The success of Blue Origin’s space tourism flights has caused concerns among the public. Many say it is a rich person’s game that is unnecessary when Earth badly needs help.
For Jane Smith, co-founder of Space View, the industry is not preventing Earth from help, but helping its inhabitants better understand their world.
“Space exploration has played an important role in forming our understanding of our planet,” Smith said in an interview. “The most downloaded image in history is Earthrise that was taken in 1968 by Apollo astronauts as they circled the moon. Taking the photo was not on their schedule of activities but they were so struck by the scene that they rushed to record it. That one photograph helped humanity see Earth as a planet in space, and inspired an upward environmental movement.”
Space View, founded in 2019, is a firm using a giant balloon to send humans into the stratosphere (平流层). It is designing a luxurious capsule (豪华太空舱) that fts six passengers, who can relax in seats or enjoy a snack while flying 20 miles above Earth.
Smith explained that eventually, millions of people will have exciting space experience. Tickets for a ride through Space View currently run $125,000 a seat, but Smith said the “long-term vision is to bring pricing down significantly”. “A ticket price of, say, $30,000 — $840,000 would make the space trip affordable to many millions of people,” she added.
When asked about the public comments, Smith answered, “When people visit space and experience our Earth from that splendid point, they connect deeply with our planet and the singular human family that inhabits it. It broadens their perspective (视角) and they return with a deepened understanding of social and environmental causes.”
1. What do the public think of Blue Origin’s space tourism fights?| A．Successful. | B．Pollutive. | C．Beneficial. | D．Costly. |
| A．To review the history of the photo. |
| B．To express respects to Apollo astronauts. |
| C．To remind people of the beauty of the space. |
| D．To explain the significance of space exploration. |
| A．It has made much money from space tourism. |
| B．It aims to make space tourism popular. |
| C．It plays a part in Blue Origin’s flights. |
| D．It has sent six passengers into space. |
| A．Is Space Tourism a Rich Person’s Game? |
| B．Can Everyone Experience Space Tourism? |
| C．Why Should the Public Know about Space? |
| D．How Has Space Tourism Developed Rapidly? |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Online thrift (节俭) store thredUP has released its tenth annual Resale Report. The study, which assesses trends in the secondhand clothing industry, has an obviously positive tone. Resale is booming in the United States, as well as globally, and the secondhand market in the US is expected to more than double by 2026, reaching an impressive valuation of $82 billion.
This is serious growth that indicates a real shift in the way people approach shopping for clothes. For most, it’s a way to save money in an inflationary (通货膨胀) economy. Forty-four percent of shoppers say they’re cutting back on buying clothing-more than any category apart from restaurants. Some say secondhand is enabling them to keep enjoying the brands they love.
When choosing what to buy, people are increasingly careful about what can be resold. More than one-fifth of Gen Z (网络新生代) shoppers said they’ll pay more for an item that they know they can resell, and 36% of Gen Z shoppers stock and clear their closets at the same monthly or weekly rate. More than half resold clothing last year. As resale becomes more accessible thanks to mobile technology and online platforms, increasing numbers of customers are keen to turn over their closets, which fuels the industry and keeps the market full of fresh finds, bringing people back for more.
Secondhand helps to relieve people’s climate-related concerns. Thrifting is far better for the environment than buying new. As thredUP reported in 2021,buying used reduces an item’s carbon footprint by 82%. Choosing used over new displaces 17.4 pounds of CO2 emissions. It requires far less water and energy to produce, and it spares that item from going to landfill, where it will break down and give off methane, a greenhouse gas more powerful than CO2.
It’s great to hear such positive news. Thrifting is a no-brainer, when you stop to think about it-well-made and good-looking fashion that helps the planet while saving us money. The more mainstream it can get, the better off we’ll all be.
1. What does the booming of resale mean to most shoppers according to the text?| A．Reducing expenses. |
| B．Bringing down inflation. |
| C．Focusing less on brands. |
| D．Eating out more in restaurants. |
| A．Scientific development makes resale easier and more convenient. |
| B．Many Gen Z shoppers choose used over new. |
| C．Buying used has become a mainstream. |
| D．Cleaning the closets is more frequent. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Secondhand Clothing Improves Climate |
| B．Secondhand Market Benefits Americans |
| C．ThredUP Released A New Resale Report |
| D．Secondhand Clothing Is A Hot Market |
【推荐2】Natural wonders like the Grand Canyon can take your breath away, but you also can find awe (敬畏) in everyday things. A newly-published research found that older adults who took “awe walks” felt more positive emotions in their daily lives.
In the study, 52 older adults aged 60 to 90 were divided randomly into two groups. They were told to take at least one 15-minute walk each week for eight weeks. Volunteers in the “awe group” were instructed in how to inspire awe as they walked. “We asked them to try to see the world with fresh eyes,” Sturm says. For example, one participant from the awe group wrote about “the leaves were no longer crunchy (嘎吱响) underfoot because of the rain” — the wonder that small children feels as they embrace their expanding world. However, people in the other group were less focused on the world around them. One participant wrote, “I thought about our vacation in Hawaii next Thursday.”
In addition, participants were asked to take selfies (自拍) in the beginning, middle, and end of each walk. Researchers found that participants who took awe walks showed a “small self,” in that they filled less of their photographs with their own image and more with the background scenery. “When we feel awe, our attention shifts from focusing on ourselves to focusing on the world around us,” Sturm says. Their smiles also grew broader by the end of the study. “We analyzed their smiles in the selfies, and participants who took awe walks displayed greater smiles over time than those who took control walks. The former reported greater positive emotions in general, including more joy and gratitude.”
Participants in the control group took more frequent walks than those people in the awe group, the researchers discovered. But walking more didn’t result in positive changes in emotional health or in the way their selfies were taken. This suggests that the results were mainly due to experiencing awe, and not just in spending time exercising.
1. What were the “awe group” participants specially asked to do in Paragraph 2?| A．To focus on their inner world. | B．To collect leaves after the rain. |
| C．To take a walk each week. | D．To explore with childlike curiosity. |
| A．Close-up faces with no smiles. | B．Half-shown faces without scenery. |
| C．Unhappy facial expressions. | D．Small figures with bigger smiles. |
| A．Experiencing awe matters. | B．More walks, more joy. |
| C．Exercises can benefit us. | D．Awe comes with walking. |
| A．Weekly Walks Contribute to Emotional Health |
| B．Experiencing Awe Do Wonders for Everyone |
| C．Awe Walks Improve Your Positive Emotions |
| D．Awe Walks Promote Your Physical Fitness |
【推荐3】The Museum of London is starting to unearth what might turn out to be as many as 3,000 human skeletons(遗骸) under a train station in the United Kingdom’s capital. The bones were exposed when workers began building a new entrance to a train station in London, England.
As the first city burial(埋葬) ground in London, Bedlam was probably used between 1569 and 1738. Its name comes from the nearby Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, which people also called Bedlam. Often, the people buried in Bedlam could not afford to be buried anywhere else. The burial ground also served as an overflow cemetery(墓地). That means that if other cemeteries became full, a person would be buried in Bedlam instead. It is believed that there could be a total of 20,000 skeletons in the overall burial ground.
Experts think studying the skeletons may help them learn about London’s past, including questions about the Black Death, a deadly disease that had a terrible influence on much of the world. It started in the mid-1300s and swept through Asia, Africa, and Europe. Historians believe almost 50 million people died of the disease, including many of those buried at Bedlam. “Sixteen sixty-five saw the very last recorded period of the disease,” says Jay Carver, the leading expert on the project. Carver and his team believe the Bedlam bodies may explain why the outbreak suddenly stopped.
The dig site also sits above an even older Roman(古罗马的) road (between the 2nd and 3rd century A. D. ). Archaeologists(考古学家) have already found a large number of objects from Roman times, including horseshoes and urns. Nick Elsden, the project manager for the site, says, “This is the UK’s largest archeology project, in what is one of the oldest areas of the city, so we stand to learn a great deal.”
1. The underlined word “exposed” in Paragraph I probably means “________”.| A．studied | B．found |
| C．returned | D．searched |
| A．served as a cemetery for poor people | B．used to be a train station |
| C．got its name thanks to Jay Carver | D．was once taken up by Germen |
| A．Sadness. | B．Anger. |
| C．Regret. | D．Expectation. |
| A．History of the Black Death | B．Skeleton secrets in London |
| C．The Museum of London | D．A Roman road in Bedlam |
【推荐1】With the summer heat becoming increasingly unbearable over the years due to climate change, the cooling load in the summertime has also been on the rise. Insulation (隔热) is currently the main solution for blocking heat from entering a building, but by applying an additional material that can delay heat penetration (渗透), it can prevent the indoor temperature from rising and in turn lower the cooling load of the building.
A research team in Korea has developed a new material for building walls that can help reduce the penetration of heat from the outside. The team directed by Dr. Sarng Woo Karng from KIST revealed that they have successfully done it through building walls by applying a phase change material (PCM).One of the most common types is paraffin oil, which is used to make candles.
A solid PCM absorbs heat as it transforms into a liquid phase, so by using a case to hold it when it is in a liquid phase without causing any leakage, it is possible to apply them to a building wall to block heat from entering inside.
The problem, however, is that the PCM turns into liquid starting from the outermost layer, and the parts that are hot move upward, while the parts that are still relatively cool move downward. Thus, while the upper part may have completely melted, the lower part will have not, and as a result, heat will penetrate into the building through the area where the PCM is in a liquid phase. In the end, the PCM becomes ineffective in controlling the indoor temperature and is rendered useless.
Dr. Karng’s team addressed the non-uniform phase change with bubble injections .Injecting bubbles into the bottom part of the PCM enabled uniform circulation (流动) of the PCM in a liquid phase. Dr.Karng said, “We expect that the insulating wall using the PCM bubble generator used in this study will contribute to reducing the amount of energy used to heat or cool a building. Insulation techniques using the PCM help reduce heat penetration, in combination with the building insulating material, and it can also be used as the outer walls of zero-energy buildings.
1. What kind of function do PCMs serve according to the text?| A．Lowering heat penetration. | B．Making the walls stronger. |
| C．Being used to make candles. | D．Perfecting the building walls. |
| A．To test its effect. | B．To avoid the risks. |
| C．To block the heat. | D．To stay in shape. |
| A．They are imperfect. | B．They are ineffective. |
| C．They are low-cost. | D．They are environmentally friendly. |
【推荐2】No high school is alike in the United States, but there is one tradition that nearly every school has: senior prank (恶作剧). Linganore is no exception, and this year the class of 2023 certainly lived up to your expectations.
Like many senior pranks, there were many different ideas, one of which was to take every desk and chair out of classes and put them in the stadium. Fortunately for Linganore teachers, this concept was not put into action; instead, the students stuck with the classic method of throwing paper on anything and everything. Next, some seniors used balloons to totally fill the stairs on Main Street closest to the front entrance. Many seniors parked in the worst ways possible throughout the parking lots.
Cole Simmonds arrived at school before much of the chaos started. Along with witnessing seniors throw paper on trees, Simmonds’ car was a victim of the prank when it was attacked with water balloons. In addition to being annoyed by the water balloons, Simmonds was also unhappy with the lack of originality from the seniors.
The last part of the seniors’ final day included a Slip & Slide placed at the top of the hill behind the school that went down to the lower parking lot. To prevent injury, a teacher supervised the seniors’ Slip & Slide to ensure safety. The goals of the Slip Slide were not only to make the seniors’ last day something to remember but to encourage students to participate in fun activities permitted by the school.
Although not as humorous or creative as some believed it could have been, the Slip & Slide and balloons in the stairs were very impressive and were good aspects of this year’s prank. Hopefully, the class of 2024 will do something that not only avoids annoying people but is also funny.
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us?| A．Different pranks the seniors did. |
| B．Side effects senior pranks had. |
| C．Traditional pranks in Linganore. |
| D．Desired aims of senior pranks. |
| A．Worried. | B．Displeased. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．Took pride in. | B．Entered for. |
| C．Benefited from. | D．Took charge of. |
| A．A sports magazine. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A school website. | D．A science fiction. |
【推荐3】A new study, published in the journal Sleep Health, has suggested that taking a short nap (小睡)during the day may help to protect the brain’s health as it ages, after finding the practice appears to be related to larger brain volume (容量).
While previous research has suggested long naps could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, other research has showed that a brief nap can improve people’s ability to learn. Now researchers say they have found evidence to suggest that napping may help to protect against brain’s dwindling, a process that occurs with age and is faster in people with cognitive (认知的)issues and neurodegenerative (神经变性的)diseases.
Researchers at University College London(UCL)and the University of the Republic in Uruguay drew on data from the UK Biobank study that had collected lifestyle and health information from 500,000 people aged 40 to 69. “Overall, we found a connection between habitual daytime napping and larger total brain volume equal in 2.6 to 6.5 fewer years of ageing, which could suggest that napping regularly provides some protection against neurodege neration through making up for poor sleep,“ said Dr Victoria Garfield, a co-author of the study from UCL.” A short daytime nap could help preserve brain volume and that’s a positive thing, potentially for dementia prevention,” said Garfield, adding that previous research suggested a period of up to 30 minutes may be beneficial.
But the study is based on data only from European, and the exact period of naps connected with the benefits are unclear. Tara Spires-Jones, the president of the British Neuroscience Association welcomed the study, although she said it had limitations including that the self-reported napping habits of the UK Biobank people who took part may not be entirely accurate. “This study is important because it adds to the data indicating sleep is important for brain health,” she said.
1. What is the new study mainly about?| A．The benefits of daytime naps. | B．Cognitive issues. |
| C．Alzheimer’s disease. | D．Brain volume. |
| A．Disappearing. | B．Improving. | C．Continuing. | D．Reducing. |
| A．By comparing. | B．By studying collected data. |
| C．By referring to history books. | D．By introducing an idea. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. | C．Supportive. | D．Disappointed. |
【推荐1】In the waves of human exploration into space, our brave Chinese people have never stopped the pace of advancing. In just half a century, China has made remarkable aviation exploration success. After landing probes on the lunar and Martian surfaces, China has begun to set its exploratory sights on the core of our solar system—the sun.
Named Xihe after the sun goddess in ancient Chinese mythology, the 508-kilogram Chinese H-Alpha Solar Explorer satellite was launched on Oct. 14 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. It then entered a sun-synchronous orbit about 517 kilometers above Earth.
The spacecraft is China's first space-based solar telescope and is designed to work for at least three years, Wang Wei, project manager of the satellite, told China Daily.
Its scientific payload is an H-alpha imaging spectrograph. The H-alpha band is one of the best spectral lines to study solar activity, according to the Global Times. “The instrument is able to observe and record changes in the sun's physical elements like its temperature and speed, facilitating scientists' studies about the dynamics and physics during a solar eruption,” Wang told China Daily.
Several Chinese satellites, such as the Fengyun 3E meteorological satellite, have carried equipment that can collect solar data, but Xihe is the first one dedicated to solar observation.
“Since solar activity has many effects on life on Earth, it is important for mankind to study the sun,” Zhao Jian, a senior official at the China National Space Administration, told China Daily.
Since the 1960s, NASA has sent dozens of solar orbiters to circle the sun, and in 2004, the Genesis spacecraft returned a sample of solar wind. The most recently launched solar mission was Parker Solar Probe in 2018. Europe and Japan also have solar missions, according to the South China Morning Post.
“Our country is ranked No. 2 in the world in terms of published research papers on solar observations, but all of the satellite-generated data used by our scientists are from foreign spacecraft,” Zhao told China Daily. “Xihe will put an end to the dependence on foreign satellites, and we will share its products with researchers around the world.”
1. What do we know about Xihe?| A．It is expected to work for five years. | B．It is a half-ton scientific research satellite. |
| C．It is named after an ancient Chinese scientist. | D．It is the world's first solar observation satellite. |
| A．To monitor changes in the sun's physical elements. |
| B．To adjust the temperature and speed of the sun. |
| C．To study how solar activity affects life on Earth. |
| D．To observe other satellites around the sun. |
| A．Our reliance on foreign satellites will come to an end. |
| B．It helps scientists learn more about solar history. |
| C．Solar eruptions may bring human beings disasters. |
| D．Creatures on Earth would suffer with little knowledge about solar activity. |
| A．The advantages of the Xihe satellite. | B．The significance of the Xihe mission. |
| C．The development of China's space exploration. | D．The ways scientists collect satellite-generated data. |
【推荐2】The lander carrying China’s first Mars rover successfully touched down on the red planet early Saturday morning Beijing Time. It is the first time China has landed a probe on a planet other than Earth.
Tianwen-1, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern China’s island province of Hainan on July 23, 2020. This is the first step in China’s planetary exploration of the solar system, with the purpose of completing orbiting, landing and roving on the red planet in one mission.
The name Tianwen, meaning “questions to Heaven”, comes from a poem written by the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC). China’s first Mars rover is named Zhurong after the god of fire in ancient Chinese mythology, which echoes with the Chinese name of the red planet: Huoxing (the planet of fire).
Tianwen-1 was launched via a Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest launch vehicle. Tianwen-1 has been traveling in space for nearly 10 months. It has carried out four orbital corrections and a deep-space maneuver. It had flown 475 million km and was 192 million km from Earth when it reached Mars orbit.
The craft’s plummet through the Martian atmosphere, lasting about nine minutes, was extremely complicated with no ground control, and had to be performed by the spacecraft autonomously.
“Such a challenging attempt is characterized by a succession of complex activities that must be conducted completely by the spacecraft within a very short period of time,” said Geng Yan, an official with the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA. “What added to the difficulties was that we don’t know much about the Martian atmosphere, which brought a lot of uncertainties to the mission. Each step had only one chance, and the actions were closely linked. If there had been any flaw, the landing would have failed.”
1. What is the mission of Tianwen-1?| A．To record the wind speed on Mars. | B．To explore the atmosphere of Mars. |
| C．To search for aliens in the solar system. | D．To accomplish three major tasks on Mars. |
| A．The introduction of the poet Qu Yuan. | B．The reasons for the craft landing on Mars. |
| C．The origin of two names Tianwen and Zhurong. | D．The importance of ancient Chinese mythology. |
| A．The huge task of Tianwen-1. | B．The surroundings of the Mars orbit. |
| C．The expense of traveling in space. | D．The size of the Long March-5 rocket. |
| A．China’s attempt to explore Mars is successful. |
| B．Landing on Mars is a very challenging move. |
| C．People are enthusiastic about exploring the universe. |
| D．Tianwen-1 is essential to China’s space station program. |
【推荐3】Three Chinese astronauts recently arrived at the new space station in another step forward for the growing space power. Here is a look at some of the space station’s major goals.
The three-member crew will stay for three months in the station’s main living space, called Tianhe. The astronauts will carry out scientific experiments and perform maintenance. They also plan to complete space walks and prepare the station to receive two other modules next year.
While China admits it arrived late to the space station game, it says its new station is modern and includes the latest space technology. Tianhe might even outlast the International Space Station (ISS), which is nearing the end of its operational lifespan.
The recent launch brought back China’s crewed space program after a five-year break. China has now sent 14 astronauts into space since its first launch in 2003. It is the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to do so.
As its economy experienced growth in the 1990s, China made a plan for space exploration. Since then, it has attempted to carry out this plan carefully and evenly. China was barred from joining the ISS. It is likely, however, that China would have built its own station anyway because of its goal to be ranked the world top level.
The space program is part of an overall drive to help China take on even larger projects. China also wants to expand cooperation with Russia and other, mostly European countries along with the UN.
China’s space program has been a large part of its national pride. It represents the country’s rise from a poor nation to become the world’s second-largest economy in the last 40 years.
1. What is the purpose for this trip?| A．To carry out some restoration. |
| B．To do some scientific experiments. |
| C．To get used to space walks. |
| D．To receive two other modules. |
| A．Modern and advanced. |
| B．Well-equipped and comfortable. |
| C．Regular and reliable. |
| D．Accessible and convenient. |
| A．To join the ISS. |
| B．To conduct astronomic research. |
| C．To become a major space power. |
| D．To cooperate with other countries. |
| A．It will replace the ISS. |
| B．It will last as long as the ISS. |
| C．It has been visited by 14 Chinese astronauts. |
| D．It will raise the level of Chinese space technologies. |
