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NASA might be famous for sending rockets up to space quickly. But it could be making your next holiday come more quickly, too.

The space agency is working on a new plane that could solve the problems of traditional supersonic(超音速的) flight and greatly increase the speed of journeys abroad. If successful, the plane would be able to fly between New York and London in just three hours. And it would halve the time spent flying other journeys, since it could be used more widely.

Until now, the problem with such planes has been the noise. That happens when a plane reaches supersonic speeds. The noise upsets people on the ground, making animals feel uneasy and even causing physical damages to materials and houses on the ground. So such planes are banned from flying over the US land.

The space agency has successfully tried out the technology, and now believes that it could be put to commercial use. That plane will fly as high as 55,000 feet, far higher than normal planes and make a sound of only 60 decibels(分贝). That's far less than the 90 decibels thrown out by a traditional supersonic plane, and is almost in line with a car on the highway or a busy restaurant.

1.NASA might be famous for _______.

A making large and cheap planes

B sending flights up high in the sky

C sending rockets up to the sea quickly

D sending rockets up to space quickly

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第一段第一句NASA might be famous for sending rockets up to space quickly. 可知美国航空航天局以快速将火箭发射到太空而闻名，故选D。

2.It takes ______ flying from New York to London for a tradition plane.

A 1.5 hours

B 3 hours

C 6 hours

D 12 hours

解析：选C。数字计算题。根据第二段最后两句If successful, the plane would be able to fly between New York and London in just three hours. And it would halve the time spent flying other journeys, since it could be used more widely.可知试验成功后从纽约到伦敦需要3个小时，而这种飞机会使得飞行时间减短一半，因此普通飞机从纽约到伦敦需要6小时，故选C。

3.The biggest problem of the supersonic plane was _____.

A the test

B the noise

C the height

D the damage

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段第一句 Until now, the problem with such planes has been the noise. 可知目前最大的问题就是噪音（音爆），故选B。

4.The underlined phrase “in line with” means _______.

A as quiet as

B calmer than

C more noisy than

D the same as

解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据上文far less than the 90 decibels thrown out by a traditional supersonic plane可知这种新型超音速飞机发出的噪声远远小于普通超声波飞机发出的声音，因此是可以接受的范围，后面的a car on the highway 和 a busy restaurant发出的声音都是日常生活中常遇到的，是可以接受的，前面的副词almost一般用于同级比较，而不会用比较级，因此in line with的意思应该是as loud as或者the same as，故选D。

5.Where can you read this passage?

A In a science magazine.

B In a language book.

C In a love novel.

D In a travel book.

解析：选A。文章出处题。全文讲述的是一种新型飞机即将问世，将可能给人们带来便利的事情，应该属于科学技术研究类的文章，应该出现在科技类杂志上，故选A。