As scientists mark the 45th year since the Apollo 11 lunar landing, a lesser known anniversary last week quietly passed the world by.

Almost one hundred years ago today, Massachusetts-born Robert Hutchings Goddard received a revolutionary patent for a liquid-fuelled rocket. The patent, which was joked about by journalists at the time, paved the way for the Apollo moon landings and helped bring about the dawn of the ‘space age’. Dr Robert Hutchings Goddard — today considered the father of modern rocket propulsion — was a modest man who went largely unrecognized for his early work.

He first caught the attention of academics as a student in 1907 after a cloud of smoke from a powder rocket fired in the basement of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute physics building. In 1914, Goddard received two US patents. One was for a rocket using liquid fuel. The other was for a two- or three-stage rocket using solid fuel. By 1916, he had developed the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion. Toward the end of a 1920 report, Dr Goddard outlined the possibility of a rocket reaching the moon and exploding a load of flash powder there to mark its arrival. The Times picked up Goddard’s scientific proposal about a rocket flight to the moon, however, and doubted about the feasibility of such a thing.

By 1926, Dr Goddard had constructed and successfully tested the first rocket using liquid fuel based on these patents. For astronomers, the flight of Dr Goddard’s rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, was as significant to history as that of the Wright brother’s first flight.

As Apollo 11 was racing moonward, the New York Times published a correction: “Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th Century and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere. The Times regrets the error. As Dr Goddard once said: ‘It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.’”

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1.When did Apollo 11 land on the moon?

A 1920

B 1926

C 1969

D 1907

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据文章第一段As scientists mark the 45th year since the Apollo 11 lunar landing…可知，科学家们日前在庆祝阿波罗登月45周年，即阿波罗飞船于1969年在月球成功着陆。

2.What happened about one hundred years ago today?

A Robert Hutchings Goddard was born in Massachusetts.

B Robert Hutchings Goddard received a patent for a liquid-fuelled rocket.

C Robert Hutchings Goddard caught the attention of academics as a student.

D The Wright brothers made their first flight with their plane.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段Almost one hundred years ago today… Robert Hutchings Goddard received a revolutionary patent…可知，大约一百年前的今天，Robert Hutchings Goddard被授予一项具有划时代意义的专利：液态火箭燃料。

3.What character can you infer led to Dr Goddard’s great achievements?

A He was modest.

B He was ambitious.

C He was courageous.

D He was strong-willed.

解析：选D。D。推理判断题。根据文章第二段The patent…was joked about by journalists以及第三段…doubted about the feasibility of such thing可知媒体对Goddard博士的研究和设想给予嘲笑和质疑，但是，Goddard博士并没有因此罢休，因为他的执着和坚持，他最终取得了成功。

4.What does the underlined phrase most probably mean in Paragraph Three?

A Learned something from.

B Met with.

C Had a discussion about.

D Laughed at.

解析：选C。C。词义猜测题。根据文章语境中的however及下文的doubted about可知，《时代周刊》对Goddard 博士的登月预见进行了讨论，但怀疑其可行性。pick up在本文中有“讨论，辩论”的意思。

5.Why did The Times publish the correction as Apollo flew to the moon?

A To make an apology for having doubted about Dr Goddard’s proposal.

B To confirm the findings of Isaac Newton in the 17th century.

C To prove that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere.

D To argue that the dream of yesterday is the reality of tomorrow.

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。根据文章最后一段中的The Times regrets the error可知，《时代周刊》刊发的“勘误”目的是对前期曾质疑Goddard博士的观点致歉。