from partisan sites, which have defined the media landscape in recent years. Publications like The Daily Caller, on the right, and Truthdig, on the left, have recorded stagnant or falling numbers. Beating all of the news sites, in terms of increased popularity, is the home page for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been attracting millions of readers after previously having almost none.

(Available: https://www.nytimes.com. By Ella Koeze and Nathaniel Popper. April 7, 2020. Adapted.)

Allows, highlighted in the text’s second paragraph, means:

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“There is no great secret about being in shape. I start the day off with a nutritious breakfast. ________________ sugary cereals, I have juice with a sweeter and low carb bread or a delicious low-fat muffin. And if I want to have a snack before lunch, I go with fruit.”

 

Choose the item that fits the text blank.

The 'Queen's Gambit' Effect: Everyone Wants a Chess Set Now

 

    _______(1) for the past few years the most popular _______(2) on Netflix was undoubtedly Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, as portrayed by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman in The Crown, this fall another type of queen _______(3) her mark: Beth Harmon, the captivating protagonist of The Queen's Gambit, a Netflix original that became an overnight sensation and inspired a slew of discerning viewers to pick up _______(4).

    Call it the Queen's Gambit effect: Chessboards are flying off the (literal and virtual) rack in the wake of the show's hit season. Just ask Anthony Barzilay Freund, editorial director and director of fine art at vintage site 1stDibs: “The Queen's Gambit is driving an interest in the game of chess among new audiences and demographics,” Freund confirms: “At 1stDibs, in just the month following the show's release, we've seen a 100% increase in sales of chessboards, pieces, and tables as compared to this time period last year.”

    Of course, while it might be enjoying a renewed popularity at the moment, the game of chess dates back centuries and has long captivated players all over the world. It's believed to have derived from a 7thcentury Indian game, then evolved as it spread across Asia and Europe in the following centuries. As a result, says Freund, “you can find a variety of vintage and contemporary chess paraphernalia from dealers all over the world.” Those who don't necessarily have the budget for pawns of precious stone have a myriad of options on the market at all price ranges. So light a fire, make a drink, and set up the chessboard – Beth Harmon would be proud.

Adapted from https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a34874207/queens-gambit-beth-harmon-chess-sets/

In the sentence “Chessboards are flying of f the (literal and virtual) rack in the wake of the show's hit season.” (paragraph 2), the words fly off the rack mean

The 'Queen's Gambit' Effect: Everyone Wants a Chess Set Now

 

    _______(1) for the past few years the most popular _______(2) on Netflix was undoubtedly Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, as portrayed by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman in The Crown, this fall another type of queen _______(3) her mark: Beth Harmon, the captivating protagonist of The Queen's Gambit, a Netflix original that became an overnight sensation and inspired a slew of discerning viewers to pick up _______(4).

    Call it the Queen's Gambit effect: Chessboards are flying off the (literal and virtual) rack in the wake of the show's hit season. Just ask Anthony Barzilay Freund, editorial director and director of fine art at vintage site 1stDibs: “The Queen's Gambit is driving an interest in the game of chess among new audiences and demographics,” Freund confirms: “At 1stDibs, in just the month following the show's release, we've seen a 100% increase in sales of chessboards, pieces, and tables as compared to this time period last year.”

    Of course, while it might be enjoying a renewed popularity at the moment, the game of chess dates back centuries and has long captivated players all over the world. It's believed to have derived from a 7thcentury Indian game, then evolved as it spread across Asia and Europe in the following centuries. As a result, says Freund, “you can find a variety of vintage and contemporary chess paraphernalia from dealers all over the world.” Those who don't necessarily have the budget for pawns of precious stone have a myriad of options on the market at all price ranges. So light a fire, make a drink, and set up the chessboard – Beth Harmon would be proud.

Adapted from https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a34874207/queens-gambit-beth-harmon-chess-sets/

Choose the alternative with words that respectively complete gaps (1), (2), (3) and (4) in the correct way.