Pilots of the sun-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 completed two successful test flights Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, in preparation for the first attempt to fly around the world. Officials say the plane performed perfectly and that, weather permitting, it may start its journey as soon as March 3.

A test pilot took Solar Impulse 2 on its first flight, which lasted four hours. Then, project co-founder Andre Borschberg took off and stayed in the air for a full day.

These test flights are important because flying a four-engine plane powered only by sunlight, which charges its batteries(电池) at a flight speed between 50 and 100 kilometers an hour, requires a lot of special skills

Solar Impulse 2 is a single-seater so Borschberg and his co-founder and fellow pilot, Bertrand Piccard, will take turns during 25 flying days lasted over five months.

But both men decide to show the world that sustainable (可持续的)energy sources are ready for everyday use.

“To fly with a solar airplane you need an airplane which is highly energy efficient and we have technologies which you could use in your home, that people could use in ground transportation and that's what we want to show around the world,” said Borschberg.

“We want to show that clean technologies and renewable energies can achieve the impossible, like flying day and night in an airplane with no fuel, and this is the way to encourage governments and societies and corporations to reduce their energy use to be more energy efficient like we are,” said Piccard.

Solar Impulse 2 will be followed by a team of 80 devoted skilled workers making sure that it performs without faults until it returns to Abu Dhabi by early August.

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1.What may prevent the plane from its journey around the world?

A sunlight

B bad weather

C the pilots

D the officials

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第1段...weather permitting, it may start its journey...，可知如果天气糟糕的话，飞机的世界之旅将不能如期开始，故选B。

2.In the test flights the plane stayed in the air for ______.

A 28 hours

B 4 hours

C 12 hours

D 24 hours

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第2段...which lasted four hours... and stayed in the air for a full day， 可知两次试飞共耗时28小时，故选A。

3.Why will the pilots take turns to fly the plane?

A It doesn’t need more than two pilots.

B They both want to have a try.

C They do not want to fly it together at all.

D It can just seat one pilot.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由第4段Solar Impulse 2 is a single-seater可知它是一架单座飞机，只能坐一个飞行员，故选D。

4.What did Borschberg mean by saying all the words?

A Flying day and night without any fuel is possible.

B Clean efficient energies can be used in many other ways.

C All means of transportation should use solar energy.

D Solar energy should be the only energy in the future.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据倒数第2段 to encourage governments and societies and corporations to reduce their energy use to be more energy efficient like we are可知答案，故选B。

5.We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.

A the plane is sure to be back this early August

B 80 devoted skilled workers will fly the plane

C some faults may make the journey of the plane fail

D it’s impossible for the plane to perform with any fault

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。由句意可知80名技术工人必须随时关注飞机的飞行，确保它不发生任何毛病并能按时返航。所以可知它出错的可能性是存在的，一旦出错，它的世界之旅就将受挫，故选C。