Question

Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories, but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?

On Nov. 19, a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.

The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record-setting. 28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia, CNN reported. It took the students seven years to build.

The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat, which is named after their school. It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms, according to Orbital Sciences, a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project. It can be controlled with a smartphone.

Like most satellites, TJ3Sat can send and receive data. The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器), which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves, said Orbital officials. In this case, anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text. The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite, changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.

“I can say ‘Go Colonials’ on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world, in India, someone can hear ‘Go Colonials’over the radio,” the team explains on the website.

The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.

School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time. Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.

At a time when American students are busy with SATs, the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities, Glazer said.

“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro, program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA, said in a statement. “I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft. The idea here is that they really can do that.”

1. The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ___.

A. influenced ??? B. amazed? ??? C. delighted ????? D. inspired

2.Which of the following statements about TJ3Sat is TRUE according to the article?

A.It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite.

B.Besides TJ3Sat, 28 other small satellites were built by the students.

C.TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space, which it can change to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth.

D.TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year, sending out messages together with information about its position in space.

3.According to the article, the launch of the satellite _______.

A.is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology

B.proves that hard-working teenagers can achieve a lot

C.shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school

D.has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.C

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：每个人在高中实验室里都曾做过实验，但是恐怕没人会想过要设计一颗人造卫星去探测太空。但是来自美国Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology学校的一群青少年却做出了甚至让科学家都震惊的事情——向太空发射了人造卫星。在本文中作者对这件事此进行了详细的介绍。

1.B词义猜测题。由情理可知人们都认为研制和发射卫星是科学家才能做到的事情，而一群青少年却做到了，由此推测人们会对此非常吃惊，而且文章开头的问句but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?也可以推断青少年的作为是一般人没曾想过的，故答案选B。

2.C细节理解题。根据文章第五段的讲述可知中学生研制的TJ3Sat卫星可以接收短信，再被转换成声音通过无线电波进行广播，由此判断C选项内容正确。

3.B推理判断题。根据青少年发射卫星这件事以及倒数第二段Glazer 所说的话.the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities可以证明勤奋的青少年会取得很大的成就，答案选B。

考点：考查新闻类短文阅读。