Question

【题目】George Aldrich, whose official title is chemical specialist, works at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. He uses his nose to protect astronauts from unpleasant or harmful odors (气味). His near four-decade career has involved smelling objects from technical handbooks to astronauts’ personal things.

It’s crucial that all items taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are odorless. Since astronauts are allowed to bring personal items aboard, all their objects must be smell-checked before leaving Earth. In a video provided by Science Channel, Aldrich relates one specific occasion when an astronaut wanted to build a ship in a bottle in space. Everything in the ship-building process had to be sniffed—right down to the glue.

Aldrich and his team are responsible for making sure that objects are not only odorless but also harmless to astronauts. When the ISS heats up, a process called off-gassing occurs, which means chemicals flow out from certain substances (物质). Objects that would be safe on Earth could give off unpleasant odors or become dangerous when exposed to high temperatures in the ISS’s unique environment.

Of course, humans aren’t the only testers or the first to be exposed to potentially dangerous objects. Before Aldrich sticks his nose into a substance, it has been examined by machines. Even though machines can detect unsafe substances, computers cannot tell exactly how things smell to humans. While something could be technically fine, it could be smelly to an astronaut.

Aldrich’s nose is not alone there. He is the head of a hard-sniffing team of smell testers. Together they smell each object and rate it on a scale (等级) of 1 to 4. According to NASA, 1 cannot be detected, and 4 is considered not bearable. After the scientists conclude their tests, the scores are averaged. If an item is rated more than 2.4 on the scale, it fails the test and is not allowed on the flight.

【1】Which can describe the smell check from Paragraph 2?

A. Quite dangerous. B. Extremely strict

C. Rather boring. D. Very complex.

【2】What is a threat to astronauts’ safety at the ISS?

A. Negative emotions. B. Odor-related disease.

C. The off-gassing process. D. Changes in temperature.

【3】What should be done before Aldrich and his team start their work?

A. Using machines to test objects.

B. Having a meeting to make the scale.

C. Using computers to examine their noses.

D. Listing potentially dangerous substances.

【4】What is the text mainly about?

A. An unusual smell tester.

B. Astronauts’ life at the ISS.

C. Strong odors in a spaceship.

D. The smell of personal items.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】A

【4】A

【解析】本文讲述了一个化学专家George Aldrich在美国宇航局新墨西哥白沙试验工厂工作，由于国际空间站上的所有物品都要求是无气味的，所以他用他的鼻子来保护宇航员免受不良或有害的气味。

【1】推理判断题。根据文章第二段“It’s crucial that all items taken aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are odorless. …all their objects must be smell-checked before leaving Earth”以及第三、四、五段的内容可知，宇航员离开地球前所携带的东西必须经过嗅觉检查，空间站的东西也必须是无味的，而且要经过人和机器的双重检查，所以可推知嗅觉检查是非常严格的。故选B。

【2】细节理解题。根据文章第三段“When the ISS heats up, a process called off-gassing occurs, which means chemicals flow out from certain substances (物质). Objects that would be safe on Earth could give off unpleasant odors or become dangerous when exposed to high temperatures in the ISS’s unique environment.”可知，当国际空间站温度升高，一种叫排气的过程发生了，化学成分会从某些物质中散发出来，地球上安全的物体在国际空间站独特的高温环境下会发出难闻的气味或变得危险，这些对宇航员是一种威胁。故选C。

【3】细节理解题。根据文章第四段“Of course, humans aren’t the only testers or the first to be exposed to potentially dangerous objects. Before Aldrich sticks his nose into a substance, it has been examined by machines.”可知，人类并不是唯一有可能接触到潜在危险物体的测试者，Aldrich在工作前已经用机器测试了物质。故选A。

【4】主旨大意题。通读文章可知，本文讲述了一个化学专家George Aldrich用他的鼻子来保护宇航员免受不良或有害的气味。这是一个非同寻常的气味测试仪。结合选项，故选A。