The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris(有毒的殘骸) over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.

Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails(痕跡) streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.

Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant(推進(jìn)器).

"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.

"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts.

1. The word “descent” in the passage means ________.

A. taking off   B. landing      C. orbiting     D. walking down

2. Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon?

A. He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.

B. He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.

C. He used to be a passenger plane pilot.

D. He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster.

3. The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that ________.

A. there were seven astronauts killed on board

B. both the shuttles exploded when they took off

C. Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land

D. no human remains were found

4. Which of the following is wrong according to the news?

A. The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.

B. NASA hasn’t found the cause of the Columbia disaster.

C. Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.

D. Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission.

1----4      BAAA  


解析:

本文講述了美國航天飛機(jī)“哥倫比亞”號失事的情況。

1. B。詞義推測題�？梢詤⒁姷谌蔚诙渲械膇n the decent to Earth，其后or landing 即是對 descent解釋。

2. A。細(xì)節(jié)題。從 …which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon 中可以知道，Ilan Ramon. 是以色列第一位乘坐航天飛機(jī)的宇航員。

3. A。推斷題。要求你找出這兩起災(zāi)難的共同點。從文中可以了解到兩起災(zāi)難都有7位宇航員喪生�！疤魬�(zhàn)者”號是在升空時失事的，而“哥倫比亞”號是在返回地面的過程中失事的，故可排除B 和 C。而選項 D 與原文不符，故選 A。

4. A。判斷題。根據(jù)…America's space program will go on 我們可以知道選項 A 明顯錯誤。而選項B、C、D均與原文相符。

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For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.

In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.

These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.

The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.

The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.

Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.

History of space travel

Time

Events

Information concerned

Early 1900s

High-flying rockets were built.

It made the ancient dream of going to space possible to come 66)  ▲  

1903

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (67) ▲  out a way to use rockets for space travel.

He planned to put correct scientific calculation to use in rocket science.

Around (68) ▲

Robert Goddard built new rockets.

The rockets could fly very (69) ▲ in the sky.

During and after World War II

German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives.

Germany was ahead of all the other countries in building space rockets and later it (70)   ▲   the Soviet Union and the United States

The Soviet Union and the United States competed to get to space first.

The Soviet Union became the (71) ▲   of the competition when it launched the first satellite and sent the first astronaut into space.

1969

The United States was (72) ▲  in putting a person on the moon.

In one way, it (73)   ▲   the Soviet Union by becoming the first country to fly people to the moon.

1970s

The Soviets built the first space station and was soon followed by Americans. And they finally ended the  "space race" by (74)  ▲ 

Astronauts can live and work in space stations.

1980s--

Space shuttles are used as new vehicles for space (75)  ▲   .

Shuttles are also used to help put satellites into space.

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B．His performance impressed a duke.
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