Question

Humans have launched themselves into the outer space. They've landed on the moon. They've built habitable space stations that orbit the Earth. The next giant leap for mankind is to reach another planet–specifically, Mars.

The problem is that it's no easy task. The planet is 586 times further away from the Earth than the moon, and it'll take around 180 to 220 days to reach Mars, depending on where each planet is in its orbit. Such long periods in space have suggested many potential health problems, including hormonal changes, skin conditions, and muscle and bone deterioration (损耗).

Here's where some furry friends come in. A wide range of animals have been in space, from fruit flies and spiders to cats, and dogs. Such experiments began as far back as the late 1940s in first tests to see if living things could withstand the extreme g-force (重力) of a rocket launch.

Mice continue to play a very important part in space experiments, mainly because the animals make excellent test subjects. They're small, which makes them inexpensive and easy to care for. In addition, their size and short life span make it possible to do the equivalent of several human years of tests in a much shorter time. Finally, because mice are mammals, they share many common characteristics with humans in terms of genetics, biology and behavior.

Astromice have hit the headlines recently, as a team of scientists led by Betty Nusgens, professor of biology at the University of Liege in Belgium, found that the mice suffered a 15 percent thinning of their skin after 91 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

This experiment was part of a wider NASA mission (任务) called the Mice Drawer System (MDS). The Italian Space Agency developed the facility, which allows six mice to be housed, monitored, and automatically fed and watered aboard the ISS, among which three survived during the mission.

The mice have participated in 20 separate experiments, to study such effects as osteoporosis (骨质疏松症), anemia (贫血) and heart health.

Results for the 20 experiments are coming in gradually. But it's clear that mice continue to play an important role in the ongoing quest to conquer the final frontier.

1.We can infer from Paragraphs 2-3 that ______.

A. Mars is the farthest planet away from Earth discovered so far

B. animals that have been sent into space have mostly survived

C. it was in the late 1940s that animals were first sent to the ISS

D. he journey to Mars could put humans' health at risk

2.The underlined word "withstand"in Para.3 means _________.

A. set up    B. hold up

C. work out    D. come across

3.According to Betty Nusgens and her team, the mice aboard the ISS ______.

A. suffered the loss of part of their skin

B. all survived for the duration of the mission

C. were fed and watered by the astronauts

D. participated in 20 experiments that made great breakthroughs

4.The main purpose of the article is to _____.

A. describe the role mice play in scientific research

B. report on the results of the Mice Drawer System

C. analyze how mice could pave the way to Mars

D. change people's traditional attitudes toward mice

Answer

1. D

2. B

3. A

4. C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，在人类探索太空的过程中一直都有动物的帮助，其中老鼠的参与程度最高。文章具体介绍了利用老鼠进行实验的优点以及相关的实验结果，老鼠为人类的太空探索铺平了道路。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段最后一句“Such long periods in space have suggested many potential health problems, including hormonal changes, skin conditions, and muscle and bone deterioration (损耗).”可知长时间在太空里可能会导致很多潜在的健康危险，如荷尔蒙变化、皮肤问题和肌肉骨头损耗等等。也就是说前往火星的旅行会让人们的健康遭遇危险。故D项正确。

2.猜测词意题。根据本句“Such experiments began as far back as the late 1940s in first tests to see if living things could withstand the extreme g-force (重力) of a rocket launch.”利用动物做实验很早就开始了，人们希望看到这些生物在太空里是否可以承担起火箭发射的极端的地球引力的作用。划线词意为“支撑，承受”，故B项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第五段最后一句“the mice suffered a 15 percent thinning of their skin after 91 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).”可知在ISS的实验里老鼠的皮肤出现了问题。故A项正确。

4.主旨大意题。本文是一篇说明文，在人类探索太空的过程中一直都有动物的帮助，其中老鼠的参与程度最高。文章具体介绍了利用老鼠进行实验的优点以及相关的实验结果，老鼠为人类的太空探索铺平了道路。故C项正确。