Astronauts aboard the space station celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine(尿), sweat and water got from air. They said cheers, clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground.
The urine recycling system is needed for astronaut stations on the moon and Mars. It also will have NASA money because it won’t have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttles or cargo rockets. Besides, it’s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six.
The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November by space shuttles Endeavour, but it couldn’t be used until samples(样品) were tested back on earth. So when it came time to actually drink up, NASA made a big deal of it. The three-man crew stood holding their drinks and congratulated engineers in two NASA centres that worked on the system.
“This is something that had been the stuff of science fiction,” American astronaut Michael Barratt said before taking a small mouthful. “The taste is worth trying.”
The new system takes the bined urine of the crew from the toilet, moves it to a big tank, where the water is boiled off, and the vapor(水蒸气) is collected. The rest of the urine is thrown away. Then the water vapor is mixed with water from air, and then it goes through filters (过滤器). When six crew members are aboard it can make about six gallons from urine in about six hours.
“Some people may find the idea of drinking recycled urine distasteful, but it is also done on earth, but with a lot longer time between urine and the tap,” said Marybeth Edeen, the space station’s national lab manager.
The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami.
【小题1】 According to the text, the recycling system is important because .A．it makes traveling to the moon for the average person possibleB．with it NASA won’t need to ship any water up the space stationC．it can help meet the need for more water after the crew is expandedD．it protects the environment in space by reducing the amount of waste【小题2】What’s the RIGHT time order of the following events?
a. The samples of the recycled water were tested on earth.
b. Astronauts celebrated the space first of making water from urine
c. The recycling system was brought up to the space station.
d. The technology for the system was used to quickly purify water.A．a, d, c, bB．a, c, b, dC．d, a, c, bD．d, c, a, b【小题3】From Para. 5 we can know .A．the theory behind the recycling systemB．the effect of the recycling systemC．the process of recycling urineD．an opinion on recycling urine【小题4】What did Edeen say about recycled urine and the recycling system?A．The taste of recycled urine is not as good as that of mon water.B．The recycling system has made a science fiction story e true.C．The idea of drinking recycled urine makes astronauts feel unpleasant.D．It takes a longer time on earth to make water from urine than in space.【小题5】What is the best title for the passage?A．The Research of NASA Has Made Great Progress.B．New Technology Is Used in the Space Station.C．Drink up: Space Station Recycles Urine to Water.D．Good News: Water Recycled from Urine Tastes GoodC
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(答案→)C
解析：
【小题1】细节理解题。根据第二段中的“it’s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six”可知C项正确。C
【小题1】细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的“The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami”可知d发生最早。根据第三段的“ The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November... couldn’ t be used until samples were tested back on Earth”可知c发生在a的前面，因此D项正确。
【小题1】段落概括题。该段主要讲述的是使用尿液循环系统将尿制成水的过程。选C
【小题1】细节理解题。根据第七段中的“with a lot onger time between urine and the tap”可知D项正确。
【小题1】标题概括题。本文报道了国际空间站的宇航员试饮尿液循环水，“Drink up”生动反映饮用时的情景，“space station recycles urine to watert”点明了制造技术。故C项最佳。