Question

    NASA has a new job listing, and it’s no joke. The US space agency is looking for a “joker” to join their planned mission (任务) to Mars.

A mission to Mars is no laughing matter. The red planet is 140 million miles away from Earth. A trip there would take around 8 months in a small spaceship.

“When you’re living with others in a confident space for a long period of time, problems are likely to take place,” Jeffre Johnson a scientist at the University of Florida said.

This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor (幽默感). “There are people that have the ability to pull everyone together,” Johnson said.

In stressful situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren’t alone. By laughing together, we share our stress. Then we can pay more attention to our jobs instead of just worrying.

There are other examples of team “clowns (小丑)”. One example is the journey to the South Pole (南极) led by Norwegian explore (探险家) Roald Amundson. It was a difficult journey, full of danger. Adolf Lindstorm, A cook at Amundson’s team, was a “clown”. He made people laugh through the whole journey. Amundson later wrote that Lindstrom was the most valuable member of the team.

But if you’re hoping that your favorite TV comedian (喜剧演员) will fly to Mars, that probably won’t happen.

“Being funny won’t be enough to land somebody the job,” Johnson said. “They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer.” Besides, they must be in top physical condition.

1.NASA is looking for a________.

A.funny engineer B.talented clown C.good cook D.popular comedian

2.In Paragraph 3, “a confident space” means a/an ________ space.

A.empty B.different C.open D.small

3.The US space agency is looking for a “joker” in order to________.

A.make the astronaut excited B.find an excellent astronaut

C.encourage team work D.make the trip unforgettable

4.In Paragraph 6, the writer uses the example of a cook to show that________.

A.the explorers’ meals on their journey is very important

B.humorous people can cheer up people in difficult situations

C.a cook can play a more important role than the explorers

D.the journey to the South Pole is harder the mission to Mars

5.Which would be the best title for the text?

A.A sense of humor B.A mission to Mars C.Let the humor fly D.Laugh together

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。美国宇航局有一份新的工作，它正在寻找一个“小丑”来加入前往火星的任务中。文章分析了美国宇航局这么做的原因，并以Adolf Lindstorm为例，突出了幽默感在该项任务中的重要性。

1.细节理解题。根据最后一段“Being funny won’t be enough to land somebody the job…They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer”可知，美国宇航局正在寻找一位既有趣又优秀的工程师加入前往火星的任务中。故选A。

2.词句猜测题。empty空的；different不同的；open开放的；small小的。根据上文中的“A trip there would take around 8 months in a small spaceship”可知，去火星需要乘坐小型宇宙飞船，因此划线部分a confident space指的是上文提到的“小型宇宙飞船”中的空间，即“小空间”。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段“This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor…There are people that have the ability to pull everyone together”可知，有幽默感的人具备将所有人团结在一起的能力，因此可推知美国宇航局需要“小丑”加入团队的原因是他们能促进人们的团队精神。故选C。

4.推理判断题。本文前五段提到幽默可以帮助宇航员减轻压力。根据第六段中的“It was a difficult journey, full of danger…He made people laugh through the whole journey…the most valuable member of the team”可知，Adolf的幽默感使队员们在整个旅程中哈哈大笑，成功的完成了艰难的旅程。本段以此为例来证明幽默感在困难处境下的重要性，即幽默的人可以在困境中振奋人心。故选B。

5.最佳标题题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要围绕“幽默感”展开，列举了两个关于“小丑”在团队工作中的事例，证明了幽默感在团队工作中的重要性，因此A选项“幽默感”可作为本文标题。故选A。