Question

    On 7, August, 2015, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) got to eat a special treat. No, it wasn’t a cookie or cake. It was red lettuce they had grown themselves in space.

“It was one small bite for man, one giant leap for NASAVEGGIE,” astronaut Scott Kelly wrote on Twitter. (Kelly based his tweet on the words astronaut Neil Armstrong famously used in 1969, after becoming the first person to ever walk on the moon. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” he said at the time.)

“NASAVEGGIE” refers to the ISS’s Veggie plant-growth system. It uses special red, blue, and green LED lights to grow plants. The system is a big step toward NASA’s goal of developing a way to grow food in space during future long space missions deep into the solar system.

Kelly and fellow NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren prepared the red romaine lettuce like many people do on Earth. They cleaned it, and then mixed it with olive oil and vinegar. Then they gobbled up the leafy red greens. “That’s awesome!” Lindgren said after taking a bite.

It was the first taste of fresh food the astronauts had had in a long time, since there is no refrigeration on the ISS. They ate half the lettuce. The rest was packaged and frozen so that it could be returned to Earth for testing.

Lindgren and Kelly are the only two NASA astronauts currently on the space station. The other crew members are Russian astronauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Komienko, and Lleg Kononenko, and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui.

Kelly and Kornienko have been on the ISS since March. They plan to spend 342 days in space, in part to help determine the effects of long-term space travel on astronauts’ bodies. They traveled to the ISS with Padalka, who will return to Earth in September.

Kelly and Komiendo’s job — which will be one of the longest-ever stay in space by astronauts — will help pave the way for future long-term space tasks. NASA plans to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars by the 2030s.

1.Why is growing food in space very important?

A.It is a symbol of scientific development.

B.It will help solve the hunger problem

C.Astronauts can get enough nutritious food.

D.People plan to go into the deep space.

2.What Kelly said in Para. 2 suggests that _____.

A.it is a great success to grow fresh food in space

B.he respected Neil Armstrong very much

C.mankind makes great progress in exploring space

D.humans should speed up to land on Mars

3.Who will remain in the ISS until March, 2016?

A.Padalka and Kononenko. B.Yui and Lindgren.

C.Kelly and Kormienko. D.Kelly and Lindgren.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Astronauts grow their favorite food in space.

B.Astronauts get more fresh food from space.

C.Astronauts plant vegetables for a journey to Mars.

D.Astronauts eat fresh food grown on the ISS.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要关于宇航员可以在国际空间站吃新鲜的食物。

1.推理判断题。根据文章第三段The system is a big step toward NASA’s goal of developing a way to grow food in space during future long space missions deep into the solar system.“该系统朝着NASA的目标迈出了一大步，即在未来深入太阳系的长期太空任务中，开发一种在太空中种植粮食的方法。”可知，在太空种植物很重要，因为人们计划进入深层空间。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的句子That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,“这是一个人的一小步，却是人类的一大步，”可知，Kelly说的话说明在太空种植新鲜的食物是很大的成功。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第一段的句子On 7, August, 2015, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) got to eat a special treat.“2015年8月7日，国际空间站(ISS)的宇航员吃到了一种特殊的食物。”和倒数第二段的Kelly and Kornienko have been on the ISS since March. They plan to spend 342 days in space, in part to help determine the effects of long-term space travel on astronauts’ bodies. “Kelly和Kormienko自3月以来一直在国际空间站。他们计划在太空中度过342天，部分原因是为了确定长期太空旅行对宇航员身体的影响。”可知，Kelly和Kormienko将在国际太空站一直到2016年三月。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章第三段的句子“NASAVEGGIE” refers to the ISS’s Veggie plant-growth system. It uses special red, blue, and green LED lights to grow plants.可知，“NASAVEGGIE”指的是国际空间站的素食植物生长系统。它使用特殊的红色、蓝色和绿色LED灯来种植植物。由此可知，文章主要关于宇航员可以在国际空间站吃新鲜的食物。故选D。