2. 外语
  3. When Mike Kelly first set out to build his own private space-ferry service, he figures his bread-and-butter business would be lo

When Mike Kelly first set out to build his own private space-ferry service, he figures his bread-and-butter business would be lo

admin2010-08-04  34
问题     When Mike Kelly first set out to build his own private space-ferry service, he figures his bread-and-butter business would be lofting satellite into high earth orbit. Now he thinks he may have figured wrong. "People were always asking me when they could go," says Kelly, who runs Kelly Space Technology, "I realized the real market is in space tourism."
    According to preliminary market surveys, there are 10,000 would-be space tourists willing to spend $1 million each to visit the final frontier. Space Adventures in Arlington have taken more than 130 deposits for a two-hour, $98,000 space tour tentatively set to occur by 2005. This may sound great, but there are a few hurdles: Putting a simple satellite into orbit--with no oxygen, lift: support or return trip necessary—already costs an astronomical $2,200/kg. And that doesn’t include the cost of insuring rich and possibly litigious (爱打官司的) passengers. The entire group of entrepreneurs trying to comer the space- tourism market has between them "just enough money to blow up one rocket".
    The U.S. space agency has plenty of money but zero interest in making space less expensive for the little guys. So the little guys are racing to do what the government has failed to do: design a reusable launch system that’s inexpensive, safe and reliable. Kelly Space’s prototype looks like a plane that has sprouted rocket engines. Rotary Rocket in California has a booster with rotors to make a helicopter-style return to earth. The first passenger countdowns arc still years away, but bureaucrats at the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington arc already informally discussing flight regulations. After all, you can’t be too prepared for a trip to that galaxy far, far away.
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
选项 A、The biggest hurdle for the space-tourism project is lack of a life supporting system.
B、The entrepreneurs trying to explore the space-tourism have plenty of money.
C、The government has little interests in this project.
D、The first passenger countdowns are within a few years.
答案C
解析 推断题。文章第三段提到，太空旅行最大的困难是资金问题，美国政府对此没什么兴趣，所以C正确； A(计划的最大困难是生命维持系统问题)，B(开发此市场的企业家们有足够的资金)，D(首次航行在几年内就可实现)，均与原文不符，故排除。
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