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  3. When Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon 50 years ago, it was down to a giant leap of political and scientific imagination. Hi

When Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon 50 years ago, it was down to a giant leap of political and scientific imagination. Hi

admin2022-06-13  28
问题     When Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon 50 years ago, it was down to a giant leap of political and scientific imagination. His footprints on the powdery lunar surface changed the way we saw ourselves, confirming that humanity could escape its earthly coils. The mission unleashed a dream of what we as a species might do. Yet only a dozen people have walked on the moon, all between the summer of 1969 and the end of 1972.
    Did we lose our original urge to explore? Almost certainly not—though Buzz Aldrin this week condemned "50 years of non-progress", probes have travelled to Pluto and beyond. But times have changed. The cold war rivalry that catalyzed the space race vanished. The Soviet Union was first with a satellite, dog and astronaut in space. Today Washington and Moscow play the great game in the Middle East, not the heavens, although both are now contemplating a return to the moon: Donald Trump wants to make America great again by putting astronauts there by 2024, though some think China may get there first; Russia talks of landing cosmonauts by 2030.
    Then there’s the money. By 1966 the United States was spending 4. 4％ of the national budget on NASA. Now the US cash for space barely touches 0. 5％ of GDP. More striking is that space is increasingly a playground for rich men. There is a risk that, thanks to Elon Musk and Richard Branson, manned space flight degenerates into conspicuous consumption for the super-rich. The world’s wealthiest man, Jeff Bezos, also dreams of going to the moon, this time to stay and turn it into an industrial park. This is not as silly as it sounds: helium-3, which could be a plentiful source of energy, could be mined there. Sceptics might say that before Mr Bezos carves up the moon he should sort out the business model of the corporation that pays for his plans, but the next giant leaps may well come from entrepreneurs, not states.
    If Armstrong’s stroll produced the greatest broadcast in television history, then another astronaut produced the most significant image. The picture of the Earth rising above the moon’s horizon was pivotal for environmentalism, since it induced the sense that our home planet was something to be cared for rather than robbed. Underlying the idea of living on another planet is that we might need to if we continue making a mess of the one we have.
    However, the treaty that governs who can do what is even older than Armstrong’s steps on the moon. Private firms and smaller nations have joined the race for the stars. Luxembourg is positioning itself to be the centre of the space business. This will need careful handling.
It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that________.
选项 A、America has increased its budget for space
B、not all people have the opportunity to walk on the moon
C、the application of manned space flight has been expanded
D、there is a risk involved in exploring the space
答案B
解析 推理题。根据第三段第二、三句的对比，尤其是第三句中的barely可知，当前美国花在太空探索方面的费用并不多，因此排除A项。第三段第四句提到More striking is that space is increasingly a playground for rich men. “更引人注目的是，太空日益成为富人的游乐场。”因此，受经济所限，并非人人都有机会探索太空，故B项正确。第三段第五句There is a risk that, thanks to Elon Musk and Richard Branson, manned space flight degenerates into conspicuous consumption for the super-rich. “多亏了伊隆.马斯克和理查德.布兰森，载人航天飞行有可能沦为超级富豪的炫耀性消费方式。”其中，a risk是指后面所描述的事情存在发生的可能性，而非强调太空探索的风险，故排除D项；此外，该句指出，可能只有超级富豪能体验载人航天飞行，而该句并没有提及载人航天飞行的应用情况，故排除C项。故本题答案为B项。
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