Ⅰ. 阅读理解
In America, we often regard Sally Ride as the first female astronaut (宇航员). But the first woman in space is actually a Soviet astronaut who beat out 400 applicants to pilot the Vostok 6 spacecraft in 1963 — twenty years before Ride took her historic spaceflight.
There was nothing in Valentina Tereshkova’s early life that showed she would become a space pioneer. Tereshkova finished school at age 16 and went to work to help support her family. She seemed to follow her mother’s footsteps as a textile factory worker, except one interest: skydiving. By the time she was 22, she was jumping out of a plane pretty regularly. And then came the space race.
By 1962, the competition to get into space had been starting between the Soviet Union and the United States for about seven years. The two countries, in an effort to do better than the other in exploring space, had each launched men into space.
During the space race, the Soviet Union and the U. S. constantly tried to be better. After putting a man in space, the obvious next step was to send a woman into space. The Soviet Union’s lead spacecraft designer, Sergey Korolyov, is said to have been helpful in the decision. There are rumors (传言) that the Soviet Union knew that the U. S. was planning to send a woman to space and wanted to beat the Americans.
Inspired by Gagarin’s flight, Tereshkova wrote to the Soviet authorities (当局) hoping for any future training program for female astronauts. The authorities answered and in early 1962 she became one of just five women accepted for astronaut training. On June 16, 1963, Tereshkova took off, eventually circling the Earth 48 times over the course of almost three days and securing her place in history as the first woman to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.
【语篇概述】这是一篇记叙文。介绍了世界上第一位女航天员——苏联的Valentina Tereshkova。
1. When did Sally Ride go into space?
A. In 1963. B. In 1973. C. In 1983. D. In 1993.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段中的“a Soviet astronaut who beat out 400 applicants to pilot the Vostok 6 spacecraft in 1963 — twenty years before Ride took her historic spaceflight”可知, Valentina Tereshkova在1963年进入太空, 20年后, 美国女宇航员Sally Ride成功进入太空。故选C。
2. Why did Tereshkova choose to be a textile factory worker?
A. Because she thought highly of her mother.
B. Because she had to give a hand to her family.
C. Because she wanted to save money for the space race.
D. Because she was allowed to do skydiving.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Tereshkova finished school at age 16 and went to work to help support her family”可知, 她做纺织女工是为了帮助养家。故选B。
3. What did Tereshkova do on knowing a woman to be sent to space?
A. She suggested some training programs for women.
B. She refused the Soviet authorities’ invitation.
C. She introduced herself to the training program.
D. She announced she would be the first woman in space.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据最后一段的第一句可知, Tereshkova受Gagarin的鼓舞, 给苏联当局写信希望参加未来女宇航员的训练。故选C。
