The ISS project is a partnership of five - the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
At the moment, no program for its use nor any money has been put in place to support the platform beyond 2015.
One of the biggest issues stopping an agreement on station-life extension（延长期） is the human spaceflight examination ordered by US President Barack Obama.
The Americans are developing a new vision for space exploration, and the rockets and spacecraft they will need to start it. The future of US joining in the ISS is closely tied to the result of the examination.
Mr Dordain, the European Space Agency's (Esa) Director General, said no one partner in the ISS project could alone call an end to the platform. A meeting would be held in Japan later in the year where he hoped the partners could get something clearly going forward. He said it was also necessary the benefits（成效） were increased and the costs were reduced. Increasing the benefits could include finding new uses for the station.
Esa has called for ideas on how to use the ISS as a platform for Earth observation（观测站）. Mr Dordain said the agency had received about 20 very good proposals.
On the issue of reducing costs, there were many ideas on the table, he explained.
He also questioned whether it was necessary for the station to have six astronauts at all times. If there were periods when little maintenance（维修） was required or the experiment load was light, could the ISS run on a smaller group of people, he suggested.
Construction of the space station should finish this year. Next month, two components built in Europe - a connecting node and a robotic control room - will be flown to the platform by the US shuttle Endeavour.
Tranquility and the Cupola, as they are known, will complete the non-Russian side of the ISS.
小题1:Why will America joining in the ISS be tied to the result of the examination?
A．Because America is the greatest power among them
B．Because America provides most of the money
C．Because they need America’s rockets and spacecraft
D．Because Obama ordered the human spaceflight examination小题2:According to Mr Dordain, how should they do to reduce costs?
A．To find new uses for the station
B．To make little maintenance
C．To reduce the experiment load
D．To have fewer astronauts sometimes小题3:Where do you think you can read this passage?
A．In a story book
B．In a handbook
C．In an advertisement
D．In a newspaper
小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:D
题目分析：这是新闻报道，报导了国际空间站协议将停止，原因是对飞船和火箭进行检测，从而决定是否继续这个项目。
小题1:细节题：从第三段的句子：The Americans are developing a new vision for space exploration, and the rockets and spacecraft they will need to start it.可知他们需要美国的火箭和飞船。选 C
小题2:细节题：从第五段的句子：On the issue of reducing costs, there were many ideas on the table, he explained. He also questioned whether it was necessary for the station to have six astronauts at all times.可知减少宇航员是是减少太空站开销的方法。选D
小题3:这是一篇新闻报道，应该是报纸上的文章。选D
点评：这类阅读理解要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系，对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断；或根据作者所阐述的观点理论，对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释。考生首先要仔细阅读短文，完整了解信息，准确把握作者观点。