An experimental solar-powered plane landed sa...

An experimental solar-powered plane landed safely Thursday after completing its first 24-hour test flight, proving that the aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay aloft(在空中) all night.

Pilot Andre Borschberg eased the Solar Impulse onto the runway at Payerne airfield about 30 miles southwest of the Swiss capital Bern at exactly 9 a.m. (3 a.m. EDT) Thursday. Helpers rushed to stabilize the pioneering plane as it touched down, ensuring that its massive 207-foot wingspan didn't scrape the ground and topple(倾倒) the craft.

The record feat(壮举) completes seven years of planning and brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its goal of circling the globe using only energy from the sun. ‘We achieved more than we wanted. Everybody is extremely happy,’ Borschberg told reporters after landing.

Previous flights included a brief ‘flea hop’ and a longer airborne test earlier this year, but this week's attempt was described as a ‘milestone’ by the team. The team said it had now demonstrated that the single-seat plane can theoretically stay in the air indefinitely, recharging its depleted batteries using 12,000 solar cells and nothing but the rays of the sun during the day. But while the team said this proves that emissions-free air travel is possible, it doesn't see solar technology replacing conventional jet propulsion(喷气推进) any time soon. Instead, the project's overarching purpose is to test and promote new energy-efficient technologies.

Project co-founder Bertrand Piccard, himself a record-breaking balloonist, said many people had been skeptical that renewable energy could ever be used to take a man into the air and keep him there. ‘It’s a matter of time that people come to believe and understand about renewable energies,’Piccard said, adding that the flight was proof that new technologies can help break society's dependence on fossil fuels.

The team will now set its sights on an Atlantic crossing, before attempting a round-the-world flight in 2013, making only five stops along the way. ‘It's absolutely not time to relax,’ said Piccard.

Title: A 1. __________ in solar-powered flight and its background information

高三英语其他题简单题查看答案及解析

We all sighed with ________ relief when ________ plane finally landed safely.

A．a; /      B．/; the

C．a; a      D．a; the

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

We all sighed with ________ relief when ________plane finally landed safely.

A．a;不填            B．不填;the          C．a;a               D．a;the

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

--- What has become of the spaceship?

--- It landed ______.

A. safely but broken        B. safe but has broken                C. safely but was broken             D. safe but broken

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Being able to land safely is a critically important skill for all flying animals. Whereas terrestrial animals face no particular challenge when they need to stop running or crawling, flying animals move at much higher speeds, and they must be careful about how they land. Hitting the ground, or even water, at full flight speed would be quite dangerous. Before touching down, they must decrease their speed in order to land safely. Both bats and birds have mastered the skill of landing, but these two types of flyers go about it quite differently.

In the past it was believed that, in terms of flying mechanics, there was little difference between bats and birds. This belief was based only on assumption, however, because for years nobody had actually studied in detail how bats move their wings. In recent years, though, researchers have discovered a number of interesting facts about bat flight. Bats are built differently from birds, and their wings incorporate(结合) both their front and hind limbs (后肢). This makes their limbs working together more difficult for bats and, as a result, they are not very good at flying over longer distances. However, a bat can quickly change its direction of flight or completely reverse it, something a bird cannot easily do.

Another interesting characteristic of bat flight is the way in which bats land—upside down! Unlike birds, which touch down on the ground or on tree branches, bats can be observed flying around and then suddenly hanging upside down from an object overhead. How do they do it? A group of researchers recently used video cameras to film bats landing on nets suspended from the ceiling of their laboratory and studied the recordings in slow motion. They painted spots on the bats’ wings to see in detail what happens to the wings in flight and during touchdown. It turns out that the bats flew in a straight line up to the net and then quickly flipped over and attached themselves to it upside down. One disadvantage to this landing routine is that the bats often slam into their landing spot with some force, which probably causes pain. However, not all bats hit their landing spots with the same speed and force; these will vary depending on the area where a bat species makes its home. For example, a cave bat, which regularly rests on a hard stone ceiling, is more careful about its landing preparation than a bat more accustomed to landing in leafy treetops.

1.In line 1, the word terrestrial is closest in meaning to _______.

A. high-flying B. fast-moving C. tree-climbing D. ground-living

2.According to the passage, what skill is crucial for flying animals?

A. Diving underwater.

B. Slowing down to land.

C. Flying over great distances.

D. Balancing on high branches.

3.According to the passage, what is an advantage that bats have over birds?

A. Bats can land on a greater variety of surfaces.

B. Bats can turn in the air more quickly.

C. Bats can eat while flying.

D. Bats are lighter.

4.What is the main topic of the passage?

A. Places where flying animals choose to land.

B. Why scientists have difficulty observing bats.

C. Differences in the eating habits of bats and birds.

D. Ways in which bats move differently from birds.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Had the US Airways captain not guided his jet to a safe landing on the Hudson River, just west of New York, over 100 people aboard ______, along with many more on the ground.

A. might have died                                            B. needn’t have died

C. must die                                                               D. shouldn’t die

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Landing safely in bad weather is a _______ task for any pilot, and even the smallest error can lead to a disaster.

A. tricky                                B. secure                              C. significant                        D. easy

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

An experimental cleanup device called RemoveDEBRIS has successfully cast a net around a dummy (仿真的) satellite, imitating a technique that could one day collect spaceborne garbage.

The test, which was carried out this week, is widely believed to be the first successful demonstration of space cleanup technology, experts told CNN. And it symbolizes an early step toward solving what has already been a critical issue: junk in space.

Millions of pieces of junk are turning around in orbit, the result of 50 years of space travel and few regulations to keep space clean. At orbital speeds, even a small bit of paint crashing with a satellite can cause critical damage.

Various companies have plans to send thousands of new satellites into low-Earth orbit, already the most crowded area.

The RemoveDEBRIS experiment is run by a company and researchers led by the U. K.’s Surrey Space Center and includes Airbus, Airbus-owned Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and France’s ArianeGroup.

Guglielmo Aglietti, the director of Surrey Space Center, said that an operational version of the RemoveDEBRlS technology would cast a net that remains fastened to the main satellite so the debris can be dragged out of orbit. It could target large pieces of junk, including dead satellites up to 10 meters long.

The RemoveDEBRIS satellite will conduct a few more experiments in the coming months, including testing navigation features that could help guide the satellite to a specific piece of debris.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the success of this week’s experiment was exciting, but he cautioned against “over- publicizing” it.

There are still enormous barriers to clear before operational cleanup tasks are underway, he said, and the most discouraging is figuring out how to fund such projects.

Aglietti, the Surrey professor who helped lead the RemoveDEBRIS project, said “The challenge will lie in persuading the relevant authorities to sponsor these tasks.” Aglietti said he hopes RemoveDEBRIS will conduct a few cleanup tasks per year, targeting the largest pieces of junk in the most crowded orbits.

1.What is the use of the RemoveDEBRIS satellite?

A. Demonstrating space technology.

B. Imitating a developing technique.

C. Collecting wastes existing in space.

D. Symbolizing great progress in space.

2.How does the RemoveDEBRlS satellite work?

A. By throwing a net to take the junk from orbit.

B. By fastening it to the main satellite tightly.

C. By dragging satellites up to 10 meters long.

D. By targeting large pieces of junk carefully.

3.What does the underlined word “sponsor” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A. Accomplish. B. Support. C. Oppose. D. Provide.

4.What’s the best title for the text?

A. The RemoveDEBRIS Project Is Perfect

B. How RemoveDEBRIS Is Invented in the Lab

C. Why the RemoveDEBRIS Satellite Is Invented

D. Satellite Collects Space Junk for the First Time

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Before the first nonstop flight made in 1949, it_____ necessary for all planes to land for refueling.

A．would be          B．has been          C．had been          D．would have been

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

On April 10, 2010, the Polish presidential plane did not ________ to the runway while landing. It hit the treetops and fell apart.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析