1、第二节阅读理解梯度进阶训练（3）（原创）Kennedy Space Center, Florida July 21, 2011The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its fourperson crew landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida just before dawn, bringing to a close a program that began in 1981 and leaving the United States temporarily with no vehicle to transport as
2、tronauts into space. It was a day of mixed emotions for people who gathered there to witness the last landingAs thousands of people along the centralFlorida Atlantic Ocean coastline huddled in the predawn darkness to watch, Atlantis came in from the southwest, a small spark of light in the dark sky.
3、 NASA commentator Rob Navias announced the end of the mission and the space shuttle programNAVIAS: “Nose gear touchdown. Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time, its voyage at an end.”Hundre
4、ds of people gathered at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center to watch the shuttle return. But many visitors expressed uneasiness with the decision to end the space shuttle program before any other vehicle has been developed to replace it. Tony Diaz, who rode his motorcycle up from Miami to watc
5、h the landing, is one of the disgruntled space enthusiasts“I am really not very happy with what they have done to the space program because we are leaders and the United States should always be up there in space,” said DiazMaria, who came with her family from Dallas, Texas, regrets that her children
6、 will never be able to see another shuttle mission. “It is pretty sad that this is the last time kids will be able to experience something like this,” she saidPrivate companies are working on such vehicles, but it could be several years before one is ready to take astronauts into orbit. Plans for ev
7、entual missions to an asteroid and to Mars could be decades away. But Daytona Beach, Florida resident Rob Hansen is more optimistic“We are moving on to privatizing this kind of operation and NASA is going to move on to exploration deeper out, so I think that will work out in the long run,” noted Han
8、senAmong the people with the strongest opinions are hundreds of NASA employees who are losing their jobs as the space shuttle program ends. Jonathan Miller, who works with the Johnson Space Centers ExtraVehicular Activity Office in Houston and came here to see the last landing, says his concern goes
9、 well beyond the issue of job losses“The future of human space flight is critical to this nation as the leader in space and we are nervous that some of that leadership is lost,” said Miller. “There is 30 years of momentum(动力) behind the shuttle program and it has just come to an end, moments ago.”Th
10、e space shuttle Atlantis will remain here at the Kennedy Space Center, where it will eventually go on public display. The other three shuttles are being sent to museums and science centers in other parts of the country so that Americans will be able to see and experience part of the US space program
11、s history as they await its next step in space exploration（）1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？A. The United States will never have any vehicle to transport astronauts into spaceB. Though the space shuttle program has ended, the employees are still working hardC. The loss of
12、Atlantis makes people around the USA very nervousD. People will see Atlantis with the other three shuttles on public display（）2. What is the meaning of the underlined word “disgruntled” in the fourth paragraph？A. Famous. B. Unknown.C. Unhappy. D. Pleased.（）3. Many people feel concerned about the dec
13、ision to end the space shuttle program for the following reasons EXCEPT A. many jobs are lost as a resultB. they will be attacked by other countriesC. no other vehicle has been developed to replace this space shuttleD. they will lose their former position in this field（）4. What do we know from the l
14、ast paragraph but one？A. Americans have been feeling sorry about their achievements in this fieldB. Americans have been inspired by the space shuttleC. The space shuttle program is criticized in this countryD. They are nervous to play a leading role in this fieldForgive others but not yourself. 严于律己，宽以待人。详解详析这是一篇新闻,描述了美国人对于航天飞机谢幕不同的情感和态度。1. D推理判断题。根据文章最后一段内容可知,已经结束历史使命的几艘宇宙飞船将被陈列。2. C词义猜测题。根据第五段的内容可知该词的意思是“不高兴”。3. B细节理解题。人们感到担心的原因是不同的,但“被别的国家袭击”在文章未被提及。4. B推理判断题。文章倒数第二段的主要意思是人们对美国的航空业的过去感到自豪,文中提示词momentum(动力)告诉了我们答案。
