Passage Five

　　It looked just like another aircraft from the outside The pilot told his young passengers that it was built in 1964.But appearances were deceptive and the 13 students from Europe and the USA who boarded the aircraft were in for the flight of their lives.

　　Inside the area that normally had seats had become a long white tunnel. Heavily padded(填塞) from floor to ceiling it looked a bit strange. There were almost no windows, but lights along the padded walls illuminated it. Most of the seats had been taken out apart from a few at the back where the young scientists quickly took their places with a look of fear.

　　For 12 months, science students from across the continents had competed to win a place on the flight at the invitation of the European Space Agency. the challenge had been to suggest imaginative experiments to be conducted in weightless conditions.

　　For the next two hours the flight resembled that of an enormous bird which had lose its reason, shooting upwards towards the heavens before rushing towards Earth. The invention was to Achieve weightlessness for a few seconds.

　　The aircraft took off smoothly enough. But any feelings that I and the young scientists had that we were on anything like a scheduled passenger service were quickly dismissed when the pilot put the plane into a 45 degree climb which lasted around 20 seconds. Then the engines cut out and we became weightless. Everything become confused and left or right. Up or down no longer had any meaning. after ten seconds of free fall descent the pilot pulled the aircraft out of its nosedive. The return of gravity was less immediate than its loss. but was still sudden enough to ensure that some students came down with a bump.

　　Each time the pilot cut the engines and we became weightless. A new team conduct it experience. First it was the Dutch who wanted to discover how it is that cats always land on their feet. then the German team who conducted a successful experiment on a traditional building method to see if could be used for building a further space station. the Americans had an idea to create solar sails that could be used by satellites.

　　After two hours of going up and down in the lane doing their experiments, the predominate feeling was one of excitement rather than sickness. Most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat.

　　55、what did the writer say about the plane？.

　　A It had no seats.

　　B It was painted white.

　　C It had no windows.

　　D The outside was misleading.

　　56.according to the writer, how did the young scientists feel before the flight？

　　A sick

　　B keen

　　C nervous

　　D impatient

　　57.According to the passage, what can be concluded about European Space Agency?

　　A. It produces air-planes

　　B. It sends invitations

　　C. It trains students from across the continents

　　D. It conducts imaginative experiments

　　58.what did the pilot do with the plane after it took off？

　　A He quickly climbed and then stopped the engines.

　　B He climbed and them made the plane fall slowly.

　　C He took off normally and then cut the engines for 20 seconds.

　　D He climbed and then made the plane turn over.

　　59.Acoording to the passage, the purpose of being weightless was to

　　A see what conditions bare like in space

　　B prepare the young scientists for future work in space

　　C show the judges of the competition what they could do

　　D make the teams try out their ideas

　　60.this passage was written to

　　A encourage young people to take up science

　　B describe the process of a scientific competition

　　C show scientists what young people can do

　　D report on a new scientific technique

　　点击查看更多同等学力申硕考试试题免费做！

　　编辑推荐：

　　2012同等学力申硕报名时间延长至3月31日

　　各地2012年同等学力申硕报名时间延长

　　2012年同等学力申请硕士学位报考指南

　　同等学力申硕流程图