Why have the Americans developed space shuttle according to the passage a. It is a first step to explore outer space. b. It is a follow-up action of the Apollo moon landings. c. It is a compromise to the exorbitant human expeditions to the Mars. d. It is a compensation for the wishful thinking of human landing on the Mars.
参考答案：C
解析：[听力原文]Ever since the Apollo moon landings, the idea of human expeditions to the Mars has come up repeatedly as the kind of grand adventures that would give focus, purpose, and inspirational lift to the space program. But confronted with the cost—estimated at $150 billion last week—presidents starting with Richard Nixon and others have flinched and resorted to halfway measures tike the shuttle.
[分析]： 因果关系的判断。 根据原文，人类梦想去火星探险，但是“confronted with the cost...presidents... have flinched and resorted to halfway measures like the shuttle”即“面临经费问题，美国总统们畏缩了，不得不做出妥协，先发展航天飞机”。由此可见，发展航天飞机只是人类去火星探险梦想的妥协。只有选项c符合这种判断，因此该项的说法是正确的。[解题关键] 掌握因果关系的表达法，可快速理解原文。文中使用了过去分词短语 (confronted with)的形式来表示因果关系。