NASA与ESA将联手应对可能威胁地球的小行星

Which of these celestial objects is called a minor planet? Pluto, Asteroid, Moon, Sirius. Asteroids are also called minor planets, objects that orbit the sun but are neither planets nor comets.
NASA and the European Space Agency are teaming up to see if they can throw an asteroid off course. In three years, a certain asteroid and its moon are expected to pass between Earth and Mars. Scientists are hoping to smash a spacecraft into the smaller rock and then take measurements to see if the collision was able to change the moons orbit around the asteroid.
OK, why? They're hoping to find out whether it's possible to redirect an asteroid if one is on a collision course with Earth someday. The mission is estimated to cost NASA around $314 million, but it's not the space agency's only mission that involves an asteroid. The Osiris-Rex mission, which sounds like a dinosaur, is an $800 million effort to bring a sample of an asteroid back to Earth.

   本时文由奇速英语国际教育研究院提供，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途， 版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：400-1000-028）

1.What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “objects” in Paragraph 1?

A 天体.

B 物体.

C 彗星.

D 卫星.

解析：选A。词义猜测题。根据文章第一段第一句Which of these celestial objects is called a minor planet? Pluto, Asteroid, Moon, Sirius. 可知，冥王星、小行星、月球、天狼星都属于天体，泛指的所有宇宙的物体，而不是特指某一具体的事物，故选A。

2.What is the specific operation of this mission?

A To change the orbit of an asteroid.

B To transport the asteroid back to Earth.

C To smash a spacecraft into the smaller rock.

D To launch the asteroid into the Milky Way.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第二段第三句Scientists are hoping to smash a spacecraft into the smaller rock and then take measurements to see if the collision was able to change the moons orbit around the asteroid.可知，科学家希望用一艘宇宙飞船撞击这块较小的岩石，随后测量这次撞击能否改变环绕这颗小行星飞行的卫星轨道，故选C。

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A The asteroids are comets.

B The Osiris-Rex mission comes from a dinosaur plan.

C The objects revolving around the sun are planets.

D As for NASA, it's not the only mission that involves an asteroid.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据文章第三段第三句The mission is estimated to cost NASA around $314 million, but it's not the space agency's only mission that involves an asteroid.可知，NASA将在这项任务上花费约3.14亿美元，但这不是NASA唯一一项涉及小行星的任务，故选D。

4.What kind of institution might the European Space Agency be?

A A welfare institution.

B A business department.

C An agricultural Institution.

D An aerospace and astronomical institution.

解析：选D。推理判断题。根据全文内容和题目的关键词Space可推测，是关于太空、航天、宇宙类的部门机构，故选D。