Next Stop: Planet Mars
Fly me to the moon? That’s not far enough. On September 14,2011, NASA released designs for a super rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). This time the final destination will be Mars.
The SLS is a huge, liquid – fuelled rocket. If it is fully developed, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built. Its lift capability will be much bigger than that of the space shuttle of Saturn 5, the rocket that sent the Apollo missions to the moon.
NASA is planning to launch its first unmanned test flight in 2017. It is hoped that the first crew will fly in 2021 and astronauts will make it to a nearby asteroid (小行星) in 2025. NASA hopes to send the rocket and astronauts to Mars from the asteroid by the 2030s, according to the Associated Press (AP).
NASA used liquid rockets to send Apollo, Gemini and Mercury into space, but later changed to solid rockets boosters (助推火箭) because they were cheaper. Tragically, however, a booster flaw (缺陷) caused the space shuttle Challenger to crash in 1986. The new project plans to return to liquid fuel.
According to AP, the rockets will at first be able to carry 77 to 110 tons of payload (净载重量). Eventually they will be able to carry 143 tons into space, maybe even as many as 165 tons, NASA officials said. By comparison, the Saturn 5 booster could lift 130 tons and the space shuttle just 27 tons.
However, unlike reusable shuttles, these powerful rockets are mostly one use only. New ones have to be built for every launch. This will be very costly.
NASA estimates that it will cost about $3 billion (19 billion yuan) per year, or $ 18 billion until the first test flight in 2017. NASA hopes to make money by allowing private companies to send astronauts to the International Space Station like giant taxi services, so that the program can be “sustainable”.
“This is perhaps the biggest thing for space exploration in decades,” said Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut. “The goal is to fly humans safely beyond low – Earth orbit (轨道) and deep into outer space where we cannot only survive, but one day also live environmentally friendly” According to NASA’s schedule, it will take years to fully complete the SLS program.
| A．about 6 | B．about 10 |
| C．less than 14 | D．more than 19 |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．the SLS program is planning to make reusable rockets |
| B．the goal of the SLS program is to enable humans to live on the moon |
| C．the US government may not have provided enough money for the SLS program |
| D．NASA will use SLS as a space taxi between the Earth and Mars. |
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality（永生）," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate".
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology（纳米技术）make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years."
However, many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Pooh, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology(老龄学) Center. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
61．By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ________.
A．they believe that there is no limit of living
B．they are sure to find the truth about long living
C．they have got some ideas about living forever
D．they are able to make people live past the present life span
62．Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ________.
A．people can live from 120 to 180 years
B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live
C．the human body is designed to last about 120 years
D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future
63．The underlined "it"（paragraph 4）refers to ________.
A．a great push
B．the idea of living beyond the present life span
C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years
D．the conservative estimate
64．What would be the best title for this text?
A．Living Longer or Not B．Science, Technology and Long Living
C．No Limit for Human Life D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living
E
Win a week in England!
You still don’t know what to do this summer? Well, here’s your chance to win a one-week language course in Kent, England! Free4Fun and ETC (English Travel Connections) are giving away two trips to Rochester. This historic city is less than an hour’s drive from London and close to the sea resort of Herne Bay. It is also the home of one of England’s most famous writers, Charles Dickens. The town of Rochester is in Southeast England. Charles Dickens often wrote about it in his books. His home, Gad’s Hill, is there, too. A popular attraction is Rochester Castle, a large Norman fortress（堡垒）. It was built in the 11th century and rebuilt during the 14th century. Other attractions are Rochester Cathedral, which was built during the 13th century, and Dickens Centre. It has got its name in honour of Dickens himself.
The trip to England includes:
* travel by train (via the Eurotunnel) to and from any railway station in Germany
* room and full board with a guest family for one week
* language course in small groups
* two trips to London
* large choice of sports and entertainment
* German-speaking advisors available 24 hours a day
Interested? All you have to do is to answer the following question: When was Charles Dickens born?
So, take the chance and send your answer by 1 May to:
Free4Fun "Rochester"
Free4Fun, 24 Elphinstone Road, Hastings, 2FQ6VJ
fax: 089 / 85 763-103 e-mail: free4fun@netlight.com
The two winners will be contacted directly before 5 May. They will also be announced in the June issue of Free4Fun. Good luck!
For further information contact:
phone: (03212) 144 43 fax: (03212) 144 42 e-mail: info@etc. com
67. What activities can you participate in during the trip?
A. Working as a language advisor.
B. Learning the German language.
C. Traveling by train with a guest family.
D. Enjoying sports and entertainment.
68. If you want to win a prize you have to send your answer to _______ .
A. the June issue of Free4fun B. free4fun@netlight. com
C. info@etc. com D. ETC
69. The persons ______ are likely to win the free trip.
A. who know the birth date of Charles Dickens
B. who are attracted by Rochester Castle
C. who are contacted and announced by Free4Fun and ETC
D. who know more about Charles Dickens’ works
70. This ad was probably designed to target .
A. Italians B. Europeans C. Germans D. Americans
D
In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness. It is the biggest lake in Britain. It is over thirty kilometres long and in places nearly 300 meters deep. It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930. Then a road was made around the lake. Holiday makers began to use the road, and this was when the stories began.
Someone said that he had seen a monster in the lake. He said it was twelve meters long. It had a long neck and a small head. Then someone else said he had seen it. Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a photo. It looked like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not dear. The newspapers printed the picture and called it the Loch Ness monster, or "Nessie".
Then the argument began. Some people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake. Others said there was nothing there.
In 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real effort to see and photograph the monster if there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was still no real proof.
Later underwater television cameras were used, but no one found any real proof. However, they did find something interesting: a huge underwater cave. It was big enough to be home of a monster, but of course, this was not a proof.
In 1975, however, some American scientists formed a search group. They used an underwater camera. It took pictures every seventy seconds. Some of the pictures seemed to show a red-brown creature. Its body was about four meters long and had a very ugly head on the end of a four meter neck. Many people then began to believe in the monster. But even today we can not be certain.
63. Before 1930, ____.
A. few people went to Loch Ness Lake
B. many people had been there
C. nobody went to the lake
D. nobody knew about the lake
64. What did the monster look like?
A. It looked like a horse.
B. It was a creature with a long neck and a small head.
C. It looked beautiful.
D. It was tiny and pretty.
65. Who first took a photo of the monster?
A. An American
B. A television camera
C. A holiday-maker
D. A doctor from London
66. A search group formed by some American scientists.
A. found the monster itself
B. found a huge cave under water
C. believed that there wasn't any monster at all
D. took some pictures which seemed to show a monster
C
When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say: “Thank you”. This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice. I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in terms of practicing what I teach.
In my work I travel constantly. I always put off going to the airport until the last second. My wife, Lyda, was sitting next to me in the front seat. I was racing along and not paying much attention. Lyda cried out! “Look out! There is a red light up ahead. ”
Being a trained behavioral science professional—who teaches others the value of encouraging advice—I naturally screamed at her: “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lyda didn’t speak to me. I wondered why she seemed mad at me.
During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis. I asked myself: “What was the cost of just listening when Lyda called out the warning? Zero. ” I then reasoned: “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people.
|
I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself. I immediately called Lyda and told her my cost-benefit story. I convinced her: “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, ‘Thank you. ’”
A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident. Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lyda cried out: “Look out for the red light!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted: “Thank you!”B
Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.
55. What is the text mainly about?
A. The terrible conditions in the Antarctic.
B. A special fish living in freezing waters.
C. The ice shelf around Antarctica.
D. Protection of the Antarctic cod.
56. Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
A. The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃.
B. It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture.
C. A special protein keeps it from freezing.
D. Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃.
57. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. A type of ice-salt mixture. B. A newly found protein.
C. Fish blood. D. Sugar molecule.
58. What does “glyco-” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
A. sugar B. ice C. blood D. molecule