Since people first sent rockets into space in the 1950s, we have been leaving be

题型：不详难度：来源：

Since people first sent rockets into space in the 1950s, we have been leaving behind all sorts of things. Some of them, like the camera, were lost by astronauts while they did work outside their spaceship. But much of the space junk is made up of little pieces of things that were once bigger objects, until they struck each other and broke apart.
Some things we send into space fall back toward the earth and burn up in the atmosphere. But larger pieces sometimes survive the extreme heat and hit the ground or the ocean at great speeds. So there is always concern that something may fall from the sky and do some harm.
But space junk falling on housetops (屋顶) is not the biggest worry. Scientists are concerned about what happens when an empty rocket strikes another while orbiting (绕轨道飞行) the earth. Two big things become many smaller things. They then hit other things. The pieces get smaller and smaller until they form a cloud of junk that blocks the path of future space vehicles.
So what can be done to clean up the space around our planet? Marco Castronuovo, an Italian researcher, talks about sending a satellite into space that would get very close to some of the larger pieces of space junk. The satellite would connect a small rocket to the useless object. When the rocket explodes, it pushes the junk into a lower and slower orbit, nearer the earth. After a time, the junk burns up in the atmosphere.
Mr. Castronuovo has proposed (提议) using a number of small satellites with robotic arms. One arm would catch the space junk, and another arm would connect the rocket. He imagines that each satellite would jump from one large piece of junk to another. He thinks this method could destroy about ten large objects each year.
Scientists have been concerned about space junk for many years. Right now, the costs of the clean-up have been too great. Mr. Castronuovo says his system could be put in place for a much more reasonable amount of money.
小题1:Much of the space junk _____.

A．was thrown by the astronauts

B．is from broken spaceship

C．is made up of small pieces of things

D．returns to the earth piece by piece

小题2:Scientists are most worried that the space junk _____.

A．will stop the future space vehicles

B．will do harm to the atmosphere

C．will fall on the housetops

D．will burn up in space

小题3:What does Marco Castronuovo think of his system?

A．It can remove space junk completely.

B．It can save a large amount of money.

C．It can create a large amount of space.

D．It can develop robotic technology.

答案

小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:B

解析

试题分析：文章介绍太空垃圾的形成原因和对太空造成的危害，及如何解决此类问题。
小题1:细节题：从第一段的句子：But much of the space junk is made up of little pieces of things that were once bigger objects, until they struck each other and broke apart.可知大多数的太空垃圾是由小的东西组成的，选C
小题2:细节题：从第三段的句子：The pieces get smaller and smaller until they form a cloud of junk that blocks the path of future space vehicles.可知 科学家担心太空垃圾会阻挡太空飞行器的路，选A
小题3:推理题：从最后一段的句子：Mr. Castronuovo says his system could be put in place for a much more reasonable amount of money.可知Mr. Castronuovo认为他的系统会节约很多钱，答案是 B
点评：文章介绍太空垃圾的形成原因和对太空造成的危害，及如何解决此类问题。文章难度适中，但题目要我们理解有些重点的句子。集中考查了句意理解题和细节题，要求考生有较强的细节理解能力。做题时也可以结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断。