“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 give 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. 1000 will do it.
However the plans all depend on one thing: cheap space travel. At the moment the only re-usable rocket is NASA’s space shuttle. The cost of each shuttle launch is US$1 billion. A space craft that only costs US$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 1997, the X-Prize offers US$10 million to anyone who can build a re-usable space craft. All you have to do is launch three people 100 km 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 US$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 out of this world!”
63. The idea of spending holidays in space ________. A. was 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
64. 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
65. The spinning areas in space hotels will help tourists ________. A. take the sun bath B. sleep lying down
A-13
C. fix their sleeping bags D. enjoy the space walk
66. What can we learn about the X-Prize?
A. Its aim is to cut the cost of per space craft launch to US$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 US$10 million prize.
67. What is the attitude of Turner towards the future of space tourism? A. Confident. B. Cautious. C. Suspicious. D. Uninterested.
68. 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
Passage Four
Defending the French language from the creeping invasion of English has long been a favorite pastime of France’s elite. In 2006 Jacques Chirac walked out of a Brussels summit in protest at a Frenchman speaking in English. It is a point of national pride to protect French music, film, even advertising, from the corrupting influence of English. So why are the French giving up the struggle?
As French children filed back to school on September 2nd, Xavier Darcos, the education minister, announced that he was increasing English-language teaching in the curriculum. “I’ve had enough of hearing that the French do not learn English,” he said. “It’s a big disadvantage for international competition.” By the end of compulsory schooling, he promised, all pupils should be bilingual.
The French are embracing English in less high-minded ways too. When they entered a song in English at this year’s Eurovision song contest, it provoked ironic amusement abroad, but indifference at home. In fact for many young French musicians singing in English is now even de rigueur. “The children of globalization are giving up writing in French,”declared Le Monde, the bible of the French elite—without apparent regret.
Despite rules requiring advertising slogans in English to be sub-titled, French manufacturers still borrow English words. France’s fashion press is
A-14
another cross-dresser, writing of “Vive la fashion attitude”. In a post-modern twist, teenagers are importing American slang via the heavily north African suburbs, where hip-hop flourishes and street dress is styled on New York city. Once this might have had official France speaking with indignation. The rules designed to fend off English remain—and are an obstacle to new musicians who do not qualify for the quota of radio time reserved for singers in French. Yet in the globalized, internet age, the French seem to realize, as Mr Darcos put it, that the losers from a refusal to learn English are themselves—and that speaking it need not make them less French. Part of this is down to Mr Chirac’s successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, who, although no linguist, rejects the anti-Americanism that adds much hostility to English. Appropriately, the new album by his wife Carla Bruni, has a track in English—presumably not one his predecessor will listen to.
69. According to the education minister Xavier Darcos, ________. A. French pupils will benefit from more English learning B. it is necessary to protect the French language in schools C. compulsory English lessons may not be as good as expected D. globalization has put the French language at an advantage
70. What does the phrase “de rigueur” in paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Problematic. B. Unsuccessful. C. Tolerable. D. Proper.
71. It can be learned that le Monde ________. A. strongly supports the use of English
B. is worrying about the rapid spread of English
C. feels sorry that the French prefer English over French D. considers it acceptable for the French to use more English
72. Which of the following fields is NOT mentioned to demonstrate the rising English influence? A. Music. B. Commerce. C. Advertising. D. Fashion.
73. Compared with Mr. Chirac, President Sarkozy ________ Frenchman’s using English.
A. is more critical of B. cares too much about C. gives more support to D. gains more profits from
A-15
74. The best title for the passage is “________”.
A. The never-ending battle to defend the French language B. Predominance of the English language in modern France C. The French hostility to the English language is relaxed
D. Tension emerged between the French and English languages
Passage Five
For much of its history, psychology has seemed obsessed with human failings and pathology. The very idea of psychotherapy, first formalized by Freud, rests on a view of human beings as troubled creatures in need of repair. Freud himself was profoundly pessimistic about human nature, which he felt was governed by deep, dark drives that we could hardly control. The scientists who followed developed a model of human life that seemed to many mechanical if not robotic: humans were passive beings harshly shaped by the stimuli and the rewards and punishments that surrounded them.
After World War II, psychologists tried to explain how so many ordinary citizens could have agreed with fascism, and did work symbolized in the 1950 classic The Authoritarian Personality by T.W. Adorno, et al. Social psychologists followed on. Some of the most famous experiments proved that normal folk could become coldly insensitive to suffering when obeying “legitimate” orders or cruelly aggressive when playing the role of prison guard.
A watershed moment arrived in 1998, when University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman, in his presidential address to the American Psychological Association, urged psychology to “turn toward understanding and building the human strengths to complement our emphasis on healing damage.” That speech launched today’s positive psychology movement.
Though not denying humanity’s flaws, the new positive psychologists recommend focusing on people’s strengths and virtues as a point of departure. Rather than analyze the psychopathology underlying alcoholism, for example, positive psychologists might study the toughness of those who have managed a successful recovery—for example, through organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous. Instead of viewing religion as a delusion and a support, as did Freud, they might identify the mechanisms through which a spiritual practice like meditation enhances mental and physical health. Their lab experiments might seek to define not the conditions that induce wicked behavior, but those that foster generosity, courage, creativity, and laughter.
Seligman’s idea quickly caught on. The Gallup Organization founded the
A-16
