二、完形填空。
阅读短文，从A、B、C、D四个选项
中选出一个可以填入相应空白处的最佳答案。
For thousands of years, humans have dreamed of soaring（翱翔）in space. In the past, space travel was very 16. That was because most rockets could be used only once. After sending satellites into space, they would break into pieces and never return.
Now, everything is 17. A new type of rocket has appeared. It is called the 18 rocket. It can fly into space, complete its job, and then fly back to the earth 19.
When a reusable rocket 20, it goes up very fast. After sending payloads（载荷）into space, it turns around and flies back. Instead of falling into the ocean or being 21, it lands gently on the ground. Moreover, on July 10th, 2026, China achieved a major breakthrough by successfully recovering the Long March 10B rocket with a net-capture system at sea.
This technology brings many 22. The biggest one is that it cuts down on the cost of space travel a lot. If we don’t need to 23 a new rocket every time, traveling to space will cost less and become easier.
Reusable rockets also help protect the 24, because less rubbish is left in space. In the future, with the 25 of reusable rockets, space travel may become common for humans. We will explore farther and learn more about the universe.
The future of spaceflight is truly exciting and hopeful.
()16. A. cheap B. expensive
C. simple D. safe
()17. A. failing B. rising
C. changing D. working
()18. A. large B. new
C. strange D. reusable
()19. A. safely B. loudly
C. early D. lively
()20. A. puts on B. takes off
C. arrives at D. falls down
()21. A. found B. built
C. seen D. broken
()22. A. problems B. advantages
C. difficulties D. mistakes
()23. A. build B. fly
C. draw D. imagine
()24. A. earth B. environment
C. space D. rockets
()25. A. dream B. rule
C. development D. competition

16. B 句意为“过去，太空旅行非常昂贵”。
17. C
18. D reusable 意为“可再利用的”。
19. A 20. B 21. D
22. B 句意为“这项技术带来许多优点”。
23. A 句意为“如果不用每次都建造新火箭，太空旅行会更简单”。
24. B 25. C

【分析】
做完形填空需先通读全文把握主旨，本文围绕可重复使用火箭展开，核心是对比过去与现在太空旅行的变化。解题时需结合上下文线索、词汇词义及逻辑关系逐一分析：16题根据过去火箭只能用一次、无法返回的特点，推断过去太空旅行昂贵；17题通过过去与现在的对比，确定情况发生改变；18题后文反复提及“reusable rocket”，对应选项；19题可重复使用火箭返回地球需安全；20题火箭起飞用固定搭配take off；21题对应“不会损坏”的语境；22题技术带来的是优点；23题不用每次建造新火箭；24题减少太空垃圾可保护环境；25题随着可重复火箭的发展，太空旅行会更普及。
【解析】
16. 选B。根据后文“most rockets could be used only once...never return”可知，过去太空旅行成本高，expensive（昂贵的）符合语境。
17. 选C。前文讲过去火箭的弊端，后文讲新型火箭出现，说明情况发生改变，changing（改变）符合逻辑。
18. 选D。后文多次提到“reusable rocket”，此处指“可重复使用的火箭”，reusable符合。
19. 选A。可重复使用火箭完成任务后返回地球需安全，safely（安全地）符合语境。
20. 选B。火箭起飞的固定搭配是take off，符合语境。
21. 选D。根据“instead of falling into the ocean or...”可知，火箭不会损坏，broken（损坏的）符合。
22. 选B。可重复使用火箭技术带来的是优点，advantages（优点）符合语境。
23. 选A。句意为“不用每次建造新火箭，太空旅行成本更低”，build（建造）符合。
24. 选B。减少太空垃圾可保护环境，environment（环境）符合。
25. 选C。随着可重复火箭的发展，太空旅行会更普及，development（发展）符合。
【答案】
16.B 17.C 18.D 19.A 20.B 21.D 22.B 23.A 24.B 25.C
【知识点】
完形填空解题技巧、词汇词义辨析、上下文语境理解
【点评】
本文是介绍可重复使用火箭的说明文，考查学生对词汇的掌握及语篇逻辑的理解，需结合上下文线索（如reusable的反复出现）解题，难度适中，适合初中阶段学生练习。
【难度系数】
0.5