An astronomer is making a case for launching pop singer Justin Bieber into suborbital（亞軌道的）space aboard a private rocket ship. The idea is not to rid the world of the Canadian teenager — he would come back down to Earth eventually, after all — but rather to help jump-start the emerging suborbital spaceflight industry.

It would generate a lot of public interest, which would help commercial spaceflight pick up some much-needed momentum, said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in Mountain View, California. “If there’s more interest, there are more customers. If there are more customers, there's more technical development. It's a positive feedback loop, and obviously that's good.”

Such missions would return to Earth without completing a full lap around the planet. Instead, the flights would hit the edge of space about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, experience a few minutes of weightlessness, then re-enter the atmosphere and land back at a spaceport.

None of these firms are ready to fly customers yet, but some are getting close. For instance, Virgin Galactic hopes to begin powered test flights of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle later this year, with commercial operations perhaps beginning in 2013 or 2014. It is SpaceShipTwo that reportedly grabbed the attention of Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Virgin Galactic has collected deposits from nearly 500 customers willing to pay $200,000 for a ride aboard SpaceShipTwo, and both Virgin and XCOR have inked deals to fly scientists and their experiments on research flights. So a suborbital market already exists — but Shostak is thinking about ways to make it grow.

A celebrity launch isn't Shostak’s only idea. Suborbital firms should also promote their activities aggressively via social media, Shostak said, and they should make sure their spaceships are bristling（充滿）with cameras both inside and out, to give the public dramatic views of every mission.

Some observers view commercial suborbital spaceflight as a potentially transformative industry, saying it could serve as a stepping stone to the exploration and exploitation of space on an unprecedented scale. While the industry’s success is far from assured, Shostak offered some reason for optimism: The American public remains keen on space.

1.Why may Justin Bieber be sent into suborbital space?

A．To show his bravery and make him a role model for teenagers.

B．To arouse the American public’s interest.

C．To help reform the spaceflight industry.

D．To film an advertisement about space.

2.What can we learn about suborbital spaceflight?

A．A trip will return to Earth before finishing a lap.

B．The whole trip will leave passengers weightless.

C．Each trip can take 500 passengers.

D．The trip will be too expensive even for celebrities.

3.What can we infer from the text?

A．SpaceShipTwo will be the first to fly.

B．Famous people will be the main passengers in the future.

C．The space trip is still in preparation.

D．Every space trip will be made into a film.

4.The last paragraph suggests that _________.

A．space is too mysterious to explore

B．the suborbital market is promising

C．the spaceflight industry is more successful than people think

D．developing the industry is risky

5.What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To predict a change in the space market.

B．To discuss a recent launch.

C．To introduce the status of the spaceflight industry.

D．To remove public doubt about the spaceflight industry.

 

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：本文主要介紹了亞軌道航天工業(yè)的suborbital spaceflight industry的現(xiàn)狀和前景。

1.B 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第一段The idea is not to rid the world of the Canadian teenager — he would come back down to Earth eventually, after all — but rather to help jump-start the emerging suborbital spaceflight industry.說明這樣做是為了引起人們對(duì)亞軌道航天工業(yè)的興趣。故B正確。

2.A 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第三段Such missions would return to Earth without completing a full lap around the planet. Instead, the flights would hit the edge of space about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, experience a few minutes of weightlessness, then re-enter the atmosphere and land back at a spaceport.可知在這樣的飛行中，人們并沒有完全繞地球飛行一圈，然后就返回了地面。故A正確。

3.C 推斷題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三段None of these firms are ready to fly customers yet, but some are getting close.可知這樣的飛行并沒有真正實(shí)現(xiàn)，只是在慢慢接近。故C項(xiàng)正確。

4.B 推理題。根據(jù)文章最后2行While the industry’s success is far from assured, Shostak offered some reason for optimism: The American public remains keen on space.

課雖然現(xiàn)在這種行業(yè)還沒有取得成功，但是前景很樂觀，因?yàn)槊绹藢?duì)于太空旅游很感興趣。這個(gè)行業(yè)還是有很大的潛力的，故B正確。

5.C 主旨大意題。根據(jù)文章第一段內(nèi)容中所舉Justin Bieber的例子，就是為了向我們介紹

方興未艾的 suborbital spaceflight industry.故C正確。

考點(diǎn)：考查科普類短文閱讀

點(diǎn)評(píng)：本文主要介紹了亞軌道航天工業(yè)的suborbital spaceflight industry的現(xiàn)狀和前景。

考查科普類短文閱讀，此類文章的最大的障礙是詞匯以及考生對(duì)閱讀內(nèi)容的不熟悉，需要考生在閱讀的時(shí)候有足夠的耐心。要養(yǎng)成在上下文串聯(lián)中猜測(cè)詞義的能力，根據(jù)上下文中出現(xiàn)的同義詞，近義詞，反義詞，以及詞義的解釋來理解生詞。同時(shí)要抓住文章的中心，不要受其他信息的影響。要根據(jù)題目及選項(xiàng)以及文章的上下文串聯(lián)合理的判斷推理。

 

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