Passage 43【2020 •浙江省湖州市中考】
Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most famous scientists, believed that humans will one day have to move into space, "Once we step into space, our future should be safe," he said.
Today, many countries are all planning to send astronauts to Earth's closest neighbor: the moon. Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other earthlike planets.
__①__ Robert Zubrin, a rocket scientist, thinks humans should colonize(殖民) space. He wants to start with Mars. Why? He thinks sending people to Mars will allow us to learn a lot of things—for example, the ability of humans to live in a very different environment. Besides, any progress we make in the fields of science, technology, medicine. and health will do good to people here on Earth.
__②__ Elon Musk, the CEO of Space X also believes we should colonize Mars. His long-term goal is to put one million people there if something bad happens to us here on Earth.
__③__ Many people say it's too expensive. Also, most space trips are not short. A one-way trip to Mars, for example, would take at least six months. People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems. Besides, these first people would find life especially difficult in space. On the moon's surface, for example, the sun's rays are very dangerous. People would have to stay indoors most of the time.
__④__ No matter what different concerns there are, sending people into space seems certain. In the future, we might see cities on the moon or even new human cultures on other planets. First stop: the moon.
22. According to the passage, why are some countries planning to build space stations?
A. To develop space travel. B. To learn more about the moon's surface.
C. To prepare humans to live on other planets. D. To cut down the number of people living on Earth.
23. Which is the best place for the sentence "Not everyone thinks sending humans into space is a smart idea. "?
A. ① B. ② C. ③ D. ④
24. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To give reasons for and against colonizing space.
B. To describe what life would be like on the moon.
C. To compare the environments of Mars and the moon.
D. To introduce progress in space science and technology.
【文章大意】现在很多国家都计划把宇航员送入月球，希望在那里建立空间站，为以后移民火星或其他星球做准备。对此不同科学家有不同的观点。
22.C【解析】细节理解题。根据短文第二段“Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other earthlike planets.”可知，一些国家希望在月球建立空间站，为以后人类访问火星或其他行星做好准备。故选C。
23.C【解析】推理判断题。题干意为“‘不是每个人都认为把人类送入太空是一个明智的想法’这个句子最好放在哪里”。根据句意可知，这是反对人类访问太空这一做法的，短文第五段“Many people say it's too expensive. People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems. Besides, these first people would find life especially difficult in space.”很多人觉得这样做很贵、可能有健康问题以及太空生活可能很困难等，都是反对的观点，故选C。
24.A【解析】主旨大意题。根据文意可知，短文第一、二段先陈述了很多国家都想访问太空这一事实，第三、四、五三段列举了不同科学家对此的观点，最后一段是总结。A选项“给出支持和反对太空移民的理由”符合文意，故选A。
Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most famous scientists, believed that humans will one day have to move into space, "Once we step into space, our future should be safe," he said.
Today, many countries are all planning to send astronauts to Earth's closest neighbor: the moon. Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other earthlike planets.
__①__ Robert Zubrin, a rocket scientist, thinks humans should colonize(殖民) space. He wants to start with Mars. Why? He thinks sending people to Mars will allow us to learn a lot of things—for example, the ability of humans to live in a very different environment. Besides, any progress we make in the fields of science, technology, medicine. and health will do good to people here on Earth.
__②__ Elon Musk, the CEO of Space X also believes we should colonize Mars. His long-term goal is to put one million people there if something bad happens to us here on Earth.
__③__ Many people say it's too expensive. Also, most space trips are not short. A one-way trip to Mars, for example, would take at least six months. People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems. Besides, these first people would find life especially difficult in space. On the moon's surface, for example, the sun's rays are very dangerous. People would have to stay indoors most of the time.
__④__ No matter what different concerns there are, sending people into space seems certain. In the future, we might see cities on the moon or even new human cultures on other planets. First stop: the moon.
22. According to the passage, why are some countries planning to build space stations?
A. To develop space travel. B. To learn more about the moon's surface.
C. To prepare humans to live on other planets. D. To cut down the number of people living on Earth.
23. Which is the best place for the sentence "Not everyone thinks sending humans into space is a smart idea. "?
A. ① B. ② C. ③ D. ④
24. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To give reasons for and against colonizing space.
B. To describe what life would be like on the moon.
C. To compare the environments of Mars and the moon.
D. To introduce progress in space science and technology.
【文章大意】现在很多国家都计划把宇航员送入月球，希望在那里建立空间站，为以后移民火星或其他星球做准备。对此不同科学家有不同的观点。
22.C【解析】细节理解题。根据短文第二段“Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10 years. These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other earthlike planets.”可知，一些国家希望在月球建立空间站，为以后人类访问火星或其他行星做好准备。故选C。
23.C【解析】推理判断题。题干意为“‘不是每个人都认为把人类送入太空是一个明智的想法’这个句子最好放在哪里”。根据句意可知，这是反对人类访问太空这一做法的，短文第五段“Many people say it's too expensive. People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems. Besides, these first people would find life especially difficult in space.”很多人觉得这样做很贵、可能有健康问题以及太空生活可能很困难等，都是反对的观点，故选C。
24.A【解析】主旨大意题。根据文意可知，短文第一、二段先陈述了很多国家都想访问太空这一事实，第三、四、五三段列举了不同科学家对此的观点，最后一段是总结。A选项“给出支持和反对太空移民的理由”符合文意，故选A。
