Question

Have you ever dreamed of visiting a planet in the Milk Way? While the trip sounds exciting, it would take years and years to reach your destination. So in the future, bedtime for astronauts may be more than a few hours of regular shut-eye. They would have to sleep for years.

European researchers are now conducting hibernation experiments. The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a space flight to distant planets. "If there was an effective technology, it could make deep-space travel a reality," said Mark Ayre of the European Space Agency last month.

What seems like science fiction is not completely unlikely. Researchers have been able to use chemicals to put living cells into a sleep-like state where they don't age. They have now moved on to small, non-hibernating mammals like rats. The results will be out by the end of 2004.

A major challenge is the fact that cells can be very simple systems, whereas body organs are far more complex.

"It's like moving from a simple Apple computer to a supercomputer," said Marco Biggiogera, a hibernation researcher at Italy's University of Pavia.

Just like bears and frogs, the hibernation of human beings would cause a person's metabolism (新陳代謝) to lower so they would need less energy.

Medical research, however, is just half of a space flight hibernation system.

There is the challenge of designing a suitable protective shelter. Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation, such as the proper temperature. It would also have to monitor (監(jiān)控) life functions and serve the physiological needs of the hibernator.

According to Ayre, the six-person Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission to Jupiter's moon (木星的衛(wèi)星) Callisto, could be an opportunity to use human hibernation. The mission aims to send six humans on a five-year flight to Callisto, where they will spend 30 days, in 2045.

9. European researchers are conducting hibernation experiments to ________.

A. ensure astronauts to get a complete sleep  B. find the secret of some creatures

C. make preparations for the journey to Jupiter’s moon Callisto

D. know if man can sleep for years

10. The sentence “What seems like science fiction is not completely unlikely” means ________.

A. Science fiction is people’s imagination.

B. Science fiction is imaginative, but it can be realized.

C. Things seem impossible may come true.

D. Things described in science fiction are sure to become true.

11. The passage is implied but doesn’t states that ________.

A. putting living cells into a sleep-like state is full of failure

B. Biggiogera is confident with the experiment

C. human’s hibernation needs no energy

D. medical research is the key to space flight hibernation system

12. By designing a suitable protective shelter, astronauts can ________.

A. have a good hibernation        B. lessen the pressure of traveling in space

C. feed themselves in spaceship    D. moinitor their body changes

13. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Six humans to fly to Callisto  B. Human hibernation improves health

C. Space travel attracts people   D. Deep sleep for deep space travel

Answer 1

9-13  DCBAD

解析:

9.由句子The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a spaceflight to distant planets. 可知。

10.本句話意思是“看起來(lái)像科幻小說(shuō)的事情并非完全不可能”。

11.其話語(yǔ)的意思是“這就像把簡(jiǎn)單的蘋果電腦變成超級(jí)電腦一樣”，可以推測(cè)“只是一個(gè)時(shí)間問(wèn)題，其過(guò)程可能復(fù)雜一些，但是可能性是存在的。”

12.由句子Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation可知。

13.文章主要圍繞“為打發(fā)星際探索中的漫漫旅途，人類開始進(jìn)行‘冬眠’技術(shù)的研究”。所以認(rèn)為D項(xiàng)比較全面地概括了文章意思。