托业考试阅读模拟题文六
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-05-29 00:26 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Astronauts take out the trash

  Astronauts on Sunday exchanged supplies for trash that has accumulated on the international space station since shuttles were grounded after the 2003 Columbia tragedy. They also prepared for a second spacewalk set for Monday. 
  Space shuttle Discovery, which docked at the orbiting outpost Thursday, became the first shuttle to return to orbit last week. Among the mission’s goals: Resupply the station and remove the mounds1 of trash that have accumulated in recent years.  
   "It is kind of just like working in your closets and your garage," station flight director Mark Ferring said. "It’s a lot of work." 
  The astronauts are unloading 15 tons of cargo2. They expect to return to Earth with 13 tons of trash and other items that are no longer needed on the station. 
  When the station’s two-man crew awoke Sunday, they were told that their seven Discovery guests would remain at the station for an additional day. 
  "Hopefully it is not going to be like the relatives who miss their flight and have to stay another day," Charles Hobaugh, who works in the station’s mission control, told crew members by radio. 
  A ninth day at the station was approved late Saturday, days after NASA decided3 to ground future shuttle missions because an almost one-pound piece of foam4 broke free of Discovery’s external fuel tank. The piece of foam missed Discovery, but was a haunting reminder5 of Columbia. 
  A 1.67 pound chunk6 of foam shed from Columbia’s external tank hit the shuttle’s left wing and caused a hole that allowed the searing gases of re-entry to melt the wing from the inside out. The shuttle disintegrated7 over Texas as it returned to Florida. All seven astronauts died. 
  NASA spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 2{ years redesigning the external tank, but said last week it did not solve the problem and more work is needed. 
  Bill Gerstenmaier, the station’s program manager, said Discovery will leave the station in much better shape than when it arrived. Water will be left behind, as well as laptops, wash cloths, a printer, dry wipes, floppy8 disks, food and nitrogen.  
   "We are going to be in very good shape through the end of the year," Gerstenmaier said. 
  Shuttles are needed for the supplying and continued construction of the station. 
  When NASA’s shuttles were grounded in 2003, the agency began relying on Russian vehicles to deliver supplies to the station. However, the Russian cargo ship Progress cannot haul the weighty items the shuttle can. The next delivery by Progress is scheduled for September. 
  Gerstenmaier said station managers prepared for a scenario9 in which there would be no shuttle flights this year. Despite that, he said the grounding of future shuttle missions opens the station to risk.  
   "We are still susceptible10 to some large failure of some component11 that can only be delivered by the shuttle that we don’t have a like spare on station," he said. 
  Among the tasks Discovery’s astronauts performed for the station was the reconfiguring of a gyroscope, which failed in March. Four gyroscopes, each weighing 660 pounds, are intended to steer12 the station, but only two have been working in recent months. 
  On Monday, during their second spacewalk, Discovery astronauts Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi, planned to replace the other failed gyroscope, which has not worked since 2002. 
  The pair planned to go over procedures for installing the gyroscope on Sunday with astronaut Andrew Thomas, who was set to direct Monday’s replacement13
  As they began spacewalk preparations Sunday, Robinson informed Mission Control’s Stephen Frick that things might proceed slower than anticipated. 
  "If you saw what our mid-deck looks like right now, you’d see why," Robinson said as his colleagues transferred items between the shuttle and station. "It’s a high traffic zone." 
  "I’m afraid it would be a little too frightening," Frick responded with a chuckle14.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mounds dd943890a7780b264a2a6c1fa8d084a3     
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆
参考例句:
  • We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
  • Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊,这就是同墓,”——我想他要说的一定是公墓,“看到那些土墩了吗?
2 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
5 reminder WkzzTb     
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
参考例句:
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
6 chunk Kqwzz     
n.厚片,大块,相当大的部分(数量)
参考例句:
  • They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
  • The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。
7 disintegrated e36fb4ffadd6df797ee64cbd05a02790     
v.(使)破裂[分裂,粉碎],(使)崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
  • The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了,我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 floppy xjGx1     
adj.松软的,衰弱的
参考例句:
  • She was wearing a big floppy hat.她戴了顶松软的大帽子。
  • Can you copy those files onto this floppy disk?你能把那些文件复制到这张软盘上吗?
9 scenario lZoxm     
n.剧本,脚本;概要
参考例句:
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
10 susceptible 4rrw7     
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的
参考例句:
  • Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
  • We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
11 component epSzv     
n.组成部分,成分,元件;adj.组成的,合成的
参考例句:
  • Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
  • Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
12 steer 5u5w3     
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶
参考例句:
  • If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车,我就来驾车。
  • It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。
13 replacement UVxxM     
n.取代,替换,交换;替代品,代用品
参考例句:
  • We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
  • They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。
14 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
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