A
A home science experiment recently took the world by storm. Two teens from Toronto, in Canada, sent a Lego man rising above the Earth and captured their tiny astronaut’s trip on film.
Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, used a weather balloon to launch their plastic lego model 16 miles above the Earth. This is inside a part of Earth’s atmosphere.
The two teens were inspired by a similar project performed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT). The MIT students had launched a weather balloon with a camera into near space and taken many unusual images of the Earth. Mathew and Asad then spend four months figuring out how to launch their own spacecraft into the space.
Travelling to space is expensive for NASA, but Mathew and Asad worked hard to keep their costs down. They bought much of their equipment used and even sewed the Lego man’s parachute by hand. In total, the project cost only$400.
“We had a lot of anxiety on launch day because there were high winds when we were going up,”Mathew told reporters. They had to pump extra helium(氦）into the balloon so that it would rise quickly and avoid being blown too far off course by the strong winds.
The toy astronaut’s journey lasted 97 minutes before the balloon broke and he fell back to Earth. Mathew and Asad then spent two weekends looking for their spacecraft. It had landed 76miles away from the launch site.
The student scientists are currently finishing up their final year of high school and applying for colleges. They are also looking into more do-it-yourself space projects.
“I guess the sky is not really the limit anymore,” Mathew told reporters. “We never knew we’d get this far. It’s been a lesson for us that hard work pays off.”
1. By saying “took the world by storm” in the first paragraph, the writer meant the experiment______________.
A. destroyed the world
B. flooded the world
C. fascinated the world
D. managed the world
2. Which of the following about the students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is right?
A. They were examples for Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad.
B. They helped Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad to achieve dream.
C. They launched weather balloon together with Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad.
D. They studied with Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad in the same school.
3. How did Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad keep their costs down?
A. By sewing the weather balloon themselves.
B. By borrowing spacecraft from the MIT students.
C. By making their spacecraft by hand
D. By using second-hand equipment
4. What problems did Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad have on launch day?
A. They ran out of helium
B. The wind was too strong
C. The balloon suddenly broke
D. Their spacecraft was blown away.
【答案】1. C 2. A 3. D 4. B
【解析】
这是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述两个来自加拿大的高三学生利用气象气球把他们的玩具乐高人送到太空的过程和结果，并从中学到了努力终会有回报。
【1题详解】
词义猜测题。根据画线部分后面的Two teens from Toronto, in Canada, sent a Lego man rising above the Earth and captured their tiny astronaut’s trip on film.(两个来自加拿大的少年把乐高人送入太空，并且把航空之行的过程拍下来了。)可知，这是一件很了不起的事情，故推测这件事吸引了全世界的目光，即画线部分的意思是“吸引了全世界”。C. fascinated the world（吸引了世界）符合以上说法，故选C项。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章第三段的The two teens were inspired by a similar project performed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT).可知，这两个孩子是受到了两个麻省理工学生相似实验的启发，然后做了他们自己的实验，即他们是这两个孩子的榜样。A. They were examples for Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad.（他们是Mathew Ho 和 Asad的榜样 ）符合以上说法，故选A项。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章第四段的They bought much of their equipment used and even sewed the Lego man’s parachute by hand. In total, the project cost only$400.可知，他们很多的设备都是二手的，甚至自己缝制乐高人的降落伞，所以他们的总费用才花了400美元。D. By using second-hand equipment（通过使用二手设备）符合以上说法，故选D项。
【4题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章第五段的“We had a lot of anxiety on launch day because there were high winds when we were going up,”Mathew told reporters.可知，在进行发射的那天风速很快，这让他们很担心。B. The wind was too strong（风力很强）符合以上说法，故选B项。
