No spacecraft will ever land on the sun.The sun is a flaming ball of gas that reaches thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.But next year,a ship from the earth will fly closer to it than any man-made craft has flown before.The mission (任務(wù)) is a big development for scientists and,maybe,for everyone else.

　　In September 2018,NASA plans to launch the Parker Solar Probe.After a journey of nearly 90 million miles,it will fly within 3.8 million miles of the sun.Within two months of launching,the probe is expected to reach the sun’s corona(日冕).That’s the sun’s outer atmosphere of gases.

　　Getting there won’t be easy.Designing a spacecraft tough enough to hold up to the sun’s heat has been proved difficult.But that hasn’t stopped engineers from trying.Temperatures in the corona can reach millions of degrees.The probe will limit itself to regions where things get no hotter than 2,500℉.That’s still a heavy heat load for a spacecraft.But a 4.5-inch-thick heat shield(罩) will protect the probe’s camera and scientific instruments.

　　NASA says the data the probe collects could provide knowledge into the physics of stars.Our sun is special to us.But as a star,it’s rather common.So the better we understand how it works,the better we understand all stars of its mass and color.

　　Perhaps the most important is what the probe may show us about solar storms.During solar storms,charged particles stream through the solar system.They can disable communication satellites and shut down power systems.One study has found that a very intense solar storm could cause up to $2 trillion in damage in the US alone.It could also black out the East Coast for a year.Understanding solar storms might allow us to predict them ourselves.

　　【語篇導(dǎo)讀】文章主要介紹了帕克太陽探測器這項工程以及科學(xué)家面臨的挑戰(zhàn),

　　1.What can we learn about the probe?

　　A.It’s the first man-made instrument to fly to the sun.

　　B.It’ll get to the core of the sun in nearly two months.

　　C.It’ll fly about 3.8 million miles to reach the corona,

　　D.It’ll fly closer to the sun than the previous ones.

　　答案　D

　　解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段中的“But next year,a ship from the earth will fly closer to it than any man-made craft has flown before.”可知,帕克太陽探測器將比任何人造飛行器更靠近太陽,所以選D項。

　　2.What is the challenge for the engineers?

　　A.Reducing the temperature of the probe.

　　B.Building a shield against the heat.

　　C.Limiting the probe to proper regions.

　　D.Directing the probe to collect data.

　　答案　B

　　解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段中的“Designing a spacecraft tough enough to hold up to the sun’s heat has been proved difficult.”和“The probe will limit itself to regions where things get no hotter than 2,500℉.”可知,擺在科學(xué)家面前的困難是讓探測器能承受高溫。

　　3.What might be the best title?

　　A.Getting close to the sun.

　　B.Designing a spaceship.

　　C.Protecting the earth.

　　D.Exploring the star.

　　答案　A

　　解析　主旨大意題。通讀全文可知,文章主要介紹了帕克太陽探測器將比任何人造飛行器更靠近太陽以及科學(xué)家面臨的挑戰(zhàn),A項“Getting close to the sun.”可概括文章的內(nèi)容。

　　4.Where does the value of the mission lie?

　　A.Exploring solar energy.

　　B.Developing scientific instruments.

　　C.Forecasting solar storms.

　　D.Monitoring satellites.

　　答案　C

　　解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第五段中“Perhaps the most important is what the probe may show us about solar storms.”可知,C項正確。

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