While scientists are searching the cause of the Columbia disaster， NASA is moving ahead with plans to develop a new craft that would¹ replace shuttles on space station missions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies.

    The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements several days ago for the orbital space plane， which would be designed to transport a crew of four to and from the International Space Station.

    Although it includes few specifics2， the plan stipulates the orbiter will be safer， cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle. It would be able to transport four crew members by 2012 – though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010. NASA says the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to “definitive medical care3” within 24 hours.

    The release of the requirements showed NASA remains focused on the long-term priorities of space exploration， even as questions linger concerning the loss of Columbia and its seven-member crew on February 1，20034.

    Experts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville， Alabama， have been working for years on a successor to the shuttle. The project， known as the Space Launch Initiative， was divided last year into two parts – one focusing on a future launch vehicle， the other on a space station orbiter. The orbiter is expected to be ready sooner.

    The program’s managers say NASA officials have told them not to alter Space Launch Initiative in light of the Columbiadisaster.

    U.S. President George W. Bush asked Congress for about US$1 billion for Space Launch Initiative in 2004， funds that would be almost equally split between the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology.

词汇

shuttle["ʃʌtl] n.（织机的）穿梭机; 

initiative[ɪ"nɪʃətɪv] n.创始，倡议;

orbiter[ˈɔ:bɪtə(r)] n.轨道航天飞机

in light of 鉴于，由于

linger ["lɪŋɡə(r)]v.继续存留

注释：

1．would:这是虚拟语气的用法，表示未来可能发生的事。下面第三段出现的两个would也属这种用法。

2．few specifics:（谈到）很少细节。specific意为“详情，细节”时，一定要用复数形式的specifics o

3．"definitive medical care”：“最权威的医疗机构”

Besides the main missions stipulated by NASA,the orbiter would also be used as____.

A:a space hospital B:a medical research center C:a medicine-transporting vehicle D:a space ambulance

Astronaut Jim Voss has enjoyed many memorable moments in his career, including three space flights and one space walk. But he recalls with special fondness a decidedly earthbound experience in the summer of 1980, when he participated in the NASA-AS-EE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. Voss, then a science teacher at West Point, was assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center’s propulsion lab in Alabama to analyze why a hydraulic fuel pump seal on the space shuttle was working so well when previous seals had failed. It was a seemingly tiny problem among the vast complexities of running the space program. Yet it was important to NASA because any crack in the seals could have led to destructive results for the astronauts who relied on them.
"I worked a bit with NASA engineers," says Voss, "but I did it mostly by analysis. I used a handheld calculator, not a computer, to do a thermodynamic analysis. "At the end of the summer, he, like the other NASA-ASEE fellows working at Marshall, summarized his findings in a formal presentation and detailed paper. It was a valuable moment for Voss because the ASEE program gave him added understanding of NASA, deepened his desire to fly in space, and intensified his application for astronaut status.
It was not an easy process. Voss was actually passed over when he first applied for the astronaut program in 1978. Over the next nine years he reapplied repeatedly, and was finally accepted in 1987. Since then he has participated in three space missions. The 50-year-old Army officer, who lives in Houston, is now in training for a four-month mission as a crew member on the International Space Station starting in July 2000.
Voss says the ASEE program is wonderful for all involved. "It brings in people from the academic world and gives NASA a special property for a particular period of time. It brings some fresh eyes and fresh ideas to NASA, and establishes link with our colleges and universities," Voss explains. "There’s an exchange of information and an exchange of perspectives that is very important."
For the academic side, Voss says, the ASEE program also "brings institutions of higher learning more insight into new technology. We give them an opportunity to work on real-world problems and take it back to the classroom. /
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to what Voss said on the ASEE program

A:Fresh members from the academic world participate in the program. B:The program brings new outlooks to NASA space programs. C:It is important for the space scientists to exchange information and perspectives. D:American colleges and universities are a special property of NASA

Astronaut Jim Voss has enjoyed many memorable moments in his career, including three space flights and one space walk. But he recalls with special fondness a decidedly earthbound experience in the summer of 1980, when he participated in the NASA-AS-EE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. Voss, then a science teacher at West Point, was assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center’s propulsion lab in Alabama to analyze why a hydraulic fuel pump seal on the space shuttle was working so well when previous seals had failed. It was a seemingly tiny problem among the vast complexities of running the space program. Yet it was important to NASA because any crack in the seals could have led to destructive results for the astronauts who relied on them.
"I worked a bit with NASA engineers," says Voss, "but I did it mostly by analysis. I used a handheld calculator, not a computer, to do a thermodynamic analysis. "At the end of the summer, he, like the other NASA-ASEE fellows working at Marshall, summarized his findings in a formal presentation and detailed paper. It was a valuable moment for Voss because the ASEE program gave him added understanding of NASA, deepened his desire to fly in space, and intensified his application for astronaut status.
It was not an easy process. Voss was actually passed over when he first applied for the astronaut program in 1978. Over the next nine years he reapplied repeatedly, and was finally accepted in 1987. Since then he has participated in three space missions. The 50-year-old Army officer, who lives in Houston, is now in training for a four-month mission as a crew member on the International Space Station starting in July 2000.
Voss says the ASEE program is wonderful for all involved. "It brings in people from the academic world and gives NASA a special property for a particular period of time. It brings some fresh eyes and fresh ideas to NASA, and establishes link with our colleges and universities," Voss explains. "There’s an exchange of information and an exchange of perspectives that is very important."
For the academic side, Voss says, the ASEE program also "brings institutions of higher learning more insight into new technology. We give them an opportunity to work on real-world problems and take it back to the classroom. "

A:Fresh members from the academic world participate in the program. B:The program brings new outlooks to NASA space programs. C:It is important for the space scientists to exchange information and perspectives. D:American colleges and universities are a special property of NASA

It is implied in the text that the contracts would fail to inform the public of NASA' s new vision if

A:the new moonships will be launched together. B:NASA' s Crew Exploration Vehicle could not be manipulated with the help of ground-based equipment. C:the agency' s plans are not carried out faithfully. D:NASA' s Crew Exploration Vehicle could not be employed together with the rest parts of the plan.

A:NASA’s determination to continue space exploration. B:NASA’s disadvantage in space technology. C:the great pressure from Congress on NAS D:a heavy defeat for NAS

第三篇 Human Space Exploration While scientists are searching the cause of the Columbia disaster, NASA is moving ahead with plans to develop a new craft that would replace shuttles(航天飞机)on space stationmissions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies． The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements several days ago for me orbital space plane(轨道航天飞机)，which would be designed to transport a crew of four to and from the International Space Station． Although it includes few specifics，the plan states the orbiter(轨道航天飞机)will be safer cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle．It would be able to transport four crew members by 2012--though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010.NASA says the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to“definitive(决定性的)medical care” within 24 hours． The release of the requirements showed NASA remains focused on the long-term priorities of space exploration，even as questions exist concerning the loss of Columbia and its seven．member crew on February l，2003．． Expels at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville，Alabama，have been working for years on a successor to the shuttle．The project，known as the Space Launch Initiative(倡议)，was divided last year into two parts----one focusing on a future launch vehicle，the other on a space station orbiter．The orbiter is expected to be ready sooner． The program’s managers say NASA officials have told them not to alter Space Launch Initiative in light of the Columbia disaster． U．S．President George W：Bush asked Congress for about US$1 billion for Space Launch Initiative in 2004，funds that would be almost equally split between the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology． The design of the orbiter indicates

A:NASA’s determination to continue space exploration． B:NASA’s disadvantage in space technology． C:the great pressure from Congress on NAS D:a heavy defeat for NAS

A:NASA’s determination to continue space exploration B:NASA’s disadvantage in space technology C:the great pressure from Congress on NASA D:a heavy defeat for NASA