Neil Armstrong took“one small step for man”when he stepped on the moon’s surface while worldfamous physicist Stephen Hawking took a “giant leap (跳跃)”for Earth’s physically disabled when he experienced eight rounds of weightlessness in what he saw as the first step in a personal goal to travel in space.
“It was amazing,”Hawking told reporters afterwards,using his wellknown computerized voice.“The zeroG part was wonderful,and the highG part was no problem.I could have gone on and on.I have long wanted to go into space,and the zerogravity flight is the first step towards space travel.”
Hawking is one of the bestknown scientists because of his bestselling works on the mysteries of black holes and the origins of the universe,and because of his increasing disability.He is almost completely paralyzed (瘫痪的) and can communicate only via facial gestures and a gesturecontrolled computer system.
Thursady’s flight was a test run to find out if Hawking is capable of a rocketpowered journey to the edge of outer space,perhaps aboard the spaceship now being developed for Virgin Galactic.That craft is due to enter service in 2009 or so,and taking such a flight would check off what Hawking has said is his“next step”.“He would have flown more if we let him,”said Noah McMahon,one of Hawking’s coaches.“He was all smiles all the time.”
Zero Gravity had originally planned to bring Hawking back to NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility here after six upsanddowns.Hawking’s performance showed well for more tests.Zero Gravity Corp.cofounder Peter Diamandis said Hawking experienced the flight better than his physicians had expected.He noted that the four minutes Hawking spent in weightlessness was about as much time as he would spend in zeroG during a space flight.
By saying“Stephen Hawking took a‘giant leap’” in the first paragraph,the writer means __________.
A.ordinary people can not do what Hawking did |
B.Stephen Hawking managed to jump by himself |
C.it is not easy for a disabled person like Hawking |
D.Hawking has finished almost all that is needed to do |
The underlined word“zeroG”in Paragraph 2 probably refers to __________.
A.space travel |
B.zerogravity |
C.a personal goal |
D.the first step |
Which of the following would the writer probably agree?
A.Hawking was one of the workers in Zero Gravity Company. |
B.McMahon was not satisfied with what Hawking did in this test. |
C.Peter Diamandis bought a spaceship for Hawking to travel in space. |
D.Hawking would spend in zeroG during a space flight for 4 minutes. |
The text mainly wants to tell us _________.
A.Hawking takes a “giant leap”for Earth’s disabled |
B.a spaceship will be sent into space before long |
C.what Neil Armstrong had experienced in space |
D.common people can also experience space flights |