8 . Fifty-one years ago, a man took a “small step” on the moon and brought mankind a “giant leap” forward. As the first person to walk on the moon, American astronaut Neil Armstrong is a man whose name will be remembered for generations to come.
But being the first is never easy. With so many unknowns about space at that time, Armstrong himself was surprised that Apollo11 actually worked. He thought he and his partners had only a 50 percent chance of a successful landing back in 1969.
It was tough indeed. When the lunar module (登月舱) was approaching the moon's surface, the computer wanted to rest them on a steep slope covered with rocks, but Armstrong realized it was an unsafe place to stop.
As a last minute decision, he safely landed the lunar module by himself. When they finally touched the ground, “there was something like 20 seconds of fuel left,” he said in an interview.
Unfortunately, some people doubted his visit to the moon, saying it was faked. But Armstrong responded with a chuckle (轻声笑), saying: “It was never a concern to me because I knew one day, somebody was going to go fly back up there and pick up that camera I left. ”
For all his global fame, Neil Armstrong is a remarkably modest man. He rarely gave interviews and didn't like talking about his achievement. He stopped giving his signatures when he found that people sold them for thousands of dollars.
“I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger (记账簿) of our daily work, Armstrong said in a CBS interview in 2005. W hen asked how he felt knowing his footprints would be likely to stay on the moon's surface for thousands o[ years, he said: “I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up.”
Armstrong passed away at the age of 82 in 2012, but he will be remembered. “The next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink (眨眼),” his family said to Reuters.
1. It can be inferred from the article that before his expedition to the moon, Armstrong ________.
| A．was certain that Apollo 11 would work well |
| B．believed the lunar module would land safely on the moon |
| C．had prepared himself to face possible failure |
| D．planned to land the lunar module on the moon by himself |
2. How did Armstrong respond when people doubted that he had been to the moon?
| A．He was angry |
| B．He was troubled by it |
| C．He tried to find evidence that they were wrong |
| D．He believed they would be proved wrong some day. |
3. By saying“I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work”, Armstrong meant that ________.
| A．the more daily work you've done, the more easily you will be recognized |
| B．things that look spectacular are not as useful as ordinary successes |
| C．achieving greatness can make other successes feel less important |
| D．everyday's hard work is more appreciated than one successful moment |
4. Which of the following best describes Armstrong?
| A．He was ambitious | B．He tried to avoid the spotlight |
| C．He balanced his life and work well | D．He was talkative and loved telling jokes |
