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The Listening Room - Are rocks discovered on Mars a sign of potential past life?

May 26, 2026 - Are rocks discovered on Mars a sign of potential past life?

Questions

  1. b

  2. a(b)cba

  3. sort(thought) to be; could be (have been)

Dictation

  1. Nasa’s Perseverance Rover has (been) the past 4 years (explorering) (the) area of Mars called the Jezero Crater.

    • Nasa’s Perseverance Rover has spent the past four years exploring an area of Mars called the Jezero Crater.

  2. It is dry and dusty. But billions of years ago it () thought to be an ancient lake with a river (flowed) into it.

    • It’s dry and dusty, but billions of years ago, it was thought to be an ancient lake with a river flowing into it.

  3. The (intrigue) (found rocks) on (river beds). They have a unusual ringed (markers) nicknamed leopard spots by () researchers and black dots the team are calling poppy seeds.

    • The intriguing rocks were found on the riverbed. They have unusual ringed markings, nicknamed ‘leopard spots’ by the researchers, and black dots the team are calling ‘poppy seeds’.

  4. () minerals, () the scientists think (it) could (be) produced by chemical reactions (associate) with (micros).

    • These features are actually minerals, and the scientists think they could have been produced by chemical reactions associated with microbes.

  5. Life isn’t the only possible explanation. The minerals could () be made by natural geological processes.

    • Life isn’t the only possible explanation. The minerals could have been made by natural geological processes.

  6. The only way to find out for sure is to bring the rocks back to (earth) for analysis.

    • The only way to find out for sure is to bring the rocks back to Earth for analysis.

  7. Missions to return samples (back) have been proposed, but there is uncertainty, because () the proposed (cut) (the) Nasa’s budget.

    • Missions to return samples have been proposed, but there’s uncertainty because of the proposed cuts to Nasa’s budget.

  8. (Well) there’s still much to find out these rocks are (tantelizing). () The finding (of astronomy) ()Nasa’s criteria for potential bio-signatures Features (are warn) (determine investigation) if (there really are the) sign of life.

    • While there’s still much to find out, these rocks are tantalising, and the findings are strong enough to meet Nasa’a criteria for potential biosignatures, features that warrant further investigation to determine if they really are a sign of life.

Vocabulary

  1. perseverance n. 毅力、恒心

    persevere v. 坚持不懈

    preserve v. 保存（原始状态完好） n. 果酱；自留地、专属领域

    conserve v. 保护、保存（免受伤害） n. 果酱

    reserve v. 保留、备用 n. 储量、储备；后备军；替补运动员；备用地点；保留的仪态（举止或表达上缺乏热情或坦诚）；保留原色的区域（在纺织品或陶瓷上）

    deserve v. 值得、应得

    observe v. 观察、注意到；发表意见、说道；履行或遵守（社会、法律、道德或宗教义务）

    serve v. 服务、供职；侍应、服侍、提供（食物、酒水）；正式送达（法律文书）；（挥拍类运动）发球；（航海）用细绳捆扎加固；（军队）用（枪） n. （挥拍类运动）击球的动作

  2. rover n. 漫游者；自由人（运动）；全地形车

  3. crater n. 陨石坑、炮弹坑；大碗 v. 形成大坑

  4. intrigue v. 引起好奇；搞阴谋诡计 n. 阴谋诡计；神秘、迷人的特质

  5. nicknamed - given an informal or special name

  6. leopard spots - 豹纹、豹斑（注意豹的发音，o不发音，a发e）

  7. poppy - n. 罂粟 adj. （流行音乐）吸引人的

  8. microbes - n. 微生物 tiny living things, like bacteria, too small to see without a microscope

  9. budget - a plan for how much money can be spent

  10. tantalising - adj. 诱人的、撩人的 very exciting or tempting

    tantalize v. 吸引、吊胃口

  11. biosignatures - signs that may show life existed or exists

  12. warrant - give a good or deserving reason for something

Transcript

Nasa’s Perseverance Rover has spent the past four years exploring an area of Mars called the Jezero Crater. It’s dry and dusty, but billions of years ago, it was thought to be an ancient lake with a river flowing into it.

The intriguing rocks were found on the riverbed. They have unusual ringed markings, nicknamed ‘leopard spots’ by the researchers, and black dots the team are calling ‘poppy seeds’. These features are actually minerals, and the scientists think they could have been produced by chemical reactions associated with microbes.

Life isn’t the only possible explanation. The minerals could have been made by natural geological processes. The only way to find out for sure is to bring the rocks back to Earth for analysis. Missions to return samples have been proposed, but there’s uncertainty because of the proposed cuts to Nasa’s budget.

While there’s still much to find out, these rocks are tantalising, and the findings are strong enough to meet Nasa’a criteria for potential biosignatures, features that warrant further investigation to determine if they are a sign of life.