2. 外语
  3. Astronaut Jim Voss has enjoyed many memorable moments in his career, including three space flights and one space walk. But he re

Astronaut Jim Voss has enjoyed many memorable moments in his career, including three space flights and one space walk. But he re

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问题     Astronaut Jim Voss has enjoyed many memorable moments in his career, including three space flights and one space walk. But he recalls with special fondness a decidedly earthbound (为地球引力所束缚的) experience in the summer of 1980, when he participated in the NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. Voss, then a science teacher at West Point, was assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center’s propulsion (推进) lab in Alabama to analyze why a hydraulic fuel pump seal on the space shuttle was working so well when previous seals had failed. It was a seemingly tiny problem among the vast complexities of running the space program. Yet it was important to NASA because any crack in the seal could have led to destructive results for the astronauts who relied on them.     "I worked a bit with NASA engineers," says Voss, "but I did it mostly by analysis". I used a handheld calculator, not a computer, to do a thermodynamic(热力学的)analysis." At the end of the summer, he, like the other NASA-ASEE fellows working at Marshall, summarized his findings in a formal presentation and detailed paper. It was a valuable moment for Voss because the ASEE program gave him added understanding of NASA, deepened his desire to fly in space, and intensified his application for astronaut status."
    It was not an easy process. Voss was actually passed over when he first applied for the astronaut program in 1978. Over the next nine years he reapplied repeatedly, and was finally accepted in 1987. Since then he has participated in three space missions. The 50-year-old Army officer, who lives in Houston, is now in training for a four-month mission as a crew member on the International Space Station starting in July 2000.
    Voss says the ASEE program is wonderful for all involved. "It brings in people from the academic world and gives NASA a special property for a particular period of time. It brings some fresh eyes and fresh ideas to NASA, and establishes a link with our colleges and universities," Voss explains. "There’s an exchange of information and an exchange of perspectives that is very important."
    For the academic side, Voss says, the ASEE program also "brings institutions of higher learning more insight into new technology. We give them an opportunity to work on real-world problems and take it back to the classroom".
Why was the hydraulic fuel pump seal important for the space shuttle?
选项 A、Because previous seals all failed.
B、Because it was very complex in running the space program.
C、Because great care has to be taken of the hydraulic fuel pump sealing.
D、Because any crack in the seals would cause disastrous results for the astronauts.
答案D
解析 在文章第一段，作者讲到宇航员沃斯在马歇尔太空飞行中心的推进试验室时，分析航天飞机上先前的密封垫出了问题，为什么液压燃料泵的密封垫还能正常运行。虽然这个问题在庞大的太空计划中只是一个很小的问题。在紧接着一句讲到，“Yet it was important to NASA because any crack in the seal could have led to destructive results for the astronauts who relied on them．”但是，它对美国航空与宇宙航行局来说却很重要，因为密封垫上的任何裂缝都可能给依赖它们的宇航员带来灾难性的后果。可见应该选D即是说“密封垫上的任何裂缝都将给宇航员带来灾难性的后果”。
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