It's up there right now -- flying about 340 miles over the Earth. It's a telescope -- in the sky. It's called the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope itself is not really much to look at. If you could see it right now you might think it's just a big bucket with two solar arms. It's about the size of a school bus and weighs about as much as two elephants.

But that silver bucket is pure gold for astronomers. It's made such a big impact that NASA, the space agency takes amazing pictures, calls Hubble the "most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo's telescope. Hubble didn't start out winning high marks in the beginning. It was launched on April 24, 1990, aboard the space shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The next day it was released into space, but scientists soon realized they had a big problem. The telescope's primary mirror had a flaw. Hubble became a late-night talk show joke. But in December of 1993 shuttle Endeavour astronauts repaired the telescope. The late-night jokes stopped. 

So why is Hubble so special? Because it's on what NASA calls "the ultimate mountaintop." Sitting high above Earth's atmosphere, far away from our light-polluted cities and hovering far away from clouds and storms -- Hubble has a good view of the universe.

Scientists have used it to make observations about planets, stars, galaxies and to show parts of our universe we didn't know existed. The telescope has made more than 1 million observations and astronomers have used Hubble data in more than 12,700 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built. 

Eventually, Hubble will stop working. NASA had hoped to use a space shuttle to bring it home for a museum exhibit. Now, it appears NASA will have to come up with a plan to help its superstar telescope fall back to Earth and fall into the sea. Hubble fans hope that date is far into the future, but NASA already has plans to send up a new space-based instrument, the James Webb Space Telescope, in 2018.

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1. What does the Hubble Space Telescope look like?

A A school bus.

B A very heavy elephant.

C A round bucket.

D A long arm.

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据第1段第4句的it's just a big bucket with two solar arms可知哈勃望远镜看起来就像个水桶。

2.Why did the Hubble Space Telescope become a late night joke?

A Because it took the amazing pictures.

B Because it was launched in Florida.

C Because it had a flaw in its mirror.

D Because it appears on a t talk show.

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据第2段第6句的The telescope's primary mirror had a flaw可知发射之初哈勃望远镜有一个裂缝。

3.How long was the Hubble Space Telescope laughed at?

A Three years.

B Five years.

C Seven years.

D Ten years.

解析：选A。A。根据第2段第4句的It was launched on April 24, 1990可知是1990年发射；结合第2段第8句的But in December of 1993 shuttle Endeavour astronauts repaired the telescope可以得知是在1993年修好，因此哈勃望远镜被嘲笑了三年。

4.What did the scientists think of the Hubble Space Telescope?

A It is effective and useful.

B It causes little pollution.

C It’s interesting and funny.

D It is ridiculous and dull.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据第4段第2句的"making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built可以得知该望远镜是有效实用的。

5.Where will the Hubble Space Telescope stay in the end?

A In the sea.

B In a museum.

C In the space.

D In the storm.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。根据文章最后一段第2句NASA had hoped to use a space shuttle to bring it home for a museum exhibit可知NASA想把哈勃望远镜放在博物馆里展出，因此它最终会呆在博物馆里。