阅读理解
Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American women, numbering 27 in all, between the age of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those aboard the space shuttle．
Though carefully selected from among many applicants, the women were volunteers and the pay was barely above the minimum wage．They were not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol during the tests, and they were expected to accompany with each other for the entire period．Among other things they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks whole exhausted from strenuous physical exercise．At the end of ten days, they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed, during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts, and when they were finally allowed up, the more physically active women were especially subject to pain due to a slight calcium loss．
Results of the tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over man in space．They need less food and less oxygen and they stand up to radiation better．Men’s advantages in terms of strength and stamina, meanwhile, are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space．
本文是说明文。但是文章大部分内容叙述了一次试验，所以前面部分也可以说是记叙文体。文章通过对27位年龄不等的妇女进行的模拟宇宙飞船上的试验得出结论：女性在太空比男性更有优越性。
