中考英语复习-九年级短文阅读6.pdf

中考英语复习九年级短文阅读61.Space Travel for Common PeopleOn the night of September 15,a group of four common people from the USA went into space.Itwas the first space mission with no professional astronauts.The trip lasted three days.The mission,called Inspiration4,was the idea of Jared Isaacman,who paid the company SpaceXfor the trip.Isaacman has long been interested in flying.He is a businessman and pilot.Isaacman was joined by Dr.Sian Proctor,51,a college professor who was nearly chosen to be aNASA astronaut in 2009.Another member was Hayley Arceneaux,29,a cancer survivor.She is theyoungest American to fly into space,and also the first person with a prosthetic body part to gointo space.Also along with them was Chris Sembroski,42,a lifelong space fan who joined theteam as a raffle winner.The four members were carried into space in a Crew Dragon capsule.It had a huge window thatoffered them 360 views outside the capsule.The capsule traveled about 360 miles above theearth.Thats about 90 miles higher than the International Space Station.Whats more,the wholemission was run automatically.The four members didnt need to do anything.The Inspiration4 mission is seen as the beginning of space travel for common tourists.Though itcosts far too much to fly into space now,many people are optimistic about the future price ofspace travel.Air travel used to be very expensive,but now its affordable for many people,isntit?2.Isnt That How Great Things Are Done?Plastic pollution has become a serious problem in Kenya.Instead of sitting around and waiting forthe government to solve all the problems with plastic pollution,a woman decided to take action.Nzambi Matee,a materials engineer;started Gjenge Makers Ltd.in Nairobi,Kenya.The companycollects plastic waste and uses it to create bricks that are seven times as strong as concrete butweigh half as much.Even better,the bricks are cheaper than traditional bricks,costing only abouta tenth as much.These special bricks are being used to make driveways,sidewalks and roads,but Nzambis goal isto create some that can be used in buildings one day.In fact,her company is already making ahuge difference.Z/We right now can produce 1,000 to 1,500 bricks a day/Nzambi said.So far wehave recycled over 20 tons of plastic waste,and we are looking to push that to 50 tons by the endof 2022.While part of Gjenge Makers goal is to reduce plastic pollution first in Kenya and then in Africa asa whole,their long-term goal is greater.According to Nzambi,they want to encourage otherpeople,especially the youth,to do similar things in different places.Achieving the goals wont be easy.In fact,just starting a company with such great dreams washard.But rather than waiting until she felt completely ready,Nzambi simply got started.Isntthat how great things are done?she said.3.The Phone of the WindIn the Japanese town of Otsuchi,a white telephone booth sits in a garden on top of a hill.Thephone booth,which has been known as the Phone of the Wind,serves a surprising purpose ithelps people deal with sadness.The Phone of the Wind was built by Itaru Sasaki,a garden designer.In 2010,Sasaki set up thephone in his garden as a way to speak to his cousin who had passed away from cancer.Althoughthe phone inside the booth was disconnected,Sasaki felt as if it allowed him to connect with hiscousin.Because my thoughts couldnt be sent over a common phone line,I wanted them to becarried by the wind/he said.In 2011,a tsunami hit northeastern Japan and killed over 15,000 people,including about 10percent of Otsuchis population.To help the many people who had lost family members orfriends in the tsunami,Sasaki decided to open his telephone booth to the public.The phone gavepeople a chance to say all the things they never got a chance to say to their loved ones.Anotebook could also be found inside the booth in which people could write messages for theirloved ones.Since then,the telephone booth has helped countless people deal with loss.Sasakis Phone of the Wind has inspired others around the world.In 2017,an artist in California,USA set up a phone after his friend and 35 others died in a fire.Earlier this year,a similar phonewas set up on Colorados Aspen Mountain for people who lost loved ones in the COVID-19pandemic.Loss is a natural part of the human experience.When we lose someone close to us,it weighs onus for the rest of our lives.Creations like Sasakis Phone of the Wind help make it a little bit easierto carry that burden.4.She Is FantasticAs the saying goes,its never too old to learn.Peng Shengwu,a grandmother who is still learningEnglish at 80 years old,is a good example.Peng was a math teacher at a middle school in Yueyang,Hunan Province before she retired.Sheknew little about English.She began to learn it because of her grandson Tang Kaifeng.Tang hashearing problems,so he had trouble learning languages.In order to help him with his Englishstudies,Peng began to go to his English classes with him when he was five years old.At first,Tang was too shy to speak.To encourage him,his grandmother would often make simpleEnglish dialogues with him at home.Slowly,the boy became confident.He and his grandmotheroften greeted each other in English.Peng helped Tang with his English till middle school.Duringthis period of time,she developed a strong interest in English and kept learning it by herself.In2015,she entered a local university for older people.According to her English teacher at the university,Peng is passionate about English.She takeshomework seriously and often raises questions after class.She seldom asks for leave/said theteacher.Some students are shy about practicing English dialogues and Peng often offers tohelp.Its not easy for people her age to learn a new language.In order to memorize new English words,Peng sticks cards with English words or sentences on the wall or carries them in her pocket whengoing out.In this way,she can memorize them while walking or riding a bus.She also likes tolisten to English while cooking.Learning makes Peng happy.For her;learning English is a healthy exercise for the brain.She is arole model for us all!