The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris(有毒的殘骸) over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails(痕跡) streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant(推進器).
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts.
1. The word “descent” in the passage means ________.
A. taking off B. landing C. orbiting D. walking down
2. Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon?
A. He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.
B. He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.
C. He used to be a passenger plane pilot.
D. He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster.
3. The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that ________.
A. there were seven astronauts killed on board
B. both the shuttles exploded when they took off
C. Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land
D. no human remains were found
4. Which of the following is wrong according to the news?
A. The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.
B. NASA hasn’t found the cause of the Columbia disaster.
C. Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.
D. Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission.
1----4 BAAA
本文講述了美國航天飛機“哥倫比亞”號失事的情況。
1. B。詞義推測題。可以參見第三段第二句中的in the decent to Earth，其后or landing 即是對 descent解釋。
2. A。細節題。從 …which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon 中可以知道，Ilan Ramon. 是以色列第一位乘坐航天飛機的宇航員。
3. A。推斷題。要求你找出這兩起災難的共同點。從文中可以了解到兩起災難都有7位宇航員喪生。“挑戰者”號是在升空時失事的，而“哥倫比亞”號是在返回地面的過程中失事的，故可排除B 和 C。而選項 D 與原文不符，故選 A。
4. A。判斷題。根據…America's space program will go on 我們可以知道選項 A 明顯錯誤。而選項B、C、D均與原文相符。
學練快車道口算心算速算天天練系列答案科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Task-based reading 任務型閱讀
請認真閱讀下面短文，并根據所讀內容在文章后圖表中的空格里填入最恰當的單詞。注意：每空不超過1個單詞。
For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.
In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.
These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.
The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.
Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.
| History of space travel | ||
| Time | Events | Information concerned |
| Early 1900s | High-flying rockets were built. | It made the ancient dream of going to space possible to come 66) ▲ |
| 1903 | Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (67) ▲ out a way to use rockets for space travel. | He planned to put correct scientific calculation to use in rocket science. |
| Around (68) ▲ | Robert Goddard built new rockets. | The rockets could fly very (69) ▲ in the sky. |
| During and after World War II | German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. | Germany was ahead of all the other countries in building space rockets and later it (70) ▲ the Soviet Union and the United States |
| The Soviet Union and the United States competed to get to space first. | The Soviet Union became the (71) ▲ of the competition when it launched the first satellite and sent the first astronaut into space. | |
| 1969 | The United States was (72) ▲ in putting a person on the moon. | In one way, it (73) ▲ the Soviet Union by becoming the first country to fly people to the moon. |
| 1970s | The Soviets built the first space station and was soon followed by Americans. And they finally ended the "space race" by (74) ▲ | Astronauts can live and work in space stations. |
| 1980s-- | Space shuttles are used as new vehicles for space (75) ▲ . | Shuttles are also used to help put satellites into space. |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012屆廣東省廣州六中高三上學期第三次月考英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
1685 was a very good year for German composers. Within the space of a month, two of the greatest were born: Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.
Handel’s father was a barber and surgeon, which sounds like a strange combination today, but back then those occupations went hand in hand. Even though Handel was very interested in music, his father didn’t think that was a good way to earn a living, so he wanted his son to be a lawyer. The story goes that Handel smuggled a quiet piano into the house so that he could practice in secret.
One day, Handel went along when his father went to shave a duke. While his father was working, Handel sat down and played the duke’s organ. The duke was so impressed that he convinced Handel’s father to let his son study music, and Handel finally got to learn how to compose.
Handel soon discovered that what he liked most was opera. In fact, he was so passionate about opera that he even fought a duel (決斗) over it with one of his friends. Since Italy was the place to learn about opera composing, Handel went off to Italy to study. When he got home, he got a job as court composer for a German prince.
Having landed such a wonderful job, Handel immediately asked his boss for time off. He wanted to go to England, where he’d heard that there weren’t nearly enough composers to satisfy the British taste for Italian opera.
After great success writing opera in London, Handel came back to Germany. Then fate played a funny trick on Handel and his boss. The Queen of England died, and it just so happened that the prince Handel worked for was next in line to the British throne. When he arrived in London as King George, followed Handel, his court composer in Germany.
In addition to serving the King, Handel became one of the most successful opera composers of his time. And he also produced them and traveled all over Europe to hire the best singers. There are stories of battles with rival opera producers and of fights between rival singers. Handel apparently had quite a temper.
If you ever go to London, look for Handel’s grave in Westminster Abbey, where there’s a wonderful monument to him.
【小題1】How did Handel begin to learn to compose?
| A．His father was sure of his future success. |
| B．His performance impressed a duke. |
| C．He begged his father to send him to Italy. |
| D．He practiced hard and taught himself music. |
| A．bought secretly | B．took secretly |
| C．carried in advance | D．possessed personally |
| A．Because he could find better jobs in London. |
| B．Because he enjoyed greater fame in London. |
| C．Because his boss became King of Britain and brought him along. |
| D．Because London was a wonderful place to learn about opera. |
| A．bad-tempered | B．talented | C．enthusiastic | D．optimistic |
| A．Handel was born in the same year with Bach. |
| B．Many people worked both as a barber and a surgeon. |
| C．Handel quit his job to learn about opera in Italy. |
| D．Handel was buried in London and was built a monument. |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2013-2014學年湖北省高三2月聯考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
If you live in America in the 21st century you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “Crazy busy!”. It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:“ That's a good problem to have, ”or“ Better than the opposite.”
Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are. What those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted! Dead on their feet. It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they've “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in its absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work. It's something they have chosen. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance(令人安心的保證），a measure against emptiness, obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or tiny or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.
Idleness is not just a vacation. It is as necessary to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as ugly as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration.” Idle dreaming is often the essence of what we do”, wrote Thomas Pynchon. Archimedes' “Eureka” in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments.
1.When many Americans say “Crazy busy”, they mean______.
A. they are really tired of their present situation
B. they are really proud of their present life
C. they are complaining about their current work
D. their life are full of all kinds of problems
2.The writer mentions Archimedes'“Eureka” and Newton's apple to show that________.
A. history is full of interesting stories
B. Archimedes and Newton were very busy, so they made great discoveries
C. people may get inspiration when they are idle
D. inspirations come from hard work
3.The word “its” in the second paragraph refers to_________________.
ambition B. anxiety C. busyness D. dread
4.From the article, we can infer that ___________________.
A. generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy
B. “Dead on their feet” means “being tired out”
C. all the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation
D. The author seems to agree that idleness is better than busyness
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科目：高中英語 來源：2013-2014學年山東臨沂一中高二9月月考英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套設備） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''
1.Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
A. Because she didn't want others to hear her play
B. Because she didn't mean to disturb others.
C. Because she didn't have her own room
D. Because she didn’t like her neighbors.
2.Brenda started to give concerts _______.
A. after she practiced in her space bubble
B. when she became part of the unique space journey
C. after she became a real musical astronaut
D. when people came to see her in the space bubble
3.Brenda became famous because _______.
A. she was good at music and science
B. she became a real musical astronaut
C. she invented a special way of practice
D. she played well and had a talent
4.Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
A. Kind, hardworking and clever
B. Brave, kind and hardworking.
C. Lovely, brave and kind
D. Nervous, kind and clever.
5.It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
A. He laughs best who laughs last
B. It's never too old to learn
C. Two heads are better than one
D. One good turn deserves another
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科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆廣東珠海高三9月開學摸底考試英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
The USA is a land of immigrants. Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the greatest peaceful migration in its history: 35 million people, mostly Europeans, left their homelands to start new lives in America. Why did these people risk everything by leaving their homes and families?
First, what forced emigrants to make the decision to leave? One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. Another was politics. There was an increased taxation（稅收） and the growth of armies, and many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.
Physical hunger provided another pressing reason. Following the collapse （衰退）of the economy of southern Italy in the 1860s, hundreds of thousands decided to start a new life in America. Religion also encouraged millions to leave the Old World.
In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. As a result, by 1890 among a total population of 63 million, there were more than nine million foreign-born Americans.
But what were the attractions? First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.
This immigration meant that by around the 1850s Americans of non-English had started to be more than those of English. As we know, there were losers. To start with, there were those unwilling immigrants, the slaves who had been used as a source of cheap labour. Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians. By 1860 there were 27 million free whites, four million slaves and a mere 488,000 free blacks.
Nowadays, the USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land. As always, it remains an attractive place to those who think it will offer them a second chance.
1.What is not the cause for people to leave their homeland?
A. The search for religious freedom.
B. The search for adventure.
C. Unwillingness to join the army.
D. Economics.
2.Why was life of the 19th Century European farmers difficult?
A. There was no land.
B. There was no peace.
C. The population had gone down.
D. There were too many of them.
3. Which of the following was not an attraction of the USA?
A. Employment B. A healthy life
C. freedom of religion D. Business opportunities
4.What is the topic of this passage?
A. The USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land.
B. The USA is a land of immigrants.
C. Religion encouraged millions to leave the Old World.
D. About one-eighth of non-native born Americans live in the USA in 1890.
5. The American Indians __________.
A. were as fortunate as the slaves
B. were more unfortunate than the slaves
C. were the most unfortunate
D. were as unfortunate as the slaves
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