题目内容
The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris(有毒的残骸) over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails(痕迹) streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant(推进器).
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts.
1. The word “descent” in the passage means ________.
A. taking off B. landing C. orbiting D. walking down
2. Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon?
A. He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.
B. He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.
C. He used to be a passenger plane pilot.
D. He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster.
3. The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that ________.
A. there were seven astronauts killed on board
B. both the shuttles exploded when they took off
C. Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land
D. no human remains were found
4. Which of the following is wrong according to the news?
A. The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.
B. NASA hasn’t found the cause of the Columbia disaster.
C. Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.
D. Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission.
1----4 BAAA
解析:
本文讲述了美国航天飞机“哥伦比亚”号失事的情况。
1. B。词义推测题。可以参见第三段第二句中的in the decent to Earth,其后or landing 即是对 descent解释。
2. A。细节题。从 …which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon 中可以知道,Ilan Ramon. 是以色列第一位乘坐航天飞机的宇航员。
3. A。推断题。要求你找出这两起灾难的共同点。从文中可以了解到两起灾难都有7位宇航员丧生。“挑战者”号是在升空时失事的,而“哥伦比亚”号是在返回地面的过程中失事的,故可排除B 和 C。而选项 D 与原文不符,故选 A。
4. A。判断题。根据…America's space program will go on 我们可以知道选项 A 明显错误。而选项B、C、D均与原文相符。
Task-based reading 任务型阅读
请认真阅读下面短文,并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意:每空不超过1个单词。
For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.
In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.
These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.
The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.
Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.
History of space travel | ||
Time | Events | Information concerned |
Early 1900s | High-flying rockets were built. | It made the ancient dream of going to space possible to come 66) ▲ |
1903 | Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (67) ▲ out a way to use rockets for space travel. | He planned to put correct scientific calculation to use in rocket science. |
Around (68) ▲ | Robert Goddard built new rockets. | The rockets could fly very (69) ▲ in the sky. |
During and after World War II | German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. | Germany was ahead of all the other countries in building space rockets and later it (70) ▲ the Soviet Union and the United States |
The Soviet Union and the United States competed to get to space first. | The Soviet Union became the (71) ▲ of the competition when it launched the first satellite and sent the first astronaut into space. | |
1969 | The United States was (72) ▲ in putting a person on the moon. | In one way, it (73) ▲ the Soviet Union by becoming the first country to fly people to the moon. |
1970s | The Soviets built the first space station and was soon followed by Americans. And they finally ended the "space race" by (74) ▲ | Astronauts can live and work in space stations. |
1980s-- | Space shuttles are used as new vehicles for space (75) ▲ . | Shuttles are also used to help put satellites into space. |
1685 was a very good year for German composers. Within the space of a month, two of the greatest were born: Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.
Handel’s father was a barber and surgeon, which sounds like a strange combination today, but back then those occupations went hand in hand. Even though Handel was very interested in music, his father didn’t think that was a good way to earn a living, so he wanted his son to be a lawyer. The story goes that Handel smuggled a quiet piano into the house so that he could practice in secret.
One day, Handel went along when his father went to shave a duke. While his father was working, Handel sat down and played the duke’s organ. The duke was so impressed that he convinced Handel’s father to let his son study music, and Handel finally got to learn how to compose.
Handel soon discovered that what he liked most was opera. In fact, he was so passionate about opera that he even fought a duel (决斗) over it with one of his friends. Since Italy was the place to learn about opera composing, Handel went off to Italy to study. When he got home, he got a job as court composer for a German prince.
Having landed such a wonderful job, Handel immediately asked his boss for time off. He wanted to go to England, where he’d heard that there weren’t nearly enough composers to satisfy the British taste for Italian opera.
After great success writing opera in London, Handel came back to Germany. Then fate played a funny trick on Handel and his boss. The Queen of England died, and it just so happened that the prince Handel worked for was next in line to the British throne. When he arrived in London as King George, followed Handel, his court composer in Germany.
In addition to serving the King, Handel became one of the most successful opera composers of his time. And he also produced them and traveled all over Europe to hire the best singers. There are stories of battles with rival opera producers and of fights between rival singers. Handel apparently had quite a temper.
If you ever go to London, look for Handel’s grave in Westminster Abbey, where there’s a wonderful monument to him.
【小题1】How did Handel begin to learn to compose?
A.His father was sure of his future success. |
B.His performance impressed a duke. |
C.He begged his father to send him to Italy. |
D.He practiced hard and taught himself music. |
A.bought secretly | B.took secretly |
C.carried in advance | D.possessed personally |
A.Because he could find better jobs in London. |
B.Because he enjoyed greater fame in London. |
C.Because his boss became King of Britain and brought him along. |
D.Because London was a wonderful place to learn about opera. |
A.bad-tempered | B.talented | C.enthusiastic | D.optimistic |
A.Handel was born in the same year with Bach. |
B.Many people worked both as a barber and a surgeon. |
C.Handel quit his job to learn about opera in Italy. |
D.Handel was buried in London and was built a monument. |
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit(成套设备) and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''
1.Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
A. Because she didn't want others to hear her play
B. Because she didn't mean to disturb others.
C. Because she didn't have her own room
D. Because she didn’t like her neighbors.
2.Brenda started to give concerts _______.
A. after she practiced in her space bubble
B. when she became part of the unique space journey
C. after she became a real musical astronaut
D. when people came to see her in the space bubble
3.Brenda became famous because _______.
A. she was good at music and science
B. she became a real musical astronaut
C. she invented a special way of practice
D. she played well and had a talent
4.Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
A. Kind, hardworking and clever
B. Brave, kind and hardworking.
C. Lovely, brave and kind
D. Nervous, kind and clever.
5.It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
A. He laughs best who laughs last
B. It's never too old to learn
C. Two heads are better than one
D. One good turn deserves another