A Record-Breaking Rover NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before—at least in terms of di

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问题                         A Record-Breaking Rover
    NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before—at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles, more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world.
    "This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance, " says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager.
    He works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. " But what is really importandy is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance. "
    The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars 10 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more a-bout the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water.
    Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks.
    During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187, 000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet’s atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain.
    The rover doesn’t seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26. 2 miles. Opportunity has been working on Mars since January 2004.
    Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars’s ancient environment. Opportunity’s continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.
What does John Callas say about Opportunity’s long distance travel?

选项 A、It hasn’t met scientists’ expectation yet
B、It hasn’t been appreciated appropriately
C、It is secondary to what has been discovered
D、It is what scientists have been aiming at

答案B

解析 从第二、三段可知,“机遇号”并不是为长途行驶而设计的,它本来预定只能行驶大约一千米。因此“机遇号”在被设计时,约翰并没有准确地知道它的价值。故本题选B。
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