在太空種辣椒

Ashley Strickland

主題語境：太空種植 篇幅：347詞 建議用時(shí)：7分鐘

1Humans have been living and working on the space station for 20 years.Most of their meals are prepackaged,though sometimes astronauts receive fresh treats from resupply missions.The longer that packaged food is stored,the more it loses nutrients like vitamin C and vitamin K.

2Astronauts have successfully grown 10 different crops on the space station since 2015 and had the chance to sample each one.The International Space Station hosted a taco party for astronauts on Friday as they celebrated the harvest of the first chile peppers grown in space.The crew finally had a chance to taste the peppers after initially kicking off the plant experiment on the space station in July.

3Plant Habitat-04 is one of the most complex plant experiments on the orbiting laboratory to date because peppers take much longer to grow than the previous experiments,which included various types of lettuce,flowering zinnias（百日菊）and even radishes（蘿卜）.

4After growing for four months,the peppers were harvested on Friday by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.Next,they were cleaned before the crew settled in to taste some of the red and green chiles and take surveys about the flavor and texture.

5Peppers provide a great source of vitamin C as well as other key nutrients.Pepper plants self-pollinate,so they are easy to grow,and they are a pick-and-eat crop that doesn't have to be cooked.They also contain low microbial（微生物的）levels,so they are safe to eat raw.

6Forty-eight pepper seeds launched in a carrier on a resupply mission to the space station in June.The carrier was placed inside the lab's Advanced Plant Habitat,which is about the size of a microwave.The habitat can be monitored and controlled from Kennedy Space Center in Florida,including watering,lighting and turning on fans to promote pollen（花粉）transfer.

7A side effect of life in zero gravity is that astronauts often lose some of their taste and smell,so spicy or well-seasoned foods are a favorite.Adding fresh greens or peppers to the menu allows astronauts to liven up their regular meals.

Reading Check

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1.What is the purpose of the taco party on the space station?

A.To enjoy a meal together.

B.To taste the red and green peppers.

C.To celebrate the harvest of peppers.

D.To supplement vitamin C and vitamin K.

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2.What makes Plant Habitat-04 one of the most complex plant experiments?

A.The technology.

B.The growing process.

C.The varieties of plants.

D.The growing time required.

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3.Why are peppers easy to grow on the space station?

A.They can self-pollinate.

B.They require minimal land.

C.They have low microbial levels.

D.They take a very short time to grow.

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4.How do fresh peppers benefit astronauts when they lose some of their taste?

A.By adding flavor and variety to meals.

B.By providing nutrients like vitamin K.

C.By improving their taste and smell.

D.By offering a lot of vitamin C.

Language Study

Difficult sentence in the text

A side effect of life in zero gravity is that astronauts often lose some of their taste and smell,so spicy or well-seasoned foods are a favorite.Adding fresh greens or peppers to the menu allows astronauts to liven up their regular meals.失重生活的一個(gè)副作用是宇航員經(jīng)常會(huì)失去一些味覺和嗅覺，所以辛辣或調(diào)味豐富的食物是他們的最愛。在菜單中加入新鮮的蔬菜或辣椒可以讓宇航員的日常飲食更有活力。

【點(diǎn)石成金】that引導(dǎo)的是表語從句；Adding fresh greens or peppers 在句中作主語，謂語動(dòng)詞用第三人稱單數(shù)。