It could be the first human settlement on another planet.

European Space Agency bosses today revealed a video tour of the moon base. They hope it could be ready for humans to move in within the next 40 years. It will be made from an inflatable dome covered in lunar soil by robots to create a safe structure, and will have room for four to live and work.

ESA teamed up with architectural firm Foster + Partners in order to set the wheels in motion for a permanent human presence on Earth’s only natural satellite. Autonomous robots will be used to 3D print a cellular structure to house four people, and can offer protection from meteorites（陨石）, gamma radiation and great temperature changes. The ESA’ s human spaceflight team’s Scott Hovland said: “3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced supplies from Earth.”

The theory is that 90 per cent of the materials needed to build the structure already exist on the Moon, so only the robots and light-weight parts, such as inflatables（充气的）and the solid connector and entry segments（部分）, will have to be transported from Earth. These parts would be folded from a tubular

（管状的）module that can be sent by space rocket.

The shell is made up of a hollow closed cellular structure similar to foam. They say the “hollow closed-cell structure” – like that of bird bones – “provides a good combination of strength and weight.” Xavier De Kestelier of Foster + Partners Specialist Modelling Group said; “As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials. Our lunar structure follows a similar logic.”

The raw lunar material is turned into a pulp and sprayed to form a solid block that is then used to build walls at a rate of around two meters an hour. “First, we needed to mix the simulated lunar material with magnesium oxide（氧化镁）. This turns it into ‘paper’ we can print with,” explained Monolite founder Enrico Dini.

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1.What is mainly talked about in this passage?

A First lunar structure for humans will be built.

B Robot will be used to print a house on the moon.

C 3D printing has great potentials in future.

D Moon soil will be used to build a lunar house for humans.

解析：选A。A 主旨大意题。根据文章第一、二段（主题段）可知，本文的主要内容为：欧洲航天局计划在月球建立第一座人类居住地。

2.What makes the lunar structure very safe?

A The robot printed the house with lunar materials.

B The structure provides a good combination of strength and weight.

C The structure is made up bird bones which offers fine protection.

D The firm has been used to designing for extreme climates on Earth.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第五段…the “hollow closed-cell structure” – like that of bird bones –“provides a good combination of strength and weight.”可知，这种中空封闭结构是力量和重量的有效组合，使房屋具备很高的安全性和可靠性。

3.What do the underlined words mean in Paragraph Three?

A Push the wheels forward.

B Set the speed for movement.

C Equip the house with wheels.

D Start to work on a project.

解析：选D。D 猜测词义题。根据下文的for a permanent human presence可知，欧洲航天局将与Foster + Partners建筑公司合作，推进人类月球居住地的建设工作。由此判断，set the wheels in motion意为“开始做；开展”。

4.What is implied in the passage?

A The materials to build the lunar structure will be sent to the moon.

B 3D printing has been widely used in construction.

C The environment of the moon is unimaginably tough.

D It will take 40 years of time to build the lunar structure.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章第三段的…can offer protection from meteorites, gamma radiation and great temperature changes可知，月球上环境的艰难程度是我们难以想象的。

5.How does the robot work to build the lunar structure?

A Solid blocks made from a pulp will be used to build walls.

B An inflatable dome will be covered with lunar soil.

C Hollow closed-cell blocks will be made into a strong house.

D Lunar material with magnesium oxide will be turned into paper.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段可知，机器人将原材料制成流质，然后制成模块，用来砌墙。房屋的主体就起来了。故选A。