Astronauts aboard the space station celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine(尿), sweat and water got from air. They said "cheers," clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground.
The urine recycling system is needed for astronaut stations on the moon and Mars. It also will have NASA money because it won’t have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttles or cargo rockets. Besides, it’s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six.
The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November by space shuttles Endeavour, but it couldn’t be used until samples(样品) were tested back on earth. So when it came time to actually drink up, NASA made a big deal of it. The three-man crew stood holding their drinks and congratulated engineers in two NASA centres that worked on the system.
“This is something that had been the stuff of science fiction,” American astronaut Michael Barratt said before taking a small mouthful. “The taste is worth trying.”
The new system takes the combined urine of the crew from the toilet, moves it to a big tank, where the water is boiled off, and the vapor(水蒸气) is collected. The rest of the urine is thrown away. Then the water vapor is mixed with water from air, and then it goes through filters (过滤器). When six crew members are aboard it can make about six gallons from urine in about six hours.
“Some people may find the idea of drinking recycled urine distasteful, but it is also done on earth, but with a lot longer time between urine and the tap,” said Marybeth Edeen, the space station’s national lab manager.
The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami.
小题1: According to the text, the recycling system is important because ___________.
A．it makes traveling to the moon for the average person possible
B．with it NASA won’t need to ship any water up the space station
C．it can help meet the need for more water after the crew is expanded
D．it protects the environment in space by reducing the amount of waste小题2:What’s the RIGHT time order of the following events?
a. The samples of the recycled water were tested on earth.
b. Astronauts celebrated the space first of making water from urine
c. The recycling system was brought up to the space station.
d. The technology for the system was used to quickly purify water.
A．a, d, c, b
B．a, c, b, d
C．d, a, c, b
D．d, c, a, b小题3:From Para. 5 we can know ____________.
A．the theory behind the recycling system
B．the effect of the recycling system
C．the process of recycling urine
D．an opinion on recycling urine小题4:What did Edeen say about recycled urine and the recycling system?
A．The taste of recycled urine is not as good as that of common water.
B．The recycling system has made a science fiction story come true.
C．The idea of drinking recycled urine makes astronauts feel unpleasant.
D．It takes a longer time on earth to make water from urine than in space.小题5:What is the best title for the passage?
A．The Research of NASA Has Made Great Progress.
B．New Technology Is Used in the Space Station.
C．Drink up: Space Station Recycles Urine to Water.
D．Good News: Water Recycled from Urine Tastes Good
