二、阅读理解
A
体裁:说明文 主题:航天与航空 难度: ★★★★ 建议用时: 8 min 正确率: /4
Growing food in space has been a challenge for astronauts on long-term space missions. Carrying enough food from Earth is costly and impractical. To solve this problem, Chinese scientists have done experiments growing rice in orbit. This research not only helps astronauts get fresh food in space but also provides ideas for food production on Earth in extreme environments.
The space rice experiment was carried out on China's Tiangong Space Station. Unlike rice grown on Earth, space rice faces special challenges. For example, the lack of gravity(重力) will make rice stems grow randomly instead of straight up. Besides, cosmic radiation(宇宙辐射) may influence the growth and safety of the rice.
Scientists have designed special growth boxes to deal with these problems. First, they use a weak airflow to simulate(模拟) the effect of gravity, guiding the rice stems to grow upward. Second, they are equipped with a radiation-shielding layer that reduces the harm of cosmic radiation to the rice. With these designs, the rice can grow normally just like it does on Earth.
After several months of experiments, space-grown rice has achieved a breakthrough. The rice plants have grown to a height of about 30 centimeters and produced grains. What's more, some of these rice grains have been brought back to Earth for further study. Scientists found that the space rice has slight differences in shape compared with Earth-grown rice.
We're sure this experiment is of great significance(意义). On the one hand, it proves that growing staple food in space is feasible. On the other hand, the mutated rice grains may help scientists develop new rice varieties(变种) that can tolerate drought, heat, or floods on Earth. In the future, more kinds of food will be grown in space to support longer space trips.
1. How do the special growth boxes help space rice grow?
A. By controlling the growth speed. B. By providing enough water and soil.
C. By changing the rice's genetic structure. D. By simulating gravity and shielding radiation.
2. Why does the writer mention "slight differences in shape" in Paragraph 4?
A. To explain how space affects the growth of rice.
B. To prove that space rice can be eaten by astronauts.
C. To show that space rice is not as good as Earth rice.
D. To suggest that space rice may lead to new rice varieties.
3. What's the writer's attitude towards the experiment in the passage?
A. Unclear. B. Doubtful. C. Supportive. D. Uninterested.
4. 新趋势·篇章结构 Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
▶▶ 篇章结构题解题策略见 P119 重点精讲
A. Problem→Reason→Solution→Result→Meaning
B. Introduction→Problem→Reason→Solution→Result
C. Introduction→Problem→Solution→Result→Meaning
D. Introduction→Problem→Reason→Solution→Meaning

A
【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了中国科学家在太空种植水稻的实验背景、挑战、技术手段、初步成果和重要意义。
1. D 细节理解题。根据第三段“First, it uses a weak airflow to simulate the effect of gravity ... it is equipped with a radiation-shielding layer that reduces the harm of cosmic radiation to the rice.”特殊的生长箱使用微弱的气流模拟重力的影响，配备辐射屏蔽层减少宇宙辐射的危害。故选 D。
2. D 推理判断题。根据最后一段“the mutated rice grains may help scientists develop new rice varieties that can resist drought, deserts, or floods on Earth”可知太空水稻与地球水稻在形状上有细微差异，发生变异的水稻可能有助于科学家开发出能抵抗干旱、沙漠或洪水的新品种，由此可知作者提到形状差异是为了引出其潜在的研究价值。故选 D。
3. C 推理判断题。结合文章内容可知，作者客观介绍了太空种植水稻实验的背景、挑战、方法、成果和意义，根据最后一段“We're sure this experiment is of great significance.”可知作者对实验持积极态度。故选 C。
4. C 篇章结构题。结合文章内容可知，第一段介绍了在太空种植食物的背景，引出了中国科学家在太空种植水稻的实验；第二段介绍了太空水稻面临的两大难题；第三段介绍了科学家设计特殊的生长箱来解决问题；第四段介绍了实验的成果；第五段总结了实验的意义。文章的结构为“背景引入→挑战分析→技术解决→成果展示→意义总结”。故选 C。