Question

However exciting space travel sounds, astronauts must still suffer with bad food. Now, food in space has to be dehydrated（使脫水）or pre-cooked and stored. This means astronauts aren't really eating fresh food.

New technology may change this. Scientific American reports that a specially-designed oven will be sent into space this autumn with NASA's NG-12 cargo（貨物）.Far from the common vacuum-packed（真空包裝的）meals, astronauts may get to enjoy freshly baked cookies before the end of 2019.

Why aren't they baking cookies in space already?

For one thing, there's the risk of a fire. Engineers also have to overcome the challenge of microgravity, which prevents heat from circling inside ovens the same way it does on Earth.

Astronauts will still have to wait a while before they can have their cookies, though. After baking, the results will be sent back to Earth for safety testing. If successful, this will be the first oven to bake food in space.

“I believe…that will be game-changing for both science and astronauts, ”food technology researcher Maeena Naman Shafiee told Scientific American.

One of the main driving forces behind this project has been NASA's 2018 research into the effects of " confinement（封閉）and isolation（隔離）”. Unlike on the International Space Station（ISS）, astronauts traveling out of Earth's orbit may not be able to speak to their loved ones on future missions, which could lead to negative feelings.

It's hoped that the chance to bake and sense familiar smells can bring joy to crews（宇航人員）.

“Is the ISS going to smell like fresh-baked cookies? We don't know, ”said NanoRacks' communications manager Abby Dickes. “But that's a feeling we all know and love…that will make someone feel at home.”

Baking cookies in space would mark an important step, offering a small comfort in the difficult and unfamiliar environment of space travel. Astronauts have already grown plants aboard the ISS.

With commercial（商業(yè)的）space travel now being planned, who knows what other developments may surprise us in the future

1.What can the new technology help astronauts to do in space?

A.Store more food. B.Enjoy fresh cookies.

C.Quickly prepare food. D.Cook many different kinds of home-made meals.

2.Why is it difficult to bake cookies in space?

A.Because it's difficult and costly to send food into space.

B.Because microgravity stops food from staying in one place.

C.Because baking cookies in space would pollute the spaceships.

D.Because it is hard to heat food properly because of microgravity.

3.What was the main purpose of the cookie project?

A.To improve astronauts' health. B.To make improvements in space travel.

C.To encourage more people to travel to space. D.To make space travel more comfortable for astronauts.

Answer 1