Unit 1 Face Values-【新课程能力培养】2023-2024学年新课程高二英语阅读选择性必修第三册（外研版）

Unit 1 A A new species of animals scientists consider indestructible has been found in Finland, and researchers have named it after a character, namely Lord Voldemort蒺s snake,Nagini. The animal is a tardigrade （节肢动物） , amicroscopic, eight-legged animalconsideredoneof the toughestorganismsonEarth, capableof standingup to theworst environment. “ Looking likeadorableminiaturebears, naginiswouldprob- ablysurvivetheapocalypse （大灾变） , ” saysNational Geographic. Naginisarealmost impossible tobekilled.Theycanbefrozento justaboveab- solute zero, entirely dried out, or even X-rayed thousands of times beyond what a humancanbear, and they survive. In2016, researchersbrought twonaginis that had been frozen for30yearsback to life.Oneof themsurvivedandproceeded to lay19 eggs, 14 ofwhich successfully hatched. In 2021, scientists shot naginis at the speed of 2,160 miles per hour to determine if they could survive in space — and they did. Researchers nowwant to launch them into space to stay for an hour to see if they蒺ll endure. Naginis belong to a category of animals that can survive environments that most others can蒺t. Their resilience is in part due to a unique protein in their bodies calledDsup thatprotects theirDNAfrombeingharmedby things like ionizing radi- ation （电离辐射） , which is present in the soil, water and plants. Another amazing survival trick is cryptobiosis, a state of inactivity provoked by a dry environment. The micro-animals squeeze all the water out of their bodies, withdraw their heads and limbs, roll up into a little ball, and become inactive.When conditions improve, theyopenthemselvesandgoabout theirbusiness. Scientists say theymighthave another explanation for their remarkable survival