1 . After men landed on the moon in 1969, astronauts around the world had a problem — there were no other places they could go! Even today, the other planets are still too far away for astronauts to fly to. So, while rockets and robots can go to other planets, flights with astronauts have to stay closer to home, at least for the time being.
Therefore, since visiting the manned space programs have turned their attention to solving problems related to living and working in space.
For the past decade, NASA’s manned space exploration program has focused on the space shuttle program. During that time, NASA operated three space shuttles: Discovery Atlantis, and Endeavor. Unfortunately, two of NASA’s shuttles, Challenger and Columbia were lost through accidents.
Seven astronauts died in each accident. While the shuttle program was going on, the shuttles flew over 120 missions. These missions included putting satellites into orbit, photographing the earth, studying space, conducting experiments related to working in space, and connecting with various manned space stations in orbit. Today, however, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor are no longer being flown. NASA retired its space shuttle program in 2011.
As well as putting rockets and space shuttles into orbit, several space stations have been put into orbit. In 1986, the Soviet Union launched the Mir space station. Mir stayed in orbit until March 23,2001. Over that time,104 astronauts visited the station to stay for various lengths of time.
The person who has spent the longest in space so far is Russian astronaut Sergei Krikalev Working aboard Mir and flying in other missions, Mr. Krikalev lived and worked in space for a total of 803 days,9 hours, and 39 minutes. That is more than two years in space.
Another space station, the International Space Station (ISS), is still in orbit today. The first part of this space station was launched in 1998.NASA added the final section to the ISS in 2010, officially completing the space station. In the long run, it is predicted that research done aboard the ISS will help scientists learn about living and working in space.
1. What is the best title for the passage?| A．Sergei Krikalev-An Amazing Astronaut | B．The Past and Future of Space Travel |
| C．Space Cities of the Future | D．Living and Working on the International Space Station |
| A．There are not enough space shuttles. | B．There have been too many rocket accidents. |
| C．There are too many problems here on Earth. | D．The journey would take too long for a person. |
| A．2. | B．7. | C．14. | D．120. |
| A．He is an astronaut from Russia. | B．He spent more than two years aboard Mir. |
| C．He has been on many space missions. | D．He has spent more time in space than anyone else. |
With hospitals filled up with COVID-19 patients, NASA has announced it will be delaying an upcoming satellite launch. The liquid oxygen
“Medical oxygen is
A shortage of truck drivers
At the recently held Space Symposium in Colorado, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell
SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the shortage was “a risk,
3 . In the search for clean, renewable energy to meet our ever-increasing needs, wind power might seem to be the perfect option. Since ancient times, wind power has been used to move ships, pump water and grind grain. Around the end of the 19th century, the invention of the wind turbine（涡轮机）made it possible to use wind to generate electricity. Now large-scale installations of wind turbines, called wind farms, create and develop clean electricity for people around the world. Yet despite the advantages that wind energy offers, challenges to using this renewable resource can be found.
The first advantage of wind power is that it truly is a renewable resource. No matter how much wind we use to generate electricity, we will never deplete the supply. This is its greatest advantage over non-renewable resources like coal or oil. However, wind does not provide a constant supply of energy. Even the windiest places on Earth have periods of calm. Without a strong wind, wind turbines are not able to produce electricity. That means that wind power isn’t feasible as a single source of electricity. It can only work with other sources that supply power.
Wind power is a clean source of energy, meaning it produces electricity without environmentally harmful missions. This is in contrast to conventional power plants that burn fuel to generate power, thereby producing pollution. But that isn’t to say that wind power doesn’t have an environment impact. The large spinning blades of a wind turbine can be fatal to birds and bats. The turbines also create noise pollution. The sound produced through normal operation can be annoying or disturbing to people that live near.
Fortunately, wind turbines are particularly well suited for areas far from homes and cities. The large towers that provide the base for the wind turbines also have a small footprint, which means that they don’t take up a lot of space. With all of the challenges of wind power, it obviously cannot be the sole solution for clean energy production. But the advantages of wind power generation shouldn’t be forgotten in the search for clean, renewable energy.
1. What do we know about wind energy from the text?| A．Creating electricity with the wind is a non-renewable method of power generation. |
| B．Wind power has many advantages because it can be the only method we use to create electricity. |
| C．Although wind energy is a clean source of energy, it has an impact on the environment. |
| D．The wind turbines are ideal for areas nearby homes and cities. |
| A．important | B．accessible | C．necessary | D．reasonable |
| A．Skeptical | B．Objective | C．Ambiguous | D．Disapproving |
| A．The Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy. |
| B．Wind Energy: A Clean and Renewable Source. |
| C．The Development and Utilization of Wind Energy. |
| D．The Prospect of Wind Energy. |
