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C
Humans have launched themselves into the outer space. They’ve landed on the moon. They’ve built habitable space stations that orbit the Earth. The next giant leap for mankind is to reach another planet – specifically, Mars.
The problem is that it’s no easy task. The planet is 586 times further away from the Earth than the moon, and it’ll take around 180 to 220 days to reach Mars, depending on where each planet is in its orbit. Such long periods in space have suggested many potential health problems, including hormonal changes, skin conditions, and muscle and bone deterioration (损耗).
Here’s where some furry friends come in. A wide range of animals have been in space, from fruit flies and spiders to cats, and dogs. Such experiments began as far back as the late 1940s in first tests to see if living things could withstand the extreme g-force (重力) of a rocket launch.
Mice continue to play a very important part in space experiments, mainly because the animals make excellent test subjects. They’re small, which makes them inexpensive and easy to care for. In addition, their size and short life span make it possible to do the equivalent of several human years of tests in a much shorter time. Finally, because mice are mammals, they share many common characteristics with humans in terms of genetics, biology and behavior.
Astromice have hit the headlines recently, as a team of scientists led by Betty Nusgens, professor of biology at the University of Liege in Belgium, found that the mice suffered a 15 percent thinning of their skin after 91 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
This experiment was part of a wider NASA mission (任务) called the Mice Drawer System (MDS). The Italian Space Agency developed the facility, which allows six mice to be housed, monitored, and automatically fed and watered aboard the ISS, among which three survived during the mission.
The mice have participated in 20 separate experiments, to study such effects as osteoporosis (骨质疏松症), anemia (贫血) and heart health.
Results for the 20 experiments are coming in gradually. But it’s clear that mice continue to play an important role in the ongoing quest to conquer the final frontier.
28. We can infer from Paragraphs 2-3 that ______.
A. Mars is the farthest planet away from Earth discovered so far
B. the journey to Mars could put humans’ health at risk
C. it was in the late 1940s that animals were first sent to the ISS
D. animals that have been sent into space have mostly survived
29. The underlined word “withstand” in Para.3 means _________.
A.set up B. hold up C. work out D. come across
30. According to Betty Nusgens and her team, the mice aboard the ISS ______.
A. suffered the loss of part of their skin
B. all survived for the duration of the mission
C. were fed and watered by the astronauts
D. participated in 20 experiments that made great breakthroughs
31. The main purpose of the article is to _____.
A. describe the role mice play in scientific research
B. report on the results of the Mice Drawer System
C. analyze how mice could pave the way to Mars
D. change people’s traditional attitudes toward mice
【答案】BBAC
【解析】
1．推理判断题。根据第二段Such long periods in space have suggested many potential health problems可知,在太空如此长的时间对人来说是有潜在的健康问题的，故B项正确。
2．词义猜测题。这句话所表达的意思是首次这样的实验可以追溯到1940s后期，是为了证实活着的生物是否经受得住火箭发射的巨大重力。A项set up意为 “建立”；B项hold up意为 “经受，支撑”；C项work out意为 “解决出”；D项come across意为 “偶然遇到”。故选B项。
3．细节理解题。根据第五段...found that the mice suffered a 15 percent thinning of their skin after 91 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).可知小白鼠的皮肤受到了伤害。故选A项。
4．主旨大意题。文章主要说明了小白鼠在外太空的探索中起着重要的作用，并且作出了很大的贡献。文中最后一段But it’s clear that mice continue to play an important role in the ongoing quest to conquer the final frontier.表明在未来的探索中小白鼠依然起着重要的作用。文章逐步分析了小白鼠是如何为火星的探索铺平道路的。所以故选C项。
【备注】这是一则说明文。主要分析了小白鼠是如何为人类探索火星铺平道路的。
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