Want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson"s Virgin Galactic plans

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Want to take an out-of-this-world trip? Richard Branson"s Virgin Galactic plans to make that possible. Beginning in 2009, people should have the opportunity to become space tourists, traveling at about 3,000 mph to heights about 75 miles above Earth. Branson has high hopes for his latest plans. "It is just the start of what we believe will be a new age in the history of mankind—one day making the affordable exploration of space by human beings a real possibility," he said.
At the start, though, the trip won’t be cheap. Seats aboard Virgin’s first craft—VSS Enterprise—will cost about $200,000. Prices could drop after the first hundred space flights. Despite the current ticket cost, more than 30,000 people—including celebrities(名人) Sigourney Weaver and Victoria Principal—have expressed interest in getting onboard.
People who don"t have an extra $200,000 still have a chance to get a seat aboard the craft. A computer game contest and a reality television show are in the works. Those who can’t afford a ticket will have an opportunity to win a seat.
Virgin is expected to be the first commercial spacecraft. It will hold six passengers and two pilots. Passengers will be able to see the Earth from many different viewpoints. The cabin will include 15 floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing for views that extend about 1,000 miles in any direction.
Passengers will have three days of preflight preparation. On the big day, the spacecraft will take off from the Mojave Spaceport in the California desert. The craft will rocket passengers into space at four times the speed of sound. The journey will last about 2 1/2 hours. Passengers will wear spacesuits and helmets(头盔). They will be able to float around the cabin and do somersaults(空翻) during the five minutes of weightlessness they will experience in zero gravity. At the end of the flight, the craft will land on a runway.
小题1:Virgin Galactic could be _____.

A．the engineer of the first commercial spacecraft

B．the name of a series of spacecrafts

C．the company of the first commercial spacecraft

D．a passenger aboard the first commercial spacecraft

小题2:The space passengers will do all the following except that _____.

A．they will receive a three-day training course

B．they will wear spacesuits and helmets

C．they will take about $200,000 with them

D．they will experience weightlessness

小题3:Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．More than 30,000 people have got to travel in spacecraft.

B．Many people signed up for space travel in spite of the high ticket cost.

C．Those without much money could also go space travel without occupying the seats.

D．The first commercial spacecraft will have six persons on board.

小题4:What is the text mainly about?

A．The exciting moment of the spacecraft’s launching.

B．The living condition of space tourists in the craft.

C．Preparations for a space travel.

D．Plans for the first commercial space flight.

答案

小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:B

解析

小题1:根据短文中的几个关键词（第一段中的Richard Branson"s Virgin Galactic；第二段中Virgin’s first craft；第四段中的Virgin）进行综合分析，Virgin Galactic (维珍银河)是系列宇宙飞船的名称，首次负担太空旅行的飞船叫VSS Enterprise。
小题2:根据短文最后一段可知，太空旅行的乘客将要接受三天的飞前培训；他们将穿太空服、带头盔；将经历失重。短文中提到了进行这次旅行乘客要花$200,000，并不是说要带这笔钱。
小题3:根据第二段最后一句可知：虽然票价昂贵，有3万多人有愿望进行这次旅行。
小题4:短文以一个疑问句开头，作者马上回答了提出的问题，巧妙引出全文的中心主题。即Virgin Galactic (维珍银河宇宙飞船)计划使太空旅行成为可能。

举一反三

You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation（撤离）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century ,sea level rose 8—12 inches. As a result .Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa , a Tuvaluan government official ,reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years .Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（导致温室效应的气体排放）,which are a main cause of global warming . “By refusing to sign the agreement ,the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries .
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable （易受影响的）to rising sea levels .Maumoon Gayoon ,president of the Maldives ,told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
1．The text is mainly about           .
A．rapid changes in earth’s temperature B．bad effects of global warming
C．moving of a country to a new place       D．reasons for lowland flooding
2．According to scientists ,the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is           .
A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C．continuous global warming
D．rising sea levels
3．Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not        .
A．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
4．The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is          .
A．Australia             B．New Zealand
C．the Maldives        D．the United States

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Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple

This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.
An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device, that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.
Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP (very important person) section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.
Take a step back:10 or 12 years ago,you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler

RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr.J.Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers. Accompanied by how many biscuits. w*w*When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.
1. The article is intended to______.
A. warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology
B. explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology
C. convince people of the uses of RFID technology
D. predict the applications of RFID technology
2. We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people        .
A. will have no trouble getting data about others
B. will have more energy for conversation
C. will have more time to make friends
D. won’t feel shy at parties any longer
3. Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of        .
A. scanning devices              B. radio waves   C. batteries              D. chips
4. Why are some people worried about RFID technology?
A. Because children will be tracked by strangers.
B. Because market competition will become more fierce.
C. Because their private lives will be greatly affected.
D. Because customers will be forced to buy more products.
5. The last paragraph implies that RFID technology        .
A. will not be used for such matters as buying milk
B. will be widely used, including for buying milk
C. will be limited to communication uses
D. will probably be used for pop music

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The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth , is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant"s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
11. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Disappearance of African elephants.
B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.
C. The effect of African elephants" search for food.
D. The eating habit of African elephants.
12. What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
A. Fixing the time. B. Worsening the state.
C. Improving the quality. D. Deciding the conditions.
13. What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.
B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.
C. They are home to many endangered animals

D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.
14. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The African elephant is the largest animal on earth.
B. African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day, including small trees and underbushes.
C. The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like other land animals
D. If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won’t be affected..
15. The passage is developed mainly by .
A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes
B. pointing out similarities and differences
C. describing the changes in space order
D. giving examples

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Unless we spend money spotting and preventing asteroids(小行星) now, one might crash into Early and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap. Is is worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: (1)How likely the event is; and (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500 000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these asteroids, they’ll take care of us,”says one scientist. “It’s that simple.”
The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(世界末日) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against it,” said a New York Times article.
9.What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
A.They are heavenly bodies different in composition.
B.They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
C.There are more asteroids than meteoroids.
D.Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
10.What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?
A.It is very unlikely but the danger exists.
B.Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.
C.Coilisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.
D.lt’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.
11.What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?
A.It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.
B.It may create more problems than it might slove.
C.It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.
D.Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.
12.We can conclude from the passage that .
A.while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world
B.asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future
C.the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlike to happen in our lifetime.
D.workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth

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Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes (结合)for the recycling of waste. The word "rubbish" could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
1. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to show us a future way of recycling wastes B. to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C. to warn people the danger of some wastes    D. to introduce a new recycling plant
2. How many stages are there in the recycling process?
A. 3.                 B. 4.               C. 5.                          D. 6.
3. What is the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
A. To deal with wastes in a better way. B. It’s a good way to gain profits.
C. It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places.
D. Energy can be got at a lower price.
4. The first full-scale huge recycling plants ________.
A. have been in existence for 15 years   B. takes 15 years to build
C. can’t be built until 15 years later       D. will remain functioning for 15 years

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