The black hole is 500 million trillion km away and was photographed by a network of eight telescopes across the world. Details have been published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Prof Heino Falcke, who proposed the experiment, told BBC News that the black hole was found in a galaxy called M87. “What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System,” he said. “It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe.” The image shows an intensely bright “ring of fire”, as Prof Falcke describes it, surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. Some scientists assumed that the bright ring is caused by superheated gas falling into the hole. The light is brighter than all the billions of other stars in the galaxy combined – which is why it can be seen at such distance from Earth. The edge of the dark circle at the centre is the point at which the gas enters the black hole, which is an object that has such a large gravitational pull (引力) that even light can’t escape.

The image matches what theoretical physicists and indeed, Hollywood directors, imagined black holes would look like, according to Dr Ziri Younsi, of University College London. “Although they are relatively simple objects, black holes raise some of the most complex questions about the nature of space and time, and finally of our existence,” he said. “It is surprising that the image we observe is so similar to that which we obtain from our theoretical calculations (计算). So far, it looks like Einstein is correct once again.” But having the first image will enable researchers to learn more about these mysterious objects. They will be keen to look out for ways in which the black hole leaves from what’s expected in physics. No one really knows how the bright ring around the hole is created. Even more interesting is the question of what happens when an object falls into a black hole.

【1】What made the scientists call the black hole a “monster”?

A. The hole’s larger size.B. Its distance from the earth.

C. The gravitational pull.D. The bright ring of the hole.

【2】Why can the black hole be seen from the Earth?

A. The superheated gas falling into the hole makes it brighter.

B. An intensely bright “ring of fire” surrounds the black hole.

C. The gravitational pull of the hole is so large that no light escapes.

D. The light of the other stars combined can’t match that of the hole.

【3】About the image of the black hole, which of the following is CORRECT?

A. Eight telescopes in the USA cooperated to take the image.

B. It will help researchers to learn more about black holes.

C. It is different from what Hollywood directors imagined.

D. It enables scientists to know the nature of our existence.

【4】What might be the best title for the passage?

A. The Heaviest Black HoleB. First Black Hole Image Released

C. A Surprising MonsterD. Einstein is Correct Once Again

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】B

【4】B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。天文学家首次拍摄到位于遥远星系中的黑洞的图像，它因为其尺寸比太阳系还要大被科学家们称为“怪物”。过热的气体落入黑洞而形成了一到光环，因此使得这个黑洞比银河系中所有其他数十亿颗恒星加起来还要亮，这就是为什么在离地球这么远的地方也能看到它。有了第一张图像，研究人员就能对这些神秘的物体有更多的了解。

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段 It measures 40 billion km across – three million times the size of the Earth – and has been described by scientists as “a monster”.和第三段第二句“What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System,” he said. “It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun.可知科学家所看到的黑洞比整个太阳系的大小还要大，它的质量是太阳的65亿倍。”即科学家们称其为“怪物”是因为黑洞的尺寸比太阳系还大，故选A。

【2】细节理解题。根据第三段倒数第二句The light is brighter than all the billions of other stars in the galaxy combined – which is why it can be seen at such distance from Earth.可知黑洞发出的这束光比银河系中所有其他数十亿颗恒星加起来还要亮，这就是为什么在离地球这么远的地方也能看到它。即我们能从地球上看到黑洞的原因是其他恒星的光加起来不能与黑洞的光相匹配。故选D。

【3】细节理解题。最后一段中But having the first image will enable researchers to learn more about these mysterious objects.可知有了第一张图像，研究人员就能对这些神秘的物体有更多的了解。B选项正确，故选B。

【4】主旨大意题。根据第一段第一句Astronomers have taken the first ever image of a black hole, which is located in a distant galaxy.以及文章主要内容都是围绕着天文学家首次拍摄到位于遥远星系中的黑洞的这张图像展开的，故选B。