10．Science flying in the face of gravity
It looked just like another aircraft from the outside．The pilot told his young passengers that it was built in 1964，based on the 707．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 from floor to ceiling，there were almost no windows，but lights along the padded walls eerily illuminated（照明）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 apprehension．
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 Boeing's flight resembled that of an enormous bird which had lost its reason，shooting upwards towards the heavens before hurtling towards Earth．The intention was to achieve weightlessness for a few second．
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 became confused and left or right，up or down no longer had any meaning．After 10 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 conducted its experiment．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 it could be used for building a future space station．
After two hours of going up and down in the plane doing their experiments，most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat．
46．What does the underlined word"eerily"in Paragraph 2 mean？B
A．clearly B．strangely C．badly D．brightly
47．Why was this text written？D
A．To report on a new scientific technique．
B．To show scientists what young people can do．
C．To encourage young people to take up science．
D．To describe the outcome of a scientific competition．
48．What did the pilot do with the plane？C
A．He climbed and then made the plane turn over．
B．He climbed and then made the plane fall slowly．
C．He quickly climbed and then stopped the engines．
D．He took off normally and then cut the engines for 20 seconds．
49．What was the point of being weightless？B
A．To see what conditions are like in space．
B．To allow the teams to try out their ideas．
C．To prepare the young scientists for future work in space．
D．To show unforgettable experiences for the young scientists．
分析 本文描述的是富有想象力的實驗是在失重的條件下進(jìn)行的，旨在講述一個科學(xué)競賽的結(jié)果，讓學(xué)生們產(chǎn)生新的想法．
解答 BDCB
46．B 推斷題．由第三段第二句"there were almost no windows"可知，沒有窗戶，卻有燈，所以燈的設(shè)置是奇怪的，即燈奇怪地照著它．strangely"奇怪地"，clearly"清楚地"，badly"非常"，brightly"明亮地；鮮明地"，只有B項符合題意，故正確答案為B．
47．D 主旨題．由第四段第一句"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．"和最后一段最后一句"most of the students thought it was an unforgettable experience and one they would be keen to repeat．"可知，本文旨在描述一個科學(xué)競賽的結(jié)果，只有D項符合題意，故正確答案為D．
48．C 細(xì)節(jié)題．由倒數(shù)第三段前兩句中"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．"可知，飛行員快速上升然后停止發(fā)動機，只有C項符合題意，故正確答案為C．
49．B 細(xì)節(jié)題．由第四段最后一句"The challenge had been to suggest imaginative experiments to be conducted in weightless conditions．"可知，富有想象力的實驗是在失重的條件下進(jìn)行的，故失重的目的是為了讓學(xué)生們產(chǎn)生新的想法，只有B項符合題意，故正確答案為B．
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