大学英语六级仔细阅读专项强化真题试卷7

大学英语六级仔细阅读专项强化真题试

卷7

一、仔细阅读（本题共25题，每题7.0分，共25分。）

Economicinequalityisthe"definingchallengeofourtime."PresidentBarackObama

declaredinaspeechlastmonthtotheCenterforAmericanProgress.Inequalityis

dangerous,heargued,notmerelybecauseitdoesn'tlookgoodtohavealargegap

betweentherichandthepoor,butbecauseinequalityitselfdestroysupwardmobility,

makingitharderforthepoortoescapefrompoverty."Increasedinequalityand

decreasingmobilityposeafundamentalthreattotheAmericanDream,"hesaid.Obama

isonlythemostprominentpublicfiguretodeclareinequalityPublicEnemyNo.1and

（hegreatestthreattoreducingpovertyinAmerica.Anumberofprominenteconomists

havealsoarguedthatit'sharderfbr（hepoortoclimbtheeconomicladdertodaybecause

therungs（横档）inthatladderhavegrownfartherapart.ForaEthenewattentiondevoted

tothe1percent,anewdatasetfromtheEqualityofOpportunityProjectatHarvardand

Berkeleysuggeststhat,ifwccareaboutupwardmobilityoverall,we'revastly

exaggeratingthedangersoftherich-poorgap.Inequalityitselfisnotaparticularlystrong

predictorofeconomicmobility,associologistScottWinshipnotedinarecentarticle

basedonhisanalysisofthisdata.Sowhatfactors,atthecommunitylevel,dopredictif

poorchildrenwillmoveuptheeconomicladderasadults?whatexplains,fbrinstance,

whytheSaltLakeCitymetroareaisoneofthe100largestmetropolitanareasmostlikely

（oliftthefortunesofthepoorandtheAtlantametroareaisoreoftheleastlikely?

HarvardeconomistRajChettyhaspointedtoeconomicandracialsegregation,

communitydensity,thesizeofacommunity'smiddleclass,thequalityofschools,

communityreligiosity,andfamilystructure,whichhecallsthe"singlestrongestcorrelate

ofupwardmobility."ChettyfindsthatcommunitieslikeSaltLakeCity,withhighlevels

oftwo-parentfamiliesandreligiosity,arcmuchmorelikelytoseepoorchildrenget

aheadthancommunitieslikeAtlanta,withhighlevelsofracialandeconomic

segregation.Chettyhasnotyetissuedacomprehensiveanalysisoftherelativepredictive

powerofeachofthesefactors.Basedonmyanalysesofthedata,ofthefactorsthat

Chettyhashighlighted,thefollowingthreeseemtobemostpredictiveofupward

mobilityinagivencommunity:1.Per-capita（人均）incomegrowth2.Prevalenceof

singleniothcrs（wherecorrelationisstrong,butnegative）3.Pcr-capitalocalgovernment

spendingInotherwords,communitieswithhighlevelsofpcr-capitaincomegrowth,high

percentagesoftwo-parentfamilies,andhighlocalgovernmentspending—whichmay

standforgoodschools—arcthemostlikelytohelppoorchildrenreliveHoratioAlger's

rags-to-richesstory.

1、HowdoesObamavieweconomicinequality?

A、Itisthebiggestobstaclelosocialmobility.

B、Itisthegreatestthreattosocialstability.

C、ItistheNo.Ienemyofincomegrowth.

D、Itisthemostmalicioussocialevilofourtime.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句提到，奥巴马把不公平称为“我们这个时代决定

性的挑战”，并指出不公平之所以危险是因为它破坏了社会阶层的提升，令贫困者

难以摆脱贫困，故答案为A）。

2、WhatdowelearnabouttheinequalitygapfromScottWiiiship'sdataanalysis?

A^ItisfastwideningacrossmostpartsofAmerica.

B、Itisnotareliableindicatorofeconomicmobility.

C、Itisnotcorrectlyinterpreted.

D、Itisoverwhelminglyignored.

标准答案：B

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出，不公平本身并不是社会流动性的强预警信

号，也就是说不公平不是社会流动性的可靠指标，后文还论证并列举了与社会活动

性相关度较高的若干因素，故答案为B）。

3、ComparedwithAtlanta,metropolitanSaltLakeCityissaidto.

A、haveplacedreligiousbeliefsabovepartypolitics

B、havebridgedthegapbetweentherichandthepoor

C、offerpoorchildrenmorechancestoclimbthesocialladder

D、sufferfromhigherlevelsofracialandeconomicsegregation

标准答案：C''

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出，像盐湖城这样兼具双亲的虔诚宗教家庭比

例较高的社区，比亚特兰大那种种族和经济隔离程度高的社区更能为贫困孩子提供

上升机会，可见，它能为贫困孩子提供更多攀登社会阶梯的机会，故答案为C）。

4、Whatisstronglycorrelatedwithsocialmobilityaccording（oeconomistRajChetty?

A、Familystructure.

B、Racialequality.

C、Schooleducation.

D、Communitydensity.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：事实细节题。根据定位句可知，在查蒂提到的若干影响社会活动性的

I大I素中，家庭结构是“社会阶层提升的唯一强相关因素”，故答案为A）。

5、Whatdoestheauthorseemtosuggest?

A、Itisimportanttoincreasethesizeofthemiddleclass.

B、Itishighlyimportanttoexpandthemetropolitanareas.

C、Itismostimperativetofocusoureffortsontheeliminationofincomeinequality.

D^Itisbettertostartfrom（hecommunitytohelppoorchildrenmoveupthesocial

ladder.

标准答案：D

知识点解析：推理判断题。从定位段中可看出，作者提到如何帮助穷苦孩子提高社

会经济地位时，一直都是从社区层面进行分析的，前文也多次有类似的提示，故答

案为D）。

Onehundredyearsago,"Colored"wasthetypicalwayofreferringtoAmericansof

Africandescent.Twentyyearslater,itwaspurposefullydroppedtomakewayfor

"Negro."Bythelate1960s,thattermwasovertakenby"Black,"Andthen,atapress

conferenceinChicagoin1988,JesseJacksondeclaredthat"AfricanAmerican"wasthe

termtoembrace.Thisonewaschosenbecauseitechoedthelabelsofgroups,suchas

"ItalianAmericans"and"IrishAmericans,*'thathadalreadybeenfreedofwidespread

discrimination.Acentury'sworthofcalculatednamechangespointtothefactthat

naminganygroupisapoliticallyfreightedexercise.A2001studycatalogedalltheways

inwhichtheterm"Black"carriedconnolalions（涵义）lhalweremorenegativethan（hose

of"AfricanAmerican."Butifitwasknownthat"Black"peoplewerevieweddifferently

from"AfricanAmericans,"researchers,untilnow,hadn'tidentifiedwhatthatgapin

perceptionwasderivedfrom.Arecentstudy,conductedbyEnioryUniversity'sErika

Hall,foundthat"Black"peopleareviewedmorenegativelythan"AfricanAmericans"

becauseofaperceiveddifferenceinsocioeconomicstatus.Asaresult,"Black"peopleare

thoughtofaslesscompetentandashavingcolderpersonalities.Thestudy'smoststriking

findingsshedlightontheracialbiasespermeatingtheprofessionalworld.Even

seeminglyharmlessdetailsonaresume,itappears,cantapintorecruiters'biases.Ajob

applicationmightmentionaffiliationswithgroupssuchasthe"WisconsinAssociationof

African-AmericanLawyers"orthe"NationalBlackEmployeesAssociation,"thenames

ofwhichapparentlyhaveconsequences,andarealsobeyondiheirmembers'control.In

oneofthestudy'sexperiments,subjectsweregivenabriefdescriptionofamanfrom

Chicagowith（helastnameWilliams.Toonegroup,hewasidentifiedas"African-

American,"andanotherwas（oldhewas"Black."Withlittleelsetogoon.theywere

askedtoestimateMr.Williams'ssalary,professionalstanding,andeducational

background.The"African-American"groupestimatedthatheearnedabout$37.000a

yearandhadatwo-yearcollegedegree.The"Black"group,ontheotherhand,puthis

salaryaiabout$29,000,andguessedthathehadonly"some"collegeexperience.Nearly

three-quartersofthefirstgroupguessedthatMr.Williamsworkedatamanageriallevel,

whileonly38.5percentofthesecondgroupthoughtso.Hall'sfindingssuggestthere'san

argumenttobemadeforelectingtouse"AfricanAmerican,"thoughonecan'thelpbut

getthesensethatit'sadecisionthatpapersovertheurgencyofcontinuedprogress.

Perhapsanewphraseisneeded,onethatcanbringeveryoneonebigstepcloserto

realizingDuBois'soriginal,idealistichope:"It'snotthename——it'stheThingthatcounts,

tl

6、WhydidJesseJacksonembracetheterm"AfricanAmerican"forpeopleofAfrican

descent?

A、Itisfreefromracialbiases.

B、Itrepresentssocialprogress.

C、ItisintheinterestofcommonAmericans.

D^Itfollowsthestandardnamingpractice.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出杰克逊选中“非洲裔美国人''这个称谓，是因

为它和“意大利裔美国人''和"爱尔兰裔美国人''这些己经摆脱种族歧视的群体的称谓

相仿，寄托着摆脱种族歧视的希望，故答案为A）。

7、Wha（doestheauthorsayabout（henamingofanethnicgroup?

A^Itadvanceswiththetimes.

B、Itisbasedonracialroots.

C、Itmeritsintensivestudy.

D、Itispoliticallysensitive.

标准答案：D

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出，美国黑人称谓历经一个世纪的变化表明了

一个事实，那就是给一个群体命名是承载着政治意义的行为，故答案为D）。

8、WhatdoErikaHalTsfindingsindicate?

A、Racialbiasesarewidespreadintheprofessionalworld.

B、Manyapplicantsdon'tattendtodetailsontheirresumes.

C、Jobseekersshouldallbecarefulabouttheiraffiliations.

D、Mostrecruitersareunable（ocontroltheirracialbiases.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，艾丽卡・霍尔的研究结果揭示了种族偏见

一经渗透到了职业领域，permeating与widespread意义相近，故答案为A）。

9、WhatdoesErikaHallfindinherexperimentaboutamanwiththelastname

Williams?

A、AfricanAmericansfarebetterthanmanyotherethnicgroups.

B、Blackpeople'ssocioeconomicstatusinAmericaremainslow.

C^People'sconceptionofapersonhasmuchtodowiththewayheorsheislabeled.

One'sprofessionalstandingandincomearerelatedtotheireducationalbackground.

标准答案：C

知识点解析：推理判断题。从定位段落可以看出，同一个人被冠以“非洲裔美国人”

和“黑人”的不同称谓时，会引发人们对他的经济社会地位和教育背景的不同联想，

可见人们对一个人的看法与其称谓大有关联，故答案为C）。

10、WhatisDr.DuBois'sideal?

A、AllAmericansenjoyequalrights.

B、Apersonisjudgedbytheirworth.

C、AnewtermiscreatedtoaddressAfricanAmericans.

D、Allethnicgroupssharethenation'scontinuedprogress.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：定位句提到杜博斯的理想：,•称谓不重要，事物本身力重要这个理

想里面，Thing很关键。文章第二段提到，给任何一个群体命名都是一种承载着政

治意义的活动。从全篇来看，对非洲裔美国人称谓的每次变化，都体现了对racial

bias（种族歧视）的弱化。可是文章最后，作者提到，anewphraseisneeded（需要一个

新词汇），这说明作者认为“AfricanAmerican”这个提法还不合适，还需要不断的改

进。再结合杜博斯的话，”称谓不重要，事物本身才重要”。美国政府不断更换称谓

就是为了消除种族歧视，而种族歧视的根源就是美国人没有真正地实现全民平等，

所以由此得出，杜博斯的理想就是：所有美国人都享有平等的权利，故答案为

A）。

Acrosstheboard,Americancollegesanduniversitiesarenotdoinguverygoodjobof

preparingtheirstudentsfortheworkplaceortheirpost-graduationlives.Thiswasmade

clearbytheworkoftwosociologists,RichardArumandJosipaRoksa.In2011they

releasedalandmarkstudytitled"AcademicallyAdrift,"whichdocumentedthelackof

intellectualgrowthexperiencedbymanypeopleenrolledincollege.Inparticular,Arum

andRoksafound,collegestudentswerenotdevelopingthecriticalthinking,analytic

reasoningandotherhigher-levelskillsthatarenecessarytothriveintoday'sknowledge­

basedeconomyandtoleadournationinatimeofcomplexchallengesanddynamic

change.ArumandRoksaplacedtheblameforstudents'lackoflearningonawatered-

downcollegecurriculumandloweredundergraduateworkstandards.Althoughgoingto

collegeissupposedtobeafull-timejob,studentsspent,onaverage,only12to14hoursa

weekstudyingandmanywereskatingthroughtheirsemesterswithoutdoingasignificant

amountofreadingandwriting.Studentswhotakemorechallengingclassesandspend

moretimestudyingdolearnmore.Buttheprioritiesofmanyundergraduatesarewith

extracurricularactivities,playingsports,andpartyingandsocializing.LauraHamilton,

theauthorofastudyonparentswhopayforcollege,willargueinaforthcomingbook

thatcollegeadministrationsarcoverlyconcernedwiththesocialandathleticactivitiesof

theirstudents.InPayingfortheParty,Hamiltondescribeswhatshecallsthe"party

pathway,'1whicheasesmanystudentsthroughcollege,helpedalongbyvariousclubsthat

sendstudentsintothepartysceneandahostofeasiermajors.Bysanctioningthis

watered-downversionofcollege,universitiesare"cateringtothesocialandeducational

needsofwealthystudentsattheexpenseofothers"whowon'tenjoy（hefinancialbacking

orsocialconnectionsofricherstudentsoncetheygraduate.Thesestudentsneedtobuild

skillsandknowledgeduringcollegeiftheyaretousetheirdegreesasastepping-stoneto

middle-classmobility.Butmoreprivilegedstudentsmustnotwastethisopportunity

either.Asrecentgraduatescantestify,thejobmarketisn'tkindtocandidateswhocan't

demonstrategenuinecompetence,alongwithawell-cultivatedwillingnesstoworkhard.

NoristheglobaleconomyforgivingofanAmericanworkforcewithincreasinglyweak

literacy,mathandscienceabilities.Collegegraduateswillstillfarebetterthanthosewith

onlyahighschooleducation,ofcourse.Butauniversitydegreeunaccompaniedbyagain

inknowledgeorskillsisanemptyachievementindeed.Forstudentswhohavebeen

coastingthroughcollege,andforAmericanuniversitiesthathavebeendemandingless

work,offeringmoreattractionsandcharginghighertuition,thepartymaysoonbeover.

11、WhatisArumandRoksa'sfindingabouthighereducationinAmerica?

A、Itaimsatstimulatingtheintellectualcuriosityofcollegestudents.

B、Itfailstopreparestudentstofacethechallengesofmodemtimes.

C、Ithasexperienceddramaticchangesinrecentyears.

D、Ithastriedhardtosatisfystudents'variousneeds.

标准答案：B

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，阿鲁姆和罗克萨发现，大学生没有培养批

判性思维、分析推理以及其他更高级的技能，而这些技能是在当今知识经济中取得

成功，以及在这个充满复杂挑战和瞬息万变的时代领导我们国家发展所必备的，由

此可见，美国高等教育没有让学生做好面对现代化挑战的准备，故答案为B）。

12、Whatisresponsiblefortliestudents'lackofhigher-levelskills?

A^Thedilutedcollegecurriculum.

B、Theboringclassroomactivities.

C、Theabsenceofrigorousdiscipline.

D、Theoutdatededucationalapproach.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出，“阿鲁姆和罗克萨把学生的学术不足归咎

于掺水的大学课程和较低的大学生学习标准”，由此可见，学生缺乏更高级的技能

是因为掺水的大学课程，故答案为A）。

13、WhatdoesLauraHamiltonsayaboutcollegeadministrations?

A、Theyfailtogiveadequatehelptotheneedystudents.

B、Theytendtooffertoomanylesschallengingcourses.

C、Theyseemtobeoutoftouchwithsociety.

D、Theyprioritizenon-academicactivities.

标准答案：D

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，劳拉・汉密尔顿认为大学的管理部门过于

关注其学生的社会和体育活动，由此可知，大学的管理部门优先安排非学术活动，

故答案为D）o

14>Whatcanbelearnedaboutthesociallyandfinanciallyprivilegedstudents?

A、Theytendtohaveasenseofsuperiorityovertheirpeers.

B、Theycanaffordtochooseeasiermajorsinordertoenjoythemselves.

C、Theyspendalotoftimebuildingstrongconnectionswithbusinesses.

D^Theycanclimbthesocialladderevenwithoutadegree.

标准答案：B

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，“聚会之路”使许多学生的大学毕业变得更

加容易，而各种让学生参加聚会的俱乐部以及大量更简单的专业也促成了这一点，

通过批准这种精简版本的学院，大学”正在迎合有钱学生的社会和教育需求，却以

牺牲其他学生为代价”，由此可知，享有社会和经济特权的学生为了享受人生而能

够选择较简单的专业，故答案为B）。

15、Whatdoes(heauthorsuggestinthelastparagraph?

A^Americanhighereducationhaslostitsglobalcompetitiveness.

B、PeopleshouldnotexpecttoomuchfromAmericanhighereducation.

C、ThecurrentsituationinAmericanhighereducationmaynotlastlong.

D、Itwilltakealongtimetochangethecurrenttrendinhighereducation.

标准答案：C

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，对于那些学习要求少，却提供更多诱惑并

收取更高学费的大学而言，聚会可能很快就会结束了，由此可知，美国高等教育的

现状不会持续太久了，故答案为C)。

Morethanadecadeago,cognitivescientistsJohnBransfordandDanielSchwartz,both

thenatVanderbiltUniversity,foundthatwhatdistinguishedyoungadultsfromchildren

wasnottheabilitytoretainfactsorapplypriorknowledgetoanewsituationbuta

qualitytheycalled"preparationfbrfuturelearning."Theresearchersaskedfifthgraders

andcollegestudentstocreatearecoveryplantoprotectbaldeaglesfromextinction.

Shockingly,thetwogroupscameupwithplansofsimilarqu<ility(althoughthecollege

studentshadbetterspellingskills).Fromthestandpointofatraditionaleducator,this

outcomeindicatedthatschoolinghadfailedtohelpstudentsthinkaboutecosystemsand

extinction,nicyorscientificideas.Theresearchersdecidedtogodeeper,however.They

askedbothgroupstogeneratequestionsaboutimportantissuesneededtocreaterecovery

plans.Onthistask,theyfoundlargedifferences.Collegestudentsfocusedoncritical

issuesofinterdependencebetweeneaglesandtheirhabilals(栖息地).Fifthgraderstended

tofocusonfeaturesofindividualeagles("Howbigarethey?"and"Whaldotheyeat?").

Thecollegestudentshadcultivatedtheabilitytoaskquestions,thecornerstoneofcritical

thinking.Theyhadlearnedhowtolearn.Museumsandotherinstitutionsofinformal

learningmaybebettersuitedtoteachthisskillthanelementaryandsecondaryschools.

AttheExploratoriuminSanFrancisco,werecentlystudiedhowlearningtoaskgood

questionscanaffectthequalityofpeople'sscientificinquiry.Wcfoundthatwhenwc

taughtparticipantstoask"Whatif?"and"Howcan?"questionsthatnobodypresent

wouldknowtheanswertoandthatwouldsparkexploration,theyengagedinbetter

inquiryatthenextexhibit—askingmorequestions,performingmoreexperimentsand

makingbetterinterpretationsoftheirresults.Specifically,theirquestionsbecamemore

comprehensiveat(henewexhibit.Rather(hanmerelyaskingaboutsomethingthey

wantedtotry,theytendedtoincludebothcauseandeffectin:heirquestion.Askingjuicy

questionsappears(obeatransferableskillfordeepeningcollaborativeinquiryintothe

sciencecontentfoundinexhibits.Thistypeoflearningisnotconfinedtomuseumsor

institutionalsettings.Informallearningenvironmentstoleratefailurebetterthanschools.

Perhapsmanyteachershavetoolittletimetoallowstudentstoformandpursuetheirown

questionsandtoomuchgroundtocoverinthecurriculum.Butpeoplemustacquirethis

skillsomewhere.Oursocietydependsonthembeingabletomakecriticaldecisionsabout

theirownmedicaltreatment,say,orwhatwemustdoaboutglobalenergyneedsand

demands.Forthat,wchavearobustinformallearningsystemthatgivesnogrades,takes

allcomers,andisavailableevenonholidaysandweekends.

16、Whatistraditionaleducators5interpretationoftheresearchoutcomementionedin

thefirstparagraph?

A、Studentsarenotabletoapplypriorknowledgetonewproblems.

B、Collegestudentsarenobetterthanfifthgradersinmemorizingfacts.

C、Educationhasnotpaidenoughattentiontomajorenvironmentalissues.

D、Educationhasfailedtoleadstudentstothinkaboutmajorscientificideas.

标准答案：D

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出“从传统教育工作者的角度来看，这一结果

表明，学校教育未能帮助学生.思考生态系统和物种灭绝这两个重要的科学理念”，

由此可见，传统教育工作者认为教育没有引导学生思考重要的科学理念，故答案为

D)o

17、Inwhatwayarecollegestudentsdifferentfromchildren?

A^Theyhavelearnedtothinkcritically.

B、Theyarcconcernedaboutsocialissues.

C、Theyarecuriousaboutspecificfeatures.

D、Theyhavelearnedtoworkindependently.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，研究发现大学生和儿童之间存在着巨大差

异，“大学生已培养出了提问的能力，这是批判性思维的基石”，由此可见，大学生

与儿童的区别在于大学生已学会了批判性地思考，故答案为A)o

18、Whatisthebenefitofaskingquestionswithnoreadyanswers?

A、Itarousesstudents'interestinthingsaroundthem.

B、Itcultivatesstudents*abilitytomakescientificinquiries.

C、Ittrainsstudcnts,abilitytodesignscientificexperiments.

D、Ithelpsstudentsrealizenoteveryquestionhasananswer.

标准答案：B

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，当教学员提出“如果?''和"如何?”这些现场

没有人知道答案但又会激发其探索欲的问题时，学员们在下次展览时会进行更好的

探究一提出更多的问题，进行更多的实验并对其研究结果做出更好的解释，由此

可知，提出没有现成答案佐问题，其好处是培养了学生们进行科学探究的能力，故

答案为B)<,

19、Whatissaidtobetheadvantageofinformallearning?

A、Itallowsforfailures.

B、Itisentertaining.

C、Itchargesnotuition.

D、Itmeetspracticalneeds.

标准答案：A

知识点解析：事实细节题。定位句指出，与学校相比，非正式的学习环境对待失败

更加宽容，也就是说非正式的学习允许失败，故答案为A)。

20、Whatdocstheauthorseemtoencourageeducatorstodoattheendofthepassage?

A、Trainstudentsto由inkaboutglobalissues.

B、Designmoreinteractiveclassroomactivities.

C、Makefulluseofinformallearningresources.

D、Includecollaborativeinquiryinthecurriculum.

标准答案：C

知识点解析：推理判断题。定位句指出，“人们必须从某个地方获得这个技能。我

们的社会依赖于能对自己的医疗方案做出关键决定，或者说对关于全球能源需求必

须做出重大决定的人。为此，我们需要一个健全的非正式学习系统，不打分、来者

皆收、甚至在节假R和周末都能使用“，由此可知，为了传授人们技能，为了培养

社会所依赖的人，我们应该使用非正式的学习系统，也就是说教育者应该充分利用

非正式学习的资源，故答案为C)。

"There'sanoldsayinginthespaceworld:amateurstalkaboultechnology,professionals

talkaboutinsurance."InaninterviewlastyearwithTheEconomist,GeorgeWhitesides,

chiefexecutiveofspace-tourismfirmVirginGalactic,wasplacinghiscompanyinthe

lattercategory.ButinsurancewillbecoldcomfortfollowingthefailureonOctober31st

ofVSSEnterprise,resultinginthedeathofonepilotandthesevereinjurytoanother.On

topofthetragiclossoflife,theaccidentinCaliforniawillcastalongshadowoverthe

futureofspacetourism,evenbeforeithasproperlybegun.Thenotionofspacetourism

tookholdin2001witha$20millionflightaboardaRussianspacecraftbyDennisTito,a

millionaireengineerwithanadventurousstreak.Justhalfadozenholiday-makershave

reachedorbitsincethen,forsimilarlyastronomicalpricetags.Butmorerecently,

companieshavebeguntoplanmoreaffordable"suborbital"flights—brieferventuresjust

to(heedgeofspace'svastdarkness.VirginGalactichad,priortothisweek'saccident,

seemedclosesttostartingregularflights.Thecompanyhasalreadytakendepositsfrom

around800would-bespacetourists,includingStephenHawking.Afterbeingdoggedby

technicaldelaysforyears,SirRichardBranson,VirginGalaclic'sfounder,hadrecenlly

suggestedthataSpaceShipTwocraftwouldcarryitsfirstpayingcustomersassoonas

February2015.Thatnowseemsanimpossibletimeline.InJuly,asistercraftofthe

crashedspaceplanewasreportedtobeabouthalf-finished.Theotherhalfwillhaveto

wait,asauthoritiesofAmerica'sFederalAviationAdministracion(FAA)andNational

TransportationSafetyBoardworkoutwhatwentwrong.Inthemeantime,theentire

spacetourismindustrywillbeonlenterhooks(坐立不安).The2004CommercialSpace

LaunchAmendmentsAct,intendedtoencourageprivatespacevehiclesandservices,

prohibitsthetransportationsecretary(andtherebytheFAA)fromregulatingthedesignor

operationofprivatespacecraft,unlesstheyhaveresultedinaseriousorfatalinjuryto

creworpassengers.ThatmeansthattheFAAcouldsuspendVirginGalactic'slicenceto

fly.Itcouldalsoinsistoncheckingprivatemannedspacecraft