Question

    “Two centuries ago, Lewis and Clark left St. Louis to explore the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase,” George W. Bush said, announcing his desire for a program to send men and women to Mars. They made that journey in the spirit of discovery. America has ventured forth into space for the same reasons.”

Yet there are vital differences between Lewis and Clark’s expedition and a Mars mission. First, they were headed to a place where hundreds of thousands of people were already living. Second, they were certain to discover places and things of immediate value to the new nation. Third, their venture cost next to nothing by today’s standards. A Mars mission may be the single most expensive non-wartime undertaking in U.S. history.

Appealing as the thought of travel to Mars is, it does not mean the journey makes sense, even considering the human calling to explore. And Mars as a destination for people makes absolutely no sense with current technology.

Present systems for getting from Earth’s surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending, or other important programs—or by raising taxes. Absent some remarkable discovery, astronauts, geologists, and biologists once on Mars could do little more than analyze rocks and feel awestruck(敬畏的) staring into the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyzed by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny fraction of the cost of sending people.

It is interesting to note that when President Bush unveiled his proposal, he listed these recent major achievements of space exploration pictures of evidence of water on Mars, discovery of more than 100 planets outside our solar system, and study of the soil of Mars. All these accomplishments came from automated probes or automated space telescopes. Bush’s proposal, which calls for reprogramming some of NASA’s present budget into the Mars effort, might actually lead to a reduction in such unmanned science—the one aspect of space exploration that’s working really well.

Rather than spend hundreds of billions of dollars to hurl tons toward Mars using current technology, why not take a decade or two or however much time is required researching new launch systems and advanced propulsion (推进力)? lf new launch systems could put weight into orbit affordably, and advanced propulsion could speed up that long, slow transit to Mars, the dream of stepping onto the red planet might become reality. Mars will still be there when the technology is ready.

1.What do Lewis and Clark’s expedition and a Mars mission have in common?

A.Instant value.

B.Human inhabitance.

C.Venture cost.

D.Exploring spirit.

2.Bush’s proposal is challenged for the following reasons except that     .

A.its expenditure is too huge for the government to afford.

B.American people’s well-being will suffer a lot if it is implemented

C.great achievements have already been made in Mars exploration in America

D.unmanned Mars exploration sounds more practical and economical for the moment

3.Which cannot be concluded from the passage?

A.Going to Mars using current technology is quite unrealistic.

B.A Mars mission will in turn promote the development of unmanned program.

C.Bush’s proposal is based on three recent great achievements of space exploration

D.The achievements in space exploration show how well unmanned science has developed.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Risky as it is, a Mars mission helps to retain Americas position as a technological leader.

B.A Mars mission is so costly that it may lead to an economic disaster in America.

C.Someday people may go to Mars but not until it makes technological sense.

D.A Mars mission is unnecessary since the scientists once there won’t make great discoveries.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，通过美国的火星探测计划介绍了总有一天人们可能会登上火星，但要等到技术成熟时。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段内容，特别是“They made that journey in the spirit of discovery. America has ventured forth into space for the same reasons.”可知，乔治·布什说，两个世纪前，刘易斯和克拉克离开圣路易斯，去探索在路易斯安那购买计划中获得的新土地，并宣布他希望有一个把男人和女人送上火星的计划，他们本着探索的精神进行了那次旅行，美国的火星探测计划也是出于同样的原因，由此可知，刘易斯和克拉克的探险和火星任务的共同之处是探索精神，故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中的“Present systems for getting from Earth’s surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending, or other important programs—or by raising taxes.”可知，目前从地球表面进入近地轨道的系统非常昂贵，仅发射火星任务所需的1000吨左右的航天器和设备（开支巨大，政府负担不起），就只能通过削减医疗福利、教育开支或其他重要项目或提高税收来完成（一旦实施，美国人民的福祉将受到影响），再根据“astronauts, geologists, and biologists once on Mars could do little more than analyze rocks and feel awestruck(敬畏的) staring into the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyzed by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny fraction of the cost of sending people.”可知，宇航员、地质学家和生物学家一旦登上火星，除了分析岩石和对太空感到敬畏之外，几乎什么也做了，然而，岩石可以通过自动探测器进行分析，而不会对人的生命造成危险，而且只需花费派遣人员的一小部分费用（无人火星探测听起来更加实用和经济），以上三点是布什的提议受到挑战的原因，而没有提到原因包括美国在火星探测方面已经取得了巨大成就，故C项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“Bush’s proposal, which calls for reprogramming some of NASA’s present budget into the Mars effort, might actually lead to a reduction in such unmanned science”可知，布什的提议要求将美国宇航局目前的预算中的一部分重新编入火星计划，这实际上可能会导致这种无人探测科学的减少，由此可知，火星任务不会促进无人探测计划的发展，故B项正确。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据最后一段中的“lf new launch systems could put weight into orbit affordably, and advanced propulsion could speed up that long, slow transit to Mars, the dream of stepping onto the red planet might become reality. Mars will still be there when the technology is ready.”可知，如果新的发射系统能够以合理的价格将重量送入轨道，先进的推进系统能够加速到火星的漫长而缓慢的运输，登上这颗红色星球的梦想就可能成为现实，当技术准备就绪时，火星仍将在那里，由此可知，本文主要介绍了总有一天人们可能会登上火星，但要等到它在技术上变得成熟时，故C项正确。