NASA is making preparation to send a crew to the moon who will explore the lunar surface with the hopes of constructing a stable habitat. Although the American space agency is focused on just sending astronauts, other companies are looking further into the future for when humans will colonize the natural satellite.
Experts at Money, a company for consumer credit products, released the first-ever moon mortgage (按揭) guide that reveals living on the lunar surface would cost $325,067 a month.
“With Earth becoming increasingly populated and space technology advancing, it won’t be long before lunar living becomes the new normal,” reads the study.
The team from Money used various factors to calculate the cost of a house on the moon: raw materials needed to build a house, the special materials needed to build on the moon’s atmosphere, astronauts required to travel to build, and the average cost of transporting materials to the moon.
According to the moon mortgage guide, the first fully functioning house on the moon would be $48,454,063, which is a high price for a home. The price includes adding life-saving details to homes such as air seals, industrial-strength air-con and heaters, meter (流星)-proof windows, insulation (绝缘) and organic sources of energy.
The idea of living on the moon may sound like an exciting life, but those brave enough to take the leap have to consider the “lunar lifestyle” that comes with it.
“Generating energy is vital when living in such extreme conditions, and therefore the cost of some suppliers may force you to consider some alternative options. The most efficient way to generate. electricity on the moon is to buy a small nuclear reactor costing $1.3 billion,” Money shares in the study. “Alternatively, 34 solar panels would generate enough electricity to run one house and cost only $23,616 in comparison.”
The guide also reveals the most ideal locations on the moon, with “Sea of Rains” being deemed “the perfect family suburb”—this region sits at the north and is one of the largest impact craters (陨石撞击坑) in the Solar System.
1. What does the word underlined in Para 1 mean?| A．Send plenty of scientists. | B．Live in large numbers. |
| C．Have more knowledge. | D．Exploit more energy. |
| A．Average people can’t afford to live on the moon due to the high cost. |
| B．It’s estimated that the cost of living on the moon is roughly $425,067. |
| C．Life on the lunar surface would be expected similar to that on the earth. |
| D．Compared with nuclear reactor，solar panels cost less to generate electricity. |
| A．The high land. | B．The flat ground. |
| C．The deep hole. | D．The mountainous area. |
| A．Living on the Moon | B．Exploring the Moon |
| C．Sending Astronauts to the Moon | D．Travelling on the Moon |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Scientists and marine biologists(海洋生物学家) had something to celebrate last week when two lost humpback whales(座头鲸) returned to the Pacific Ocean. Delta and Dawn — a mother and a baby — had circled the Sacramento Bay area for two weeks before going back to the ocean.
＂We all shouted loudly like ‘Yay’!＂said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center. ＂It’s been really exciting.＂
The humpback whales were last spotted on May 29 near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Scientists are sure that the whales swam into open water during the evening of May 29 or early the next morning, since there have been no further sightings of the whales. Even so, boats were sent out to look for them, just in case the whales made another wrong turn.
Officials spent two weeks trying to get the whales to turn back towards the ocean. Biologists played recordings of whale-feeding as well as unfamiliar sounds to try to make the whales head back to the Pacific Ocean.
However, Delta and Dawn gave scientists an unexpected chance to study humpback whales in the wild. Scientists were able to gather sound recordings and watch their behaviors. This is especially exciting because humpback whales are an endangered species. What’s more, scientists don’t usually have the chance to observe (观察) them in their natural habitat.
＂All those things are very hard to get,＂ said Oswald,＂So what we are doing is filling up the knowledge blank on humpback whales in the wild. ＂ Scientists should be able to use this information to help other lost whales in the future.
1. Jim Oswald was very happy because____________.| A．the whales traveled to Sacramento Bay |
| B．he found the lost humpback whales |
| C．the scientists held a great celebration |
| D．the whales returned to the Pacific Ocean |
| A．fed them with other animals | B．swam into open water |
| C．played music for them | D．played strange sounds to them |
| A．Looking for the Lost Whales | B．Helping the Lost Whales |
| C．The Lost Whales Returned | D．Two Whales Were Lost |
【推荐2】In battling the timber poachers who enter the thick Sierra Madre forests near his home, Larry Garaes has found a new support: solar panels.
With solar chargers, the radios he and other forest rangers (护林人) rely on no longer run out of power on multi-day operations in the mountains.
“Communication between rangers is a lot better. Now, we can catch the poachers while they are in the act because we can coordinate (使协调) our moves quietly without turning to shout at the next ranger — unlike before,” Garaes said.
Access to clean energy is bringing a range of unexpected benefits around the world. On the longest mountain range in the Philippines, those benefits include better forest protection — and power for tribal people who once lacked it.
More than 2 million households — or about 10 percent of all households — in the Philippines lack electricity, according to a 2017 report by the country’s Department of Energy.About three quarters are in remote rural locations, in a country spread over thousands of islands, according to the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG), which is trying to get them connected.Because bringing the national grid (网格) power to many of those people is not cost effective, the state National Power Corporation has charged SPUG with setting up and running small power plants in these areas. So far 327 such plants have been established. Government plans to call for 100 percent electrification of the country by 2022.
“Government has to do its work to connect all those areas that are not yet connected to the grid,” said Edmundo Veloso Jr. “But all but one of the new generation plants use diesel fuel, he said — even though transport of fuel can be a big problem in remote areas. Diesel is the fastest and the only technology available at the moment for off-grid areas. Diesel is still the cheapest in terms of capital outlay (开支).”
1. What do Garaes’ words suggest?| A．Fewer poachers come there. |
| B．They used to move loudly. |
| C．Their conditions improved. |
| D．They were tired of shouting. |
| A．People are unwilling to use clean energy. |
| B．Using clean energy benefits people there. |
| C．Forest protection turns out to be serious. |
| D．People in the area require more attention. |
| A．The serious shortage of electricity. |
| B．The poor conditions in rural areas. |
| C．The improvement of power supply. |
| D．The popularity of power plants. |
| A．Lacking funds. | B．Shipping fuel. |
| C．Technology. | D．Shortage of attention. |
【推荐3】Snapchat is rolling out parental controls that allow parents to see their teenager’s contacts and report to the social media company — without their child’s knowledge — any accounts that may worry them.
The goal, executives say, is to enable parents to monitor their child’s connections without giving up teens’ autonomy (自主性). Named Family Center, the new suite of tools released Tuesday requires both caregiver and teen to be involved in.
“It allows parents to see who’s in their teen’s universe,” said Nona Farahnik, director of platform policy for Snap, the company that makes Snapchat. “It offers parents the ability to ask who someone might be, how they might know a contact, which improves those real-time conversations about who teens are talking to.”
Farahnik says Family Center is modeled on real-life parenting. “If your teen is headed to the mall, you might ask who they’re going with. ‘How do you know them? Are you guys on a sports team together? Do you go to school together?’” said Farahnik. “But you won’t be sitting there at the mall with them listening to their conversations.” Similarly, parents cannot see the content that their teen is sending or receiving on Snapchat. They can only view whom their child has communicated with in the past seven days. Snapchat is popular with young people, partially because messages on the platform disappear within 24 hours.
The company says it consulted with safety experts and academics and conducted focus groups with parents to develop Family Center and it plans to roll out more features in the coming months. The tool is only for parents of kids under 18.
With Family Center, Snap follows other social media platforms, including Instagram, which recently have advanced parental controls. By at least one survey, Snapchat is the second-most popular social network among teens. The first, TikTok, offers “Family Sharing,” which gives parents a few ways to limit the videos shown to their kids.
“I think these platforms want to show that they can take steps to protect kids, that they can self-regulate and that they’re capable of doing it themselves without getting the government involved,” said Irene Ly, policy counsel for Common Sense Media, which reviews apps, games and media for families.
1. Who are probably the potential users of Family Center?| A．Children who love computer games. | B．Parents who worry about their children. |
| C．Parents whose children are under 18. | D．Family members who live in harmony. |
| A．It enables parents to know what their children talk about. |
| B．Parents can read messages sent or received by their children. |
| C．Children can cancel messages on their phones within 24 hours. |
| D．Parents can know who their children contact without children’s permission. |
| A．Because they can know whom they have communicated with. |
| B．Because contact information on it can’t be read a day later. |
| C．Because it offers a few ways to limit the videos shown to them. |
| D．Because parents can monitor their connections without giving up autonomy. |
| A．Family Center: Snapchat’s new parental controls |
| B．Family Sharing: TikTok’s new parental controls |
| C．Snapchat: A popular social media company |
| D．Snapchat: A platform imitates real-life parenting |
【推荐1】July 20th, 2009 was the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic flight to the moon, where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the moon. 40 years ago, space flight inspired such awe(敬畏) that astronauts were honoured as heroes and celebrities. 40 years later none of us, besides space fanatic(狂热者), would likely to be able to name one astronaut in service today.
I got to thinking about the importance of continuing space exploration. I hear many people criticize the importance of NASA and space flight, most saying that it is a waste of time, and more importantly money. I disagree with such assessments. Space exploration is important not only to humanity’s curiosity of the great beyond, but it is also important for the future of the earth and all of us living on it.
The Apollo missions inspired a whole generation of kids who wanted to grow up to be astronauts, rocket scientists, and engineers. We all know that science education has been slightly lacking in the United States as of late. Don’t you think that NASA’q return, to the moon, or more importantly the much anticipated manned mission to Mars will again inspire a whole new generation to reach for the stars so to speak? I do.
You would think that the guys who burn a million pounds of rocket fuel wouldn’t be the most environmentally minded people in the world. However, most people don't know that NASA does a lot of good environmental research while they are up there looking down at all of us. NASA has done a lot of work in studying air quality, climate change alternative(可供替代的) energy, and near earth objects, which as we all know from the movies can destroy the earth any day now without warning, unless we have a group of oil drillers, a nuke, and Bruce Willis.
We cannot ignore the importance of space exploration, nor be complacent(自满的) in its meaning to all of us. I hope space exploration can continue to inspire, educate, and provide for us in the next 40 years as it has the last 40 years.
1. What can we learn from the text?| A．Armstrong was the first man to fly in space in the world. |
| B．Science education for American students is highly developed. |
| C．The author considers space flight as a waste of money and time. |
| D．People today won’t admire astronauts as much as they did 40 years ago. |
| A．Space exploration. | B．NASA. | C．Money. | D．Humanity. |
| A．By burning less rocket fuel. | B．By finding greener energy. |
| C．By changing climate. | D．By making space movies. |
| A．How to Be an Astronaut. | B．Where to Study Flight |
| C．Why to Explore Space. | D．How to Do Space Research. |
【推荐2】2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS) since the first group of astronauts arrived at the ISS on Nov. 2, 2000. As a milestone of space exploration, the ISS didn't come cheap. It cost about 989 billion yuan, took decades to build and is by far the world's largest space project.
When it comes to achievements, ISS has accommodated at least 3,000 research projects, from research on Alzheimer's to toothpaste.
But still, with a 26-billion-yuan bill annually, ISS can't make ends meet. NASA has been promoting to commercialize ISS. In 2019, NASA announced that the ISS would open for business to private citizens. According to Reuters, NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station per year, each lasting up to 30 days. NASA estimated the cost of a flight would be around $50 million (about 330 million yuan) per seat.
However, ISS isn't in the same state as it was in its youth. After 20 years of circling the Earth, ISS has suffered multiple problems. For example, there have been several air leak issues, the most recent of which was announced by NASA on Sept. 29. Meanwhile, without enough propellant (推进剂), ISS will not stay in orbit and could fall, leading to disaster.
“Worst, worst case, I guess it's a 9/11, right?” Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at Harvard told Space.com. “Because it's at worst case a plane crashing, part of which is in a populated area.”
So how can the space station make a safe return? Despite certain risks, NASA is considering a scheduled de-orbit—maneuvering the station to a special angel in its orbit, making the return more predictable and allowing managers to target the debris to the vast, little populated southern Pacific Ocean. An alternative is to launch new station modules to replace the old ones. “Each module is going to be designed with its own guidance, navigation and control, its own thruster capabilities,” said Christian Maender, director of in-space manufacturing and research for Houston-based company Axiom. “So when they need to, they can separate and return through Earth's atmosphere on their own.”
For now, ISS will continue through at least 2024.
1. Which statement about ISS is WRONG according to the passage?| A．It begun to be built in 2000. |
| B．It cost a great deal to build it. |
| C．It is the largest space project at present. |
| D．At least 3,000 research projects were conducted there. |
| A．To satisfy personal interests. |
| B．To keep the original promise. |
| C．To overcome the financial problem. |
| D．To conduct experiments for the private. |
| A．Financial issues. | B．Air leak issues. |
| C．Propellant problems. | D．Technology problems. |
| A．To send more scientists to ISS. |
| B．To launch new station modules. |
| C．To open for business to private citizens. |
| D．Remove some devices and make it lighter. |
【推荐3】US astronaut Mae Jemison was only a little girl back in the 1960s. But she was old enough to know there was something strange with the Apollo astronauts as she watched them go into space on TV: They were all men-no women could be seen.
“That was the most absurd thing in the world,” Jemison, now an astronaut herself, once told The Atantic.“I just though, would the aliens actually think this is all there is to humanity”.
Fortunately, the past five decades have seen the world becoming a less “absurd” place. From NASA’s first astronaut class in 1959, which was all-male, to its 2013 class, in which half of all eight members were women, we can see how things are changing.
And on March 29,another history was about to be made when an all-female team-Anne McClain and Christina Koch - was scheduled to make an “all-women spacewalk” since all previous spacewalks were done with at least one male astronaut. But that plan was eventually can celled, due to “spacesuit availability”,which means NASA doesn’t have two suits that fit women.
The world is still pretty “absurd” after all.
In fact, tests have long proved that women are not at all less competent than men when it comes to space tasks. But apparently, test results are not enough to fight off the world’s long-existing biases against women.According to Atlas Obscura magazine, female astronauts were sometimes asked sexist questions during news conferences - examples include how they would live for a week without makeup, or how they could leave their children behind to go on space missions - when male astronauts were never bothered by such questions.
Hopefully - give it another few decades - we’ll be able to see a world that’s fully grown out of its absurdity in terms of gender equality. And hopefully, when aliens do come visit one of our space stations,they’ll see humanity the way it should be.
1. Which of the following descriptions fits Mae Jemison?| A．When she was young in 1960s, she knew nothing of the Apollo astronauts. |
| B．She believed that the aliens thought there was no woman on earth. |
| C．She found it unfair to see all the Apollo astronauts were men. |
| D．She wanted to be one of the Apollo astronauts. |
| A．The astronauts class which were male became all female in 2013. |
| B．An all-female team made “all women spacewalk ”plan come true. |
| C．“All women spacewalk” plan was canceled because of astronauts’ability. |
| D．The shortage of space suits upset the “all women spacewalk”plan. |
| A．Women are more competent than men in space tasks. |
| B．Despite the results, the world’s long-existing biases against women still exists. |
| C．It is difficult for women not to use makeup for work. |
| D．Male astronauts never leave children behind to go on space missions. |
| A．When aliens visit our space stations, they will sce more human beings. |
| B．He believes that there will be no absurdity about the equality between men and women. |
| C．The world may become one full of humans and aliens. |
| D．Our space station will grow fully in another few decades. |
