Many people think that NASA’s programs of the late 1950s and 1960s were extremely popular, and it is often said that the Apoll

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问题   Many people think that NASA’s programs of the late 1950s and 1960s were extremely popular, and it is often said that the Apollo program unified an otherwise disunified nation. It is tempting to imagine a reinvigorated program of space exploration bringing us back together. Sadly, however, space exploration has never been the national unifier that many people think. While scientists cheered Explorer 1, a good many would oppose the human spaceflight programs that followed, viewing them as expensive, dangerous and largely symbolic. Many military leaders also opposed human spaceflight, preferring to see resources focused on the crucial challenges of rocket propulsion and guidance.
  Dwight Eisenhower, president at the time of Explorer 1, was a reluctant space warrior, rejecting the idea of a space race since "race" implied haste. Moreover, while it was often asserted that space superiority would translate into military superiority, Eisenhower believed that the U. S. could be fully defended with existing nuclear weapons and conventional forces. In later years he would dismiss the Apollo program as a "stunt. "
  And then there was the cost. Under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, NASA’s budget skyrocketed—Apollo would be the largest peacetime expenditure in Americanhistory—and Congress got increasingly uneasy. NASA’s 1964 budget was $5. 1 billion; the 1965 budget was $5.3 billion. For Democrats wanting to expand spending on social problems and Republicans wanting to shrink the federal budget, these were disturbing numbers. They disturbed the American people, too. Throughout the 1960s polls showed that a majority of Americans did not believe the Apollo program was worth the cost. But after Americans made it to the moon , most of the earlier skepticism was forgotten, and as Apollo receded into history people had an increasingly favorable view of it. According to one poll, in 1989, 77 percent of Americans thought the moon landing was worth the cost, in contrast to 1979, when only 47 percent felt that way. Perhaps it is the idea of space that unifies us, particularly when burnished by the glow of nostalgia.
  A 2018 Pew Research poll found that 80 percent think the space station has been a good investment, and 72 percent think it is essential for the U. S. to remain a global leader in space. But only 18 percent think it should be a top priority to send humans to Mars, and only 13 percent support sending humans to the moon.
  So what do Americans want NASA to do? The answer may come as a surprise: 63 percent say NASA should make monitoring global climate a top priority. The second-highest priority is looking for asteroids or other objects that might hit our planet.
Most Americans hope NASA to accomplish a series of tasks, excluding_________.

选项 A、detecting global climate
B、forecasting objects that might strike earth
C、keeping its global leadership in space
D、sending humans to Mars and the moon

答案D

解析 细节题。根据题干可定位至最后一段。选项A对应monitoring global climate,是63%的人认为的首要任务,故排除;选项B对应looking for asteroids or other objects that might hit our planet,是这63%的人认为的次要任务,故排除;选项C对应倒数第二段中remain a global leader in space,是72%的人的想法,故排除;选项D对应倒数第二段最后一句,分别只有18%和13%的人支持将人类送上火星或月球,并不是多数派,故选项D正确。
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