Astronaut Mark Kelly announced today that he is retiring from NASA in order to focus on the recovery of his wife, Gabrielle Giffords.

Kelly, who is 47, began his NASA career in 1996. He has traveled to the International Space Station four times and served aboard space shuttles (航天飛機) Endeavour and Discovery. Most recently he was commander of Endeavour's final voyage, which ended on June l.

“After 25 years of service to our country, I am retiring from the United States Navy and leaving NASA. My retirement will take effect on October l.” he said.

“This was no easy decision. Words cannot express my deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given to serve our great nation. And I have always been proud to be a member of the NASA. Public service has been more than a job for me and for my family. My brother continues to serve in NASA and in the Navy. My parents are retired police officers. And my wife Gabrielle proudly serves in the US House of Representatives.” he continued.

“As life takes unexpected turns we frequently come to a crossroads. I am at this point today. Gabrielle is working hard every day on her way to recovery. I want to be by her side. Stepping aside from my work in the Navy and at NASA will allow me to be with her and with my two daughters. I love them all very much and there is no doubt that we will move forward together. After some time off, I will look for new opportunities and I'm hopeful that one day I will again serve our country.” Kelly said.

On Jan 8, Giffords was shot in the head and was severely injured while meeting with her supporters. She returned to her Tucson home last week for the first time since then.

56. Mark Kelly must have been __________ when he announced his decision.

A. cheerful                   B. regretful          C. peaceful           D. meaningful

57. Mark Kelly decides to retire from NASA mainly because __________ .

A. he is tired and hopes for a good rest

B. he has been offered a better position

C. he hopes to spend more time with his family

D. he was commander of Endeavour's final voyage

58. We can learn from the passage that_____________.

A. Mark Kelly has already retired from NASA

B. Mark Kelly is proud of his wife and his family

C. Gabrielle Griffons is now being treated in hospital

D. Gabrielle Griffons will come back to work soon

59. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The true love between Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords.

B. The recovery of Gabrielle Giffords

C. Mark Kelly’s career as an astronaut in NASA.

D. The unusual experience of Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords.

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The spacewalk performed by Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang on Saturday afternoon      a major breakthrough in China's space program

A. predicted           B. told               C. marked              D. signed

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Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle 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.
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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.''
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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.
【小題2】Brenda started to give concerts _______.
A．a(chǎn)fter she practiced in her space bubble
B．when she became part of the unique space journey
C．a(chǎn)fter she became a real musicalastronaut
D．when people came to see her in the space bubble
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閱讀下面短文，按照句子結(jié)構(gòu)的語法性和上下文連貫的要求，在空格處填入一個適當?shù)脑~或使用括號中詞語的正確形式填空，并將答案填寫在答卷標號為16-25的相應(yīng)位置上。
When China’s astronaut ZhaiZhigang carried out the spacewalk on September 27, he was wearing a spacesuit developed by Chinese scientists. Being worth more than 30 million yuan, the Feitian(飛天) spacesuit is not __16__ ordinary one.
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閱讀下列應(yīng)用文及相關(guān)信息，并按照要求匹配信息。請在答題卡上將對應(yīng)題號的相應(yīng)選項字母涂黑。（如果【【答案】】是E請同時涂黑AB, 如果【【答案】】是F請同時涂黑CD）,
首先，請閱讀下列調(diào)查問卷：
A
Dear Sir/Madame
I think robots can do such dangerous jobs as skyscraper builders, bridge builders and so on .If injured or broken, they can be fixed easily. They can also work in unfavorable conditions such as in the dark, extreme heat, extreme  cold, etc.
B
Dear Sir/Madame
I suppose small man—controlled robots could be used as sea rescuing workers to look for people in the sea. When defusing (拆除引信) bombs, robots could also be used to reduce the risk of losing a human life.
C
Dear Sir/Madame
I suppose robots could be used as dustmen during night time, as they don’t need to sleep and they are safe in polluted environment.
D
Dear Sir/Madame
I suppose robots could be used as chemical researchers. At least they can help us keep away from harmful materials or help to go into small areas which are hard to reach for us. It can be used to examine the inside of a nuclear reactor (核反應(yīng)堆).
E
Dear Sir/Madame
I suppose robots could be astronauts and they could travel very far away,like Pluto.If so,we don’t need to train human beings to be astronauts as it costs quite a lot and it also takes many years to make a professional astronaut.
F
Dear Sir/Madame
I suppose robots could be used as car assembly (裝配) workers ,in parts of the production line. Robots can make the process move faster, get more work done and cost less.
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46.Jaime is a professor in the field of biochemistry (生物化學(xué)).He is worried about his health situation as he keeps so close to harmful elements year in and year out.
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年浙江省高三回頭考聯(lián)考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Next Stop: Planet Mars

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The SLS is a huge, liquid-fuelled rocket. If it is fully developed, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built. Its lift capability will be much bigger than that of the space shuttle of Saturn 5, the rocket that sent the Apollo missions to the moon.

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NASA used liquid rockets to send Apollo, Gemini and Mercury into space, but later changed to solid rockets boosters(助推火箭) because they were cheaper. Tragically, however, a booster flaw(缺陷) caused the space shuttle Challenger to crash in 1986. The new project plans to return to liquid fuel.

According to AP, the rockets will at first be able to carry 77 to 110 tons of payload(凈載重量). Eventually they will be able to carry 143 tons into space, maybe even as many as 165 tons, NASA officials said. By comparison, the Saturn 5 booster could lift 130 tons and the space shuttle just 27 tons.

However, unlike reusable shuttles, these powerful rockets are mostly one use only. New ones have to be built for every launch. This will be very costly.

NASA estimates that it will cost about $3 billion (19 billion yuan) per year, or $18 billion until the first test flight in 2017. NASA hopes to make money by allowing private companies to send astronauts to the International Space Station like giant taxi services, so that the program can be “sustainable”.

“This is perhaps the biggest thing for space exploration in decades,” said Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut. “The goal is to fly humans safely beyond low-Earth orbit(軌道) and deep into outer space where we cannot only survive, but one day also live.”

1.What is the outstanding feature of the SLS?

A．It’s equipped with an advanced control system.

B．It’s the first unmanned space shuttle in the world.

C．It’s the only vehicle that can fly astronauts to the moon.

D．It can send a lot more goods and passengers into space.

2.What is Saturn 5?

A．An aircraft that had a deadly flaw and crashed in 1986.

B．A series of rockets that once sent astronauts to the moon.

C．An unmanned space shuttle that was once famous in the world.

D．A kind of launch vehicle that will be used to carry astronauts to Mars.

3.NASA plans to use liquid fuel in the new project because ______ than solid rockets boosters.

A．it is less costly

B．it is much safer

C．it can last longer

D．it is more environmentally friendly

4.According to NASA’s schedule, it will take ______ years to fully complete the SLS program.

A．a(chǎn)bout 6                               B．a(chǎn)bout 10

C．less than 14                            D．more than 19

5.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A．the SLS program is planning to make reusable rockets

B．the goal of the SLS program is to enable humans to live on the moon

C．the US government may not have provided enough money for the SLS program

D．NASA will use SLS as a space taxi between the Earth and Mars

 

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