Working in Space

灝蓝供稿

Working in Space

灝蓝供稿

How do they sleep? They spend the night foating in a sleeping bag inside a small cubicle[小隔间]on the ceiling. American astronaut Sunita Williams explains: “It’s like a little phone booth[公用电话亭], but it’s pretty comfy[舒适轻松的]and it doesn’t matter if I turn over and sleep upside down. I don’t have any sensation in my head that tells me I’m upside down.”

Brushing your teeth in a place where you can’t have a tap or a sink can be a challenge. Can you imagine the mess that running water would make in zero gravity[重力]? Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfeld uses a straw to put a big blob[一滴]of water from a sealed[密封的]bag onto an ordinary toothbrush and adds a little toothpaste—which he has to swallow[吞咽]when he’s done.

Daily exercise is essential. The lack of gravity makes bones more brittle[脆弱的]and muscles lose strength—so astronauts are encouraged to work out[锻炼]for at least two hours a day.

The role of astronauts in the International Space Station is to act as lab technicians for scientists back on Earth. So they spend their time maintaining their environment and performing and monitoring[监控，执行]experiments in a confined[狭窄的]space about the size of a Boeing 747. Almost every task is carefully planned by mission control[航天地面指挥中心]—although most astronauts spend their frst days losing stuff until they get used to sticking everything they use to the walls with Velcro, duct tape[强力胶带]or clips.

One of their most valued perks[特别待遇]is the view from “the office,” dominated by that gigantic[庞大的]blue ball down there, sitting in the darkness of space. Wow! Absolutely breathtaking!

❶ 阅读课文并回答问题。

1) How high is the International Space Station?

1）危害症状。桃小幼虫蛀果后，在果面上留有针尖状蛀孔，孔口有白色果胶，数日后干成白色蜡粉。幼虫蛀入果实后纵横串食，最终到达果心，蛀食种子。受害苹果果实生长受阻，果面凹凸不平，俗称“猴头果”。幼虫在果内一边蛀食，一边将粪便排于虫道内，被害果成为“豆沙馅”，失去食用价值。后期幼虫老熟后向外咬出香头大的“脱果孔”，脱离果实。

2) True or false? Astronauts will get dizzy when they sleep upside down.

3) Why do astronauts lose things?

4) What becomes weak if astronauts don’t exercise?

5) Who tells astronauts what to do?

❷ 选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1) Here’s ＿＿. You can use it to keep the sheets of your essay together.

Velcro a clip a straw some perks

2) My job is just to keep an eye on this experiment and see if thereis anything different. I’m just ＿＿it.

performing maintaining monitoring foating

3) My mobile, my keys...wait till I get my＿＿ and we are ready to leave.

stuff duct tape Velcro gravity

4) You look tired after walking all day. Come on, sit on this ＿＿ chair.

upside down comfy confned brittle

答案

❶ 阅读课文并回答问题。

1) It orbits 400km above the Earth’s surface.

2) False. According to astronaut Sunita Williams, they don’t have any sensation in their head telling them they are upside down. They don’t even feel it.

3) Because in zero gravity, everything that is not stuck down, it foats.

4) Their bones and muscles.

5) Scientists on Earth and mission control.

❷ 选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1) a clip； 2) monitoring；3) stuff；4) comfy