Space:The next frontier for war?

山东平邑县第一中学 高呈宝

听力扫障

1.catastrophic adj.灾难的；悲惨的

2.defunct adj.失效的

3.render v.致使

4.Kessler Syndrome凯斯勒现象

扫码听测

Ⅰ.听力理解

听下面一段录音，录音结束后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。

In this section,you will hear a passage.After you hear the passage,you should read the three choices of A,B,C,and mark the best answer to each question.

1.What's the function of satellites over the earth mentioned in the article?

A.To respond to an emergency.

B.To spy on other countries.

C.To combat space war.

2.What's the purpose of the service craft?

A.To become war craft.

B.To bring profit to the company.

C.To repair and move existing satellites.

Ⅱ.听写练习

一边听录音一边阅读以下文字材料，这些文字材料不是录音的全部内容，而是以提纲、摘要、笔记、图表等形式再现的录音的主要内容，需要补全的内容一般是录音中的关键信息。注意每空一词。

Space:The next frontier for war?

1.Some satellites are ________________for emergency response and for the military.

2.Great powers have developed various ________________for destroying satellites.

3.The purpose of service craft is to ________________and move existing satellites.

4.The US Army has ________________more capability from satellites than any other country.

文本解说

特朗普说：“太空是一个全新的作战领域，就像陆地、天空和海洋一样。”军事家把太空描述为“拥挤又充满竞争的必争之地”。无疑，太空正成为大国必争的战略要地。请阅读文章，并思考：大国为太空争霸做了什么准备呢？

题材文章词数太空竞赛209 难度 ★★★体裁建议用时说明文5′

The 1,300 active satellites above the earth provide a wide array of services.Some of which arevitalfor emergencyresponseand for the military.An attack on our country satellites could becatastrophic,and many worried that space may become a new theater of war.

Large powers have developed various capabilities for destroying satellites.Now companies are buildingadvancedservice spacecraft that could become weapons.The purpose of these service craft is to repair and move existing satellites,but all it takes is a change ofintentfor these spacecraft to become war craft.

A Chinese space weapon test which destroyed one of its owndefunctsatellites in 2007,createda great deal ofdebris （残骸）that put other satellites in danger.If remains from one act of destruction go on to destroy further satellites,a chainreaction renderssome orbits unusable.

This is known as theKessler Syndrome.

Because America's armed forces gain more capability from satellites than any other country,America has the most to lose from war in space.It is planning to increase its capabilities in the area.President Trump wants a new space force.

The world will hope for peace in the cosmos （宇宙）,but history suggests that such ideals are not easily maintained.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Important words and expressions in the text

1.vital adj.至关重要的

2.response n.响应；反应

3.advanced adj.先进的；高级的

4.intent n.意图；目的

5.reaction n.反应

6.a great deal of大量

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the words and ex-pressions given above.

1.My immediate ________was one of shock.

2.There were only three of us on the________course.

3.To overcome this feeling of loneliness,you musthave ________emotional support from your family and friends.

4.She never ________to my letter.

5.They went into town with the________of visiting the library.

6.The tourist industry is of________importance to the national economy.

视野拓展

Kessler Syndrome

凯斯勒现象

Kessler Syndrome is a thought-up situation made by the NASA scientist Donald J.Kessler in which the amount of space debris in orbit is large enough to cause space collisions to happen often.This would make space mostly unusable for years if it happened at an extreme level.

There is a satellite in orbit that is large and inactive,making it count as space debris,but it is in an orbit with a large amount of space debris.Two known objects get within 200m of it every year.This could cause a lot of space debris,inducing a domino effect with more collisions.