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题库 / OG2016-RC-119
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and "close" the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70.
Our contribution to the search for this "missing matter" has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler's law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass.
Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.
The authors' suggestion that "as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth" (in the highlighted text) would be most weakened if which of the following were discovered to be true?
Spiral galaxies are less common than types of galaxies that contain little nonluminous matter.
Luminous and nonluminous matter are composed of the same basic elements.
The bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy also contains some nonluminous matter.
The density of the observable universe is greater than most previous estimates have suggested.
Some galaxies do not rotate or rotate too slowly for their rotational velocity to be measured.
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正确答案是 D。原文中提到，如果宇宙要停止膨胀，那么必须有足够的看不见的物质来超过可见物质的密度，而且可见物质（以星系的形式）的密度远远低于所需的临界密度。如果选项 D 被发现是正确的，意味着可见物质的密度比原来估计的要高，这将削弱作者认为大约 90% 的宇宙物质是看不见的的提议。
划线句提到our findings，这个发现是基于spiral galaxy的发现，也就是说spiral galaxy是研究对象。由这个对象推出了一个广泛的结论，削弱优先考虑样本代表性问题。
Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass.
The conclusion is based on spiral galaxies. If they are atypical of galaxies, the conclusion will not apply to the majority of galaxies. It‘s a question about the representativeness of a sample.