Question

Entering Space, astronauts can give us a fascinating account of a shuttle flight, describing the pressure of a countdown and launch, the complexities of living the days in the strange weightless environment, the challenges of working in space, the emotional effect of seeing earth from space, the drama of the meteoric landing.

However, there are also plenty of things that astronauts can’t do because of their weightless environment, and that’s very sad. What’s more, they can’t even let their sadness show, because it’s impossible to cry in zero gravity.

Of course, astronauts can still produce tears. But crying is much more difficult in space, reported The Atlantic in January. Without gravity, tears don’t flow downward out of the eyes like they do here on Earth. This means that when you cry in space, your tears have nowhere to go – they just stick to your eyes.

In May 2011, astronaut Andrew Feustel experienced this during one of his spacewalks. “Tears,” he said, “don’t fall off of your eye... They just kind of stay there.”

Besides making your vision unclear, this can also cause physical pain. Back on Earth, tears are supposed to bring comfort to the eyes. But that’s not the case in space. The space environment dries out astronauts’ eyes, and when tears suddenly wet the eyes, it can cause pain rather than comfort. “My right eye is painful like crazy.” Feustel told his teammate during the walk.

Since gravity doesn’t work in space, astronauts need some extra help to get rid of the tears. Feustel chose to rub his eyes against his helmet to wipe the tears away. Another choice is to just wait – “When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eye and float around,” astronaut Ron Parise told The Atlantic.

There are lots of small things – things like crying – that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted, until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space. There, astronauts can’t talk to each other directly. They also can’t eat or drink in normal ways. They can’t even burp (打嗝), because there is no gravity to hold the food down in their stomach. If they do burp, they just end up throwing up (呕吐) everything in their stomach, according to the UK National Space Center.

Thus, perhaps it’s only space explorers who can honestly say: “Gravity, you’re the best.”

1.What can we conclude from the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs?

A. Astronauts are unable to feel sad in space.

B. Tears produced in space don’t flow downward.

C. Astronauts produce fewer tears in space.

D. Tears produced in space flow down more slowly.

2.What can the astronaut do to get rid of the tears?

A. Get the tears big enough to break away from his eyes.

B. Get the tears big enough to fall off of his eyes.

C. Rub his eyes against his helmet to let the tears float forward.

D. Rub his eyes by hand to let the tears float around.

3.What’s the second-to-last paragraph mainly about?

A. Suggestions on how astronauts can stay comfortable in space.

B. Why burping is impossible in space.

C. Things that humans can’t do without gravity.

D. Other basic things that are difficult to do in space.

4.What can be the best title of this passage?

A. In the sky, you can’t cry

B. In the sky, you can’t burp

C. No Gravity, no tears

D. Better life with gravity

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：宇航员会描述如何在失去重力的太空中所面对的挑战，然而因为重力的原故，太空有许多看似在地球上平常的事却是不能做的，比如悲伤，眼泪会四处飞散

1.B 细节理解题。根据第三段提到Without gravity, tears don’t flow downward out of the eyes like they do here on Earth没有地球引力，眼泪不可能象地球上那样向上流，故选B项。

2.A 细节理解题。根据倒数第三段提到When the tears get big enough they simply break free of the eye and float around,当眼泪足够多时，他们会脱离眼睛，飞到周围，故选A项。

3.D 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段提到There are lots of small things – things like crying – that we are so used to on Earth. We usually take them for granted, until they become a problem in a totally different environment, like space许多在地球很正常的小事在太空中无法做，故选D项。

4.A 主旨标题。宇航员会描述如何在失去重力的太空中所面对的挑战，然而因为重力的原故，太空有许多看似在地球上平常的事却是不能做的，比如悲伤，眼泪会四处飞散，故A符合文意。

考点：科普类阅读。