The food on the moon has come a long way from the freeze – dried bread to half – dried food. They have changed a lot in the past few years. And now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini – greenhouses on the moon.

Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when people on the moon or even Mars will be able to eat green and fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has shown people what it called the first step toward growing flowers – and finally food – on the moon.

Paragon, which is a partner of NASA in experiments at the International Space Station, calls it a “Lunar Oasis (绿洲)”

This is a closed greenhouse placed in a metal box. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the moon surface, and protect it while it grows.

The small greenhouse is to be sent up into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, which takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $ 20 million to any company which can send up, land and operate a lunar rover (月面车) on the moon surface.

Leaders of Paragon say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.

When it is sent up, the greenhouse will have the seeds (种子) of cabbage inside it. Because they go from seed to flower in just 14 days, they can complete their life cycle in a lunar night.

“Growing plants on the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now,” Paragon president Jane Poynter said. “It takes a long time to do a lot of research.”

1.What do we know about “Lunar Oasis” from the passage?

       A．It is made of wood by scientists.

       B．It is open for people who are on the Mars.

       C．It can carry different kinds of plants to the moon.

       D．It will protect plats to grow on the moon.

2.The seeds of cabbage are chosen because they         .

       A．have beautiful followers                        B．can grow very quickly

       C．can grow in the greenhouse                    D．can grow bigger than other seeds

3.According to the passage, Paragon Space Development Corporation      .

       A．has produced food on the moon      B．is in charge of NASA in experiments

       C．takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize  D. may test “Lunar Oasis” in the future

4.What does Jane Poynter think of growing plants on other planets?

       A．It is possible.                                          B．It can be realized easily

       C．It is impossible.                                      D．It will come true very soon.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

       A．Exploring the Moon and the Mars         B．Making Use of the Lunar Rover

       C．Researching Fresh Food on the Moon   D．Seeking the Living Things on the Moon

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

------Is that the small company you often refer to?

-----Right,just the one ______you know I used to work for years.

A.that  B.which  C.as  D.where

The food on the moon has come a long way from the freeze – dried bread to half – dried food. They have changed a lot in the past few years. And now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini – greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when people on the moon or even Mars will be able to eat green and fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has shown people what it called the first step toward growing flowers – and finally food – on the moon.
Paragon, which is a partner of NASA in experiments at the International Space Station, calls it a “Lunar Oasis (绿洲)”
This is a closed greenhouse placed in a metal box. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the moon surface, and protect it while it grows.
The small greenhouse is to be sent up into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, which takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $ 20 million to any company which can send up, land and operate a lunar rover (月面车) on the moon surface.
Leaders of Paragon say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it is sent up, the greenhouse will have the seeds (种子) of cabbage inside it. Because they go from seed to flower in just 14 days, they can complete their life cycle in a lunar night.
“Growing plants on the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now,” Paragon president Jane Poynter said. “It takes a long time to do a lot of research.”
【小题1】What do we know about “Lunar Oasis” from the passage?

A．It is possible.	B．It can be realized easily
C．It is impossible.	D．It will come true very soon.

------Is that the small company you often refer to?

-----Right,just the one ______you know I used to work for years.

A.     that  B.which  C.as  D.where