Section B
Passage One
Hand in hand with the one you love, you gaze at the horizon to watch the earth rise.
It sounds like science fiction, but companies around the world are working hard to make this sort of holiday a reality. The idea of space tourism has been around for nearly forty years now. At first NASA made plans for the ultimate in holiday destinations, but then private companies companies became involved in the mid-1980s. The Challenger shuttle disaster of 1986 postponed their plans, but now space is back as a future holiday resort.
The Hilton hotel group has produced ambitious and serious plans for hotels on the moon, as well as orbiting hotels, hoping to give their space tourists’ different holiday experience. But zero-gravity will be a little uncomfortable. “There will be space motion sickness in the first few days, with headaches and nausea.” says George Turner, a hopeful space tour operator.
Hotels will try to prevent these problems by providing areas with the sensation of gravity. This means going to parts of the hotel that will be spinning. Centrifugal(离心的) force will push you against the wall, and gave the feeling of some weight. Since it will be possible to lie down, many people will probably prefer to sleep in these areas. The alternative will be to strap themselves into a sleeping bag attached to a wall.
Sunbathing will be possible, but will require some very strong sunscreen protection factor. 1,000 will do it.
However the plans all depend on one thing: cheap space travel. At the moment the only re-usable rocker is NASA’s space shuttle. The cost of each shuttle launch is U.S.﹩1 billion. A space craft that only costs U.S.﹩2 million per launch is what the travel industry is looking for. So far that remains a far-off dream, but it may come a lot closer if someone wins the X-Prize.
Launched in 1977, the X-Prize offers U.S.﹩10 million to anyone who can build a re-usable space craft. All you have to do is launch three people 100km into space twice within three weeks. So far 16 companies are racing to win the prize money. But the real prize will be the income from space tourism, estimated to be U.S.﹩12 billion per year: as Turner explains:“Just think what you’ll be able to tell your friends that you had a holiday that was really of this world!”
1. The idea of spending holidays in space .
A. as first proposed by NASA in the mid-1980s
B. had been questioned by NASA for nearly 40 years
C. became appealing to private companies in the mid-1980s
D. drew the attention of private companies four decades ago
2. According to Hilton, in their hotels on the moon .
A. zero gravity will not be a problem to tourists
B. motion sickness is still unavoidable for tourists
C. adjustment to space life will be easier with training for tourists
D. excitement may help tourists overcome their physical discomfort
3. The spinning areas in space hotels will help tourists .
A. take the sun bath B. sleep lying down
C. fix their sleeping bags D. enjoy the space walk
4. What can we learn about the X-Prize?
A. Its aim is to cut the cost of per space craft launch to U.S.﹩2 million.
B. The winner has managed to put people into space twice in 3 weeks.
C. It’s offered by NASA to build a new type of reusable space craft.
D. Many companies are competing to win the U.S. ﹩10 million prize.
5. What is the attitude of Turner towards the future of space tourism?
A. Confident B. Cautious C. Suspicious D. Uninterested
6. The passage is focused on .
A. why it is possible to make space tourism a reality
B. what should be done to prepare for space tourism
C. the plans for space tourism and the existing problems
D. the opportunities and challenges posed by space tourism
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