Question

Humans may not have landed on Mars (火星) just yet, but that isn’t stopping a European company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within the next few years. This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.

“Everything we need to go to Mars exists,” said Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp in March 2014. “We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans. For a one-way mission, all the technology exists.” Yet the four astronauts chosen for the trip will be stuck on Mars—forever. And despite Mars One’s thorough planning, there are a number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place. The biggest road block could be the mission's huge cost ($6 billion). However, Lansdorp is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.

Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be sent to Mars. Lansdorp said the company will hold a selection process similar to a reality show. Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around the world. In addition to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit (阻止) the mission to Mars.

“It’s even more challenging to send people there with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars,” said Adam Baker, senior lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London. “The size of the rockets you’d need to do this would be absolutely colossal.”

1.According to Project Mars One, humans could send four people to Mars within the next ________years.

A. seven B. eight C. ten D. six

2.According to Bas Lansdorp, which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A. Robots are prepared for the settlement for humans.

B. He could not come up with the fund for Mars One.

C. We humans have the rockets to send people to Mars.

D. The equipment is ready for humans to land on Mars.

3.The word “colossal” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ___________.

A. very large B. very small

C. medium D. average

4.Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A. Ready for a Round Trip to Mars

B. Ready for a Short Visit to Mars

C. Ready for a One-way Trip to Mars

D. Ready for a Walk on Mars

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：人类目前还没登上过火星，但是这并不妨碍欧洲一家公司做出几年后送四个人到火星的大胆计划。这个叫做“火星一号”的计划旨在到2022年，把一小部分人送往火星并让人类最终在火星上定居。

1.aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022”可知，计划2022年送人们去火星，现在是2014年，因此是在八年之后，故选B。

2.We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans.”可知，A、C、D正确；根据“Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission”可知，“火星一号”有足够的资金来支持这个项目，B项错误，故选B。

3.with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of providing for their own resources for a long stay”可知，如果要送人类到火星，还需要运送食物、空气、书、通讯等生活必备的东西和设施到火星，那么，飞船必须要非常大，才能装得下这些东西，故选A。

4.This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.”可知，“火星一号”的计划是帮助人类在火星上定居，排除B、D；根据第二段“For a one-way mission, all the technology exists.”可知，火星之旅是单程的，排除A；故选C。

考点：科技类短文阅读