September 21, 2050----At a press conference today it
was announced that the first tourist heading for Mars will be the 38-year-old
US businessman Patrick Clifford. He will leave the earth in the launching
window of June 2052 and set his foot on the surface of Mars in November, together
with the other 6 astronauts assigned for the mission to further explore the
planet.
Patrick has now two years of training ahead of him to
get ready for the trip. Not only will he spend five months in getting to Mars,
but another 600 days there before he can go back home. Patrick was of
course very excited, “ This has been my dream since I was four, and seeing the
first man on Mars 20 years ago made me realize that it was possible.”
To be able to pay the $ 1. 3 billion for his ticket
for the trip Patrick sold his majority stake (股份) in
the company his father had built. “I know that my father would have been proud
of me if he had still been alive today, he knew what this means to me”, says
Patrick. There is no risk though that you will find Patrick begging in your
street corner when he comes back, but it is said that he was paid twice as
much for his part of the company.
So, how is he going to spend his 600 days on the red
planet? “Well, since I don’t have a job when I get back after selling the
company, I have plenty of time to come up with a new business idea”, he says
and laughs. If he brings a shovel(铁锹)he can
start building the first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn’t expect too many
guests until someone can offer a cheaper ticket.
1.How long will Patrick Clifford be away before he
comes back?
A.About five
months B.About two
years C.About 600
days D.About 750
days
2.The underlined part in Paragraph 3 means that .
A.the trip will
turn Patrick into a beggar
B.Patrick will
get much money from the trip
C.we needn’t worry about Patrick’s
economic condition
D.it’s likely that Patrick will be very poor after he comes
back
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Patrick is an
optimistic man
B.A total of
six people will go to Mars
C.Patrick’s father felt excited at the news
D.Patrick will
spend all his money on the trip