A
NASA's New Horizons probe flew by Pluto (冥王星)this morning, sending back history's first upclose looks at the vast freezingcold world. Closest approach came at 7：49 a．m. EDT. To celebrate, NASA gave out the latest photo of Pluto. It showed a reddish world with an amazing heartshaped feature on its surface.
After today's close encounter, all the nine solar system's traditionally recognized planets have now been visited by a spaceship — a huge project begun in 1962 when NASA's Mariner 2 probe flew past Venus, a planet in the solar system. More than 1,200 scientists, NASA guests and important persons, including 200 reporters, watched the flyby live at New Horizons' mission control center.
That close encounter has been a long time coming. The $ 723 million New Horizons mission was launched in January 2006 but began taking shape in 1989. “New Horizons is ‘a capstone mission’，” Glen Fountain, mission project manager told Space. com. “It is the first completion of the observations of our solar system. It's giving us a new idea about how we human beings fit into the universe.”
New Horizons “faced a crazy number of challenges”. Stern, a driving force behind New Horizons said, “So many people stuck with this for so long. They got knocked down; they stood up. They got knocked down again; they stood up again.”
In a coincidence, today's close approach falls on the 50th anniversary of the first flyby of Mars, another planet, which was completed by NASA's Mariner 4 spaceship.
There are no longer nine officially recognized planets, of course.The International Astronomical Union regarded Pluto as “a dwarf planet” in 2006 in a decision that remains controversial (有争议的) today.
1．Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Ideas still vary in the identity of Pluto.
B．Only scientists could watch the flyby live.
C．Mars is the first planet visited by a spaceship.
D．New Horizons mission aimed to observe the solar system.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“The International Astronomical Union regarded Pluto as ‘a dwarf planet’ in 2006 in a decision that remains controversial (有争议的) today”可知，A项正确。故选A。
2．Glen Fountain may probably agree that ________.
A．it is the most difficult to land on Pluto in the solar system
B．New Horizons mission is a long and troublesome project
C．their strong determination leads to the successful flyby
D．people are likely to find new ways to fit into space
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第三段中的“It is the first completion of the observations of our solar system. It's giving us a new idea about how we human beings fit into the universe”可知，新视野号探测器从冥王星附近飞过，这是第一次完成对太阳系的探测考察，它给了我们一个关于人类应如何融入宇宙的新想法。由此可推知，人们可能会寻找新的方法以融入宇宙。故选D。
3．Which is the best title for the passage?
A．A New Horizons Probe
B．NASA's Huge Project
C．Pluto, a Controversial Planet
D．A Close Approach to Pluto
解析：选D 标题归纳题。NASA新视野号探测器飞掠冥王星，这是历史上第一次近距离地观察冥王星，是人类历史上的突破。故“近距离地接触冥王星”作标题最佳。故选D。
