2017年武漢大學(xué)考博英語真題4

Reading Comprehension 4

From beach balls,pool toys,and jump houses,inflatable technology takes a big step forward for its next frontier:space station.A new kind of tech will be aboard Space X's eighth supply m to the International Space Station(ISS).A compressed living module will be delivered and attached to the station where,in the void of space,it will expand into a new habitat for astronauts.

Designed by Bigelow Aerospace,the inflatable space habitat is one area NASA is exploring for potential deep space habitats and other advanced space missions."The'Bigelow Expandable Activity Module,'or the BEAM,is an expandable habitat that will be used to investigate technology and understand the potential benefits of such habitats forhuman missions to deep space,"NASA Administrator Charles Bolden wrote in a blog post.

The habitats could be a way to"dramatically increase"the space available for astronauts while also offering added protection from the dangers of space,like radiation and space debris,the NASA press release says.

But how is an inflatable space station supposed to be a viable means of housing for space travelers?BEAMs are far more than balloon-like rooms where astronauts can take asylum.Technically,the modules don't inflate―they expand,according to the company.And beyond just air,the habitats are reinforced with an internal metal structure.The outside is composed of multiple layers of material including things like rubber and kevlar to protect from any speeding debris.

Inside SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft on the way to the ISS,the BEAM will be approximately 8 feet in diameter.It will expand once deployed in space to offer 565 cubic feet of space for astronauts."It'll be the first time human beings will actually step inside this expandable habitat in space,"former astronaut George Zamka,who has worked for Bigelow Aerospace,told USA Today.["There won't be this sense of it being like a balloon."]

But astronauts won't be getting inside the module for some time yet.The BEAM will be attached to the Tranquility Node and deployed.Inside the module are a series of tools that will help the crew of the ISS monitor different aspects of the expandable area to see how it acts in space.The crew will watch heat,radiation,orbital debris,and provide information about the viability of using similar modules in the future.

The testing is scheduled to go on for a two-year time period,after which the module will be released and burn up in the atmosphere.NASA's partnership with Bigelow fits Mr.Bolden's desire to help grow a robust private sector industry to commercialize aspects of space―a process he sees as vital if humans want to reach farther cosmic destinations."The world of low Earth orbit belongs to industry,"Bolden said at a press conference in January.

13．What is special about the new living module on SpaceX's eighth mission to ISS?

A．It is expandable.

B．It is going to deep space.

C．It looks like a toy.

D．It will not return to Earth.

14．What is the purpose of designing the inflatable space habitat?

A．It is to find out its potential capacity.

B．It is to give a try on a new technology.

C．It is to save time and money in production.

D．It is to see if it can be applied in deep space.

15．What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．The habitat will not be a balloon-like room.

B．The habitat will not feel like a balloon.

C．The habitat will be like a senseless balloon.

D．The habitat will be a different kind of balloon.

16．Why does NASA intend to commercialize aspects of space?

A．It can save NASA time and energy.

B．It is necessary for a robust industry.

C．It is crucial for further space explorations.

D．It meets both NASA's and Bigelow's needs.

【參考翻譯】

從沙灘球、泳池玩具和跳房子，充氣技術(shù)為它的下一個前沿領(lǐng)域邁出了一大步：空間站。一種新的技術(shù)將出現(xiàn)在X號空間給國際空間站（ISS）的第8個補給m號上。一個壓縮的生活艙將被運送到空間站，在那里，在太空的空隙中，它將擴(kuò)展為宇航員的新棲息地。

由畢格羅航空航天公司（Bigelow Aerospace）設(shè)計的充氣太空棲息地是美國宇航局（NASA）正在探索的潛在深空棲息地和其他先進(jìn)太空任務(wù)的一個領(lǐng)域。美國宇航局局長查爾斯·博爾登在一篇博客文章中寫道:“‘畢格羅可擴(kuò)展活動模塊’（簡稱BEAM）是一種可擴(kuò)展的棲息地，它將被用來研究技術(shù)，并了解這種棲息地對人類深入太空任務(wù)的潛在好處?！?/p>

美國航空航天局的新聞發(fā)布會上說，這些棲息地可以“大大增加”宇航員的可用空間，同時提供額外的保護(hù)，使他們免受太空輻射和太空碎片等危險。

但是充氣式空間站怎么可能成為太空旅行者的一種可行的居住方式呢?光束遠(yuǎn)不止像氣球一樣的房間，宇航員可以在里面避難。該公司表示，從技術(shù)上講，這些模塊不會膨脹——它們會擴(kuò)張。除了空氣，棲息地還被內(nèi)部的金屬結(jié)構(gòu)加固。外部由多層材料組成，包括橡膠和凱夫拉爾纖維，以防止任何超速碎片。

在前往國際空間站的途中，SpaceX公司的“龍”號宇宙飛船內(nèi)的光束直徑約為8英尺。一旦部署到太空中，它將擴(kuò)大，為宇航員提供565立方英尺的空間。曾在畢格羅航空航天公司工作的前宇航員喬治·贊姆卡在接受《今日美國》采訪時說:“這將是人類第一次真正進(jìn)入這個可擴(kuò)展的太空棲息地?！?“不會有像氣球一樣的感覺?！?

但是宇航員在一段時間內(nèi)還不能進(jìn)入太空艙。光束將連接到寧靜節(jié)點并部署。在太空艙內(nèi)部有一系列的工具，可以幫助國際空間站的工作人員監(jiān)視可擴(kuò)展區(qū)域的不同方面，觀察它在太空中的活動。機(jī)組人員將觀察熱量、輻射、軌道碎片，并提供未來使用類似模塊的可行性信息。

測試計劃進(jìn)行兩年時間，之后模塊將被釋放并在大氣中燃燒。美國航空航天局與畢格羅的合作符合博爾登先生的愿望，即幫助發(fā)展一個強大的私營產(chǎn)業(yè)，將太空的各個方面商業(yè)化——他認(rèn)為，如果人類想要到達(dá)更遠(yuǎn)的宇宙目的地，這一過程至關(guān)重要。博爾登在1月份的新聞發(fā)布會上說:“近地軌道世界屬于工業(yè)?！?/p>

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