Question

The majority of astronauts（宇航员）from America have been men. At the start of the space programme there was strong resistance from some people against having women in space. However, some women were very keen to become astronauts and in the end they were successful. In 1978, NASA began the first training programme for women astronauts.

Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe were both astronauts and they were both women, but in many other ways they were very different. Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L. Judy Resnick was born in 1949 and studied engineering at university and went on to obtain a PhD in 1977. She was a member of the first group of women selected for astronaut training in 1978, and in 1984, she became the second woman in space. During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites and she carried out a programme of research. She was, in many ways, a professional astronaut whose whole life was devoted to space travel.

Christa McAuliffe was born in 1948 and she was an astronaut almost by accident. In 1984, NASA decided to find a teacher who could accompany astronauts into space. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel. Christa was a secondary teacher in history and social studies. She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants to go on flight STS-51-L. She was also a very good communicator and she immediately established a very good relationship with the news media(radio, television and newspapers）. It was partly because of this that there was a great deal of interest and excitement about the flight. Thousands of students in schools and universities all around the country were looking forward to communicating with Christa in space. Millions of people were watching her flight with great interest. It is partly because of the excitement over McAuliffe's place in the flight that the disaster in 1986 had such an effect on people.

1.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ___________.

A. Judy was against the idea of having women in space at first

B. Judy was the first woman selected for astronaut training

C. Judy helped to launch three new satellites at the age of 35

D. Judy carried out a programme during her second space travel

2.Christa McAuliffe was chosen for training because _______.

A. she was popular with the news media

B. she expected to give history lessons in space

C. she was an excellent teacher and communicator

D. she made the students in space very excited

3.The reason why there was great interest in Flight STS-51-L is that ________.

A. both Christa and Judy got PhD degrees in the same year

B. a young secondary school teacher was on the flight

C. students were going to learn more about space travel

D. it was the first time for women to travel in space

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Two Astronauts       B. Flight STS-51-L

C. Travelling in Space  D. The Training Programme

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题分析:在太空计划的开始，大多数的宇航员都是男性的，人们强烈反对女性进入太空。然而许多妇女却对宇航员这一职业情有独钟，最后在1978年，美国航天局首次训练了两名女宇航员。本文就是对这两位女性宇航员的介绍。

1.C推理判断题。从文章第二段 Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L．Judy Resnick was born in 1949 和 in 1984, she became the second woman in space．During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites可知Judy当她帮助发射三颗卫星的时候是35岁，故选C。

2.C细节理解题。根据文章第三段She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants to go on flight STS-51-L．She was also a very good communicator可知由于她的聪明天赋和善于交流而被选，故选C。

3.B细节理解题。由文章第三段 It was partly because of this that there was a great deal of interest and excitement about the flight．Thousands of students in schools and universities all around the country were looking forward to communicating with Christa in space.可知人们对Flight STS-51-L感兴趣的原因之一是由于这位女士在飞船上，故选B。

4.

考点：考查人物传记类短文阅读