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A spacewalking astronaut added to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting Earth, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he emerged from the International Space Station for battery work. Commander Chris Cassidy said the mirror quickly floated away. The lost item posed no risk to either the spacewalk or the station, according to NASA.

While millions of pieces of space debris orbit Earth, more than 20,000 items including old rocket parts and broken satellites are big enough to be tracked in order to safeguard the space station and working satellites. Spacewalking astronauts wear a wrist mirror on each sleeve to get better views while working. The mirror is just 5-by-3 inches, and together with its band has a mass of only one-tenth of a pound. The mirror came loose in darkness. Cassidy inspected his spacesuit sleeve later in sunlight but didn’t see any clues that might explain how the mirror came off. The rest of the six-hour spacewalk went without incident.

Cassidy and Bob Behnken hustled through the first of four planned spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. They removed five old batteries and installed two new ones, which were checked out fine, getting a jump on their next spacewalk. They have four more to plug in before the job is complete. “I think we’ve done enough for one day,” Behnken said.

Once all the new batteries are installed in the coming weeks, the orbiting lab should be good for the rest of its life, according to NASA. The big, boxy batteries coming out, which are more powerful and efficient than the old ones, keep the station running when it’s on the night side of Earth.

1.Which was unexpected to be the new junk in space?

A An old battery.

B A wrist mirror.

C A piece of old rocket part.

D A satellite out of order.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句A spacewalking astronaut added to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting Earth on June 26, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he emerged from the International Space Station for battery work.可知，一名太空行走的宇航员当他从国际空间站出来进行电池作业时，丢失了一面小镜子，该镜子成为新增的一块太空垃圾，从下文得知这面小镜子是戴在手腕上，故选B。

2.What’s the potential risk behind space junk?

A It may destroy the Earth in motion.

B It may greatly affect the satellite launching.

C It may be dangerous to the space station and satellites.

D It may threaten the life safety of spacewalking astronauts.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据文章第二段第一句While millions of pieces of space debris orbit Earth, more than 20,000 items including old rocket parts and broken satellites are big enough to be tracked in order to safeguard the space station and working satellite.可知，虽然数以百万计的空间碎片环绕地球运行，但超过20,000件物品，包括旧火箭部件和破碎的卫星，足以被跟踪，以保护空间站和工作卫星，由此说明太空垃圾对于空间站和工作卫星构成潜在危险，故选C。

3.How did Cassidy lose his item?

A Its string was loose.

B He forgot to leave it in space.

C No exact reason was mentioned.

D He dropped it while removing old batteries.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第二段倒数第二句Cassidy inspected his spacesuit sleeve later in sunlight but didn’t see any clues that might explain how the mirror came off.可知，卡西迪后来在阳光下检查了他的宇航服袖子，但没有看到任何线索可以解释镜子是如何脱落的，故选C。

4.What can we know about the last two paragraphs?

A Station batteries must be checked in a fixed time.

B The station can’t run properly without batteries.

C Astronauts have difficulty in carrying out spacewalks.

D Cassidy and Bob Behnken have finished the fourth spacewalk.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句The big, boxy batteries coming out ,which are more powerful and efficient than the old ones, keep the station running when it’s on the night side of Earth.可知，大的，盒状的电池出来了，比旧的电池更强大和更有效，当它在地球夜晚一边时，它能让空间站继续运转，由此推测没有电池空间站无法运转，故选B。