An astronomer is making a case for launching pop singer Justin Bieber into subor
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An astronomer is making a case for launching pop singer Justin Bieber into suborbital（亚轨道的）space aboard a private rocket ship. The idea is not to rid the world of the Canadian teenager — he would come back down to Earth eventually, after all — but rather to help jump-start the emerging suborbital spaceflight industry.
It would generate a lot of public interest, which would help commercial spaceflight pick up some much-needed momentum, said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in Mountain View, California. “If there’s more interest, there are more customers. If there are more customers, there"s more technical development. It"s a positive feedback loop, and obviously that"s good.”
Such missions would return to Earth without completing a full lap around the planet. Instead, the flights would hit the edge of space about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, experience a few minutes of weightlessness, then re-enter the atmosphere and land back at a spaceport.
None of these firms are ready to fly customers yet, but some are getting close. For instance, Virgin Galactic hopes to begin powered test flights of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle later this year, with commercial operations perhaps beginning in 2013 or 2014. It is SpaceShipTwo that reportedly grabbed the attention of Beyonce and Jay-Z.
Virgin Galactic has collected deposits from nearly 500 customers willing to pay $200,000 for a ride aboard SpaceShipTwo, and both Virgin and XCOR have inked deals to fly scientists and their experiments on research flights. So a suborbital market already exists — but Shostak is thinking about ways to make it grow.
A celebrity launch isn"t Shostak’s only idea. Suborbital firms should also promote their activities aggressively via social media, Shostak said, and they should make sure their spaceships are bristling（充满）with cameras both inside and out, to give the public dramatic views of every mission.
Some observers view commercial suborbital spaceflight as a potentially transformative industry, saying it could serve as a stepping stone to the exploration and exploitation of space on an unprecedented scale. While the industry’s success is far from assured, Shostak offered some reason for optimism: The American public remains keen on space.
小题1:Why may Justin Bieber be sent into suborbital space?| A．To show his bravery and make him a role model for teenagers. | | B．To arouse the American public’s interest. | | C．To help reform the spaceflight industry. | | D．To film an advertisement about space. |
小题2:What can we learn about suborbital spaceflight?| A．A trip will return to Earth before finishing a lap. | | B．The whole trip will leave passengers weightless. | | C．Each trip can take 500 passengers. | | D．The trip will be too expensive even for celebrities. |
小题3:What can we infer from the text?| A．SpaceShipTwo will be the first to fly. | | B．Famous people will be the main passengers in the future. | | C．The space trip is still in preparation. | | D．Every space trip will be made into a film. |
小题4:The last paragraph suggests that _________. | A．space is too mysterious to explore | | B．the suborbital market is promising | | C．the spaceflight industry is more successful than people think | | D．developing the industry is risky |
小题5:What is the main purpose of the text?| A．To predict a change in the space market. | | B．To discuss a recent launch. | | C．To introduce the status of the spaceflight industry. | | D．To remove public doubt about the spaceflight industry. |
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答案
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:B
小题5:C |
解析
试题分析：本文主要介绍了亚轨道航天工业的suborbital spaceflight industry的现状和前景。
小题1:B 细节题。根据文章第一段The idea is not to rid the world of the Canadian teenager — he would come back down to Earth eventually, after all — but rather to help jump-start the emerging suborbital spaceflight industry.说明这样做是为了引起人们对亚轨道航天工业的兴趣。故B正确。
小题2:A 细节题。根据文章第三段Such missions would return to Earth without completing a full lap around the planet. Instead, the flights would hit the edge of space about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, experience a few minutes of weightlessness, then re-enter the atmosphere and land back at a spaceport.可知在这样的飞行中，人们并没有完全绕地球飞行一圈，然后就返回了地面。故A正确。
小题3:C 推断题。根据文章倒数第三段None of these firms are ready to fly customers yet, but some are getting close.可知这样的飞行并没有真正实现，只是在慢慢接近。故C项正确。
小题4:B 推理题。根据文章最后2行While the industry’s success is far from assured, Shostak offered some reason for optimism: The American public remains keen on space.
课虽然现在这种行业还没有取得成功，但是前景很乐观，因为美国人对于太空旅游很感兴趣。这个行业还是有很大的潜力的，故B正确。
小题5:C 主旨大意题。根据文章第一段内容中所举Justin Bieber的例子，就是为了向我们介绍
方兴未艾的 suborbital spaceflight industry.故C正确。
点评：本文主要介绍了亚轨道航天工业的suborbital spaceflight industry的现状和前景。
考查科普类短文阅读，此类文章的最大的障碍是词汇以及考生对阅读内容的不熟悉，需要考生在阅读的时候有足够的耐心。要养成在上下文串联中猜测词义的能力，根据上下文中出现的同义词，近义词，反义词，以及词义的解释来理解生词。同时要抓住文章的中心，不要受其他信息的影响。要根据题目及选项以及文章的上下文串联合理的判断推理。 |
举一反三
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
小题1:Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually ________.| A．an expression of happiness | B． a way of warning | | C．an expression of anger | D． a way of greeting |
小题2:What is a bird’s “territory”?| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. | | B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. | | C．An area for which birds fight against each other. | | D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
小题3:Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?| A．Because they want to invite more friends. | | B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. | | C．Because they want to find outsiders around. | | D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears. |
小题4:How does the writer explain birds’ singing?| A．By comparing birds with human beings. | | B．By reporting experiment results. | | C．By describing birds’ daily life. | | D．By telling a bird’s story. |
小题5:What does the underline word “screaming” in paragraph 4 mean? |
Making friends is a skill like most skills. It improves with practice. If you want to meet people and make friends, you must be willing to take some action. You must first go where there are people. You won’t make friends staying home alone.
Joining a club or a group, talking with those who like the same things as you do is much easier. Or join someone in some activity.
Many people are nervous when talking to new people. After all meeting strangers means facing the unknown. And it’s human nature to feel a bit uncomfortable about unknown. Most of our fears about dealing with new people comes from doubts about ourselves. We imagine other people are judging us, finding us too tall or too short, too this or too that. But don’t forget that they must be feeling the same way. Try to accept yourself as you are, and try to put the other person at ease. You’ll both feel more comfortable.
Try to act self-confident even if you don’t feel that way. When you enter a room full of strangers, such as a new classroom, walk tall and straight, look directly at other people and smile.
If you see someone you’d like to speak to, say something. Don’t wait for the other person to start a conversation.
Just meeting someone new does not mean that you will make friends with that person—friendship is based on mutual liking and “give and take”. It takes time and effort to develop.
小题1:The best topic of the passage may be ________.| A．Friendship | B．Making friends | C．Meeting New People | D．Facing the Unknown |
小题2:Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?| A．Making friends needs practicing. | | B．Making friends needs to be more active in getting in touch with people. | | C．When meeting someone, make him feel nice and easy. | | D．Before making friends with someone, judge him if he’s too this or too that. |
小题3:The development of friendship needs ________.| A．a lot of money | B．lots of conversation | | C．time and effort | D．carefully judging |
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A sandstorm, also known as a dust storm, is exactly what it sounds like. A very strong windstorm especially in the desert carries clouds of sand or dust that greatly reduces visibility. This wind is usually caused by convection currents (对流气流), which are created by intense heating of the ground, and is usually strong enough to move entire sand dunes. Air is unstable when heated, and this instability in the air will cause higher winds to mix with winds in the lower atmosphere, producing strong surface winds.
Sandstorms can disturb people’s travel, and can sometimes destroy whole roads, and dry flat areas. Similar dust storms can be found on the planet Mars, and are thought to be seasonal. Today, the destruction of forests and too much farming of farmland can lead to sandstorms. Too much use of water resources can also cause sandstorms.
In the United States of America, sandstorms are rare because of the lack of large deserts and more importantly the development of proper agricultural techniques. The last recorded destructive sandstorm in American history was the Dust Bowl, which occurred on July 16, 1971 and was widely recorded by meteorologists (气象学家).
To protect themselves from sandstorms, some people wear protective suits. Special equipment can be fixed in some cars to prevent sand from getting into the engine. Sandstorms can cause coughs, and the sand and dust has also been known to carry “infectious diseases”. Sand particles, unlike dust ones, will block air passages, and cause a person who breathes them in to choke. Dust particles may cause an allergic (过敏的) reaction.
小题1:Which of the following plays the first part in forming sandstorms? | A．The instability of the sand. | | B．The instability of the wind. | | C．The intense heating of the ground. | | D．The speed of the wind. |
小题2:From the second paragraph, we can learn that at present _______. | A．sandstorms are more often seen on Mars than on Earth | | B．sandstorms have led to the lack of clean water resources | | C．farming brings more harm than benefits to humans | | D．human activities are a major cause of sandstorms |
小题3:The author will most probably agree that ________. | A．there will soon be no sandstorms in the USA | | B．humans haven’t thought of any way to deal with sandstorms | | C．death caused by sandstorms is increasing all the time | | D．humans should make more efforts to stop soil turning into desert |
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There are two factors which determine an individual"s intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ considerably, some being more capable than others. But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn. So the second factor is what happens to the individual—the sort of environment in which he is reared (培养). If an individual is handicapped (妨碍) environmentally, it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.
The importance of environment in determining an individual"s intelligence can be demonstrated by the case history of the identical twins, Peter and Mark X. Being identical, the twins had identical brains at birth, and their growth processes were the same. When the twins were three months old, their parents died, and they were placed in separate foster homes. Peter was reared by parents of low intelligence in an isolated community with poor educational opportunities. Mark was reared in the home of well-to-do parents who had been to college. He was read to as a child, sent to good schools, and given every opportunity to be stimulated intellectually. This environmental difference continued until the twins were in their late teens, when they were given tests to measure their intelligence. Mark"s I.Q. was 125, twenty-five points higher than the average and fully forty points higher than his identical brother. Given equal opportunities, the twins, having identical brains, would have tested at roughly the same level.
小题1:This passage can be best titled_________.| A．Intelligence and Environment | | B．Measuring Your Intelligence | | C．The Case of Peter and Mark | | D．How the brain Influences Intelligence |
小题2:According to the passage, the average I.Q. is _____.小题3:The case history of the twins appears to support the conclusion that _______.| A．individual with identical brains seldom test at same level | | B．an individual"s intelligence is determined only by his environment | | C．changes of environment produce changes in the structure of the brain | | D．lack of opportunity blocks the growth of intelligence |
小题4:This passage suggests that an individual"s I.Q.______.| A．can be increased by education | | B．stays the same throughout his life | | C．can be predicted at birth | | D．is determined by his childhood |
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Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate, you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda eats only one particular type of bamboo(竹子) . Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly(蝴蝶) will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied(多样化) diet . The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
小题1:We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.| A．depend on one sense in choosing food | | B．are not satisfied with their food | | C．choose food in similar ways | | D．eat entirely different food |
小题2:Which of the following eats only one type of food?| A．The white butterfly. | B．The small bird. | | C．The bear. | D．The fox. |
小题3:Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.| A．the season changes | | B．the food color changes | | C．they move to different places | | D．they are attracted by different smells |
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