夫妇帮已故儿子实现太空梦
Throughout his young life, Matthew Gallagher and his parents always told each other, “I love you to the moon and back.” Sadly, the 11-year-old passed away unexpectedly in May 2022. Now his parents are honoring their son’s passion for space travel and aircraft in an unusual way. They’re sending him to space.
The family used to move around a lot. Wherever they lived, Matthew made new friends easily and always extended the hand of friendship to those who usually fell between the cracks.
From a young age, Matthew was obsessed with flying. He talked about becoming an astronaut constantly, and he memorized information about space travel and aircraft that he’d share to anyone who’d listen.
After his untimely passing, his parents Cori and Scott searched for a suitable way to honor Matthew’s memory. That’s when someone told them about Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, a program that allows people to send a portion of cremated remains(骨灰) on the Destiny Flight to the moon, where they’ll be buried on the lunar surface. The family knew right away that this is what Matthew would have wanted. They started to raise the funds.
“We’d always say, ‘I love you to the moon and back,’ and so we chose the lunar flight,” said Cori. “So that way, every time anybody who knew Matthew contributed, wanted to contribute...looks at the moon, would know that he’s up there. And they were a big part of making Matthew’s final mission and his one dream that he had come true.”
The fundraiser was a success, and the Gallaghers raised over $16,000 to cover the fee! The next step will be to watch the Destiny Flight blast off(发射升空) sometime in 2023. After that, they can look up at the moon and know their son’s final wish came true.
It’s always terrible when someone so young passes away, but this family has found the sweetest way to remember him. So many people who knew him will think of him when they look at the moon. In that way, his memory will live on forever.
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1.What sort of person was Matthew when he was alive?
A Lonely.
B Frustrated.
C Cool.
D Friendly.
解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据第二段第二句的“Matthew made new friends easily and always extended the hand of friendship to those who usually fell between the cracks.”可知，无论他们住在哪里，马修都很容易结交新朋友，并且总是向那些经常陷入困境的人伸出友谊之手，因此可推知他待人友好。故选D。
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined part in paragraph 3?
A Was crazy about.
B Was annoyed with.
C Was patient with.
D Was depressed about.
解析：选A。A词义猜测题。根据第三段划线部分后面的“He talked about becoming an astronaut constantly, and he memorized information about space travel and aircraft that he’d share to anyone who’d listen. ”可知，马修经常谈到要成为一名宇航员，他记住了有关太空旅行和航空器的信息，并且会分享给任何听他说话的人。因此可推知他对飞行很着迷。故选A。
3.What is Celestis Memorial Spaceflights?
A A program that helps the dead realize dreams of space travel.
B An organization that helps the young know more about space.
C A program that helps raise funds for sick kids in the hospital.
D An organization that helps people know more about the moon.
解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第四段第二句的“a program that allows people to send a portion of cremated remains on the Destiny Flight to the moon”可知，该项目可以帮助人们将骨灰送到月球上去。故选A。
4.What’s the author’s attitude to what the parents did?
A Disapproving.
B Critical.
C Uninterested.
D Favourable.
解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据最后一段的“but this family has found the sweetest way to remember him”以及“In that way, his memory will live on forever.”可知，作者对这对父母的所作所为表示支持和赞赏。故选D。