The missing tomato太空中的“失踪番茄”

吕品

宇航員弗兰克·鲁比奥在国际空间站上度过了371天，创下了纪录。在此期间，他参与了多项实验，包括一项尝试在太空中种植番茄的实验。不过，一颗番茄不翼而飞的谜团一直未解……

主题语境：太空探索 篇幅：332词 建议用时：6分钟

1 In September， 2023， astronaut Frank Rubioreturned from spending over a year in space. Hisrecord and his efforts were celebrated. But questionsremained about a tomato that had gone missing whilehe was in space. Now， the mystery tomato has beenfound.

2 Mr Rubio set a record by spending 371 days on the International Space Station （ISS）.He had expected to spend about six months in space. But he ended up spending more thantwice that time after the spacecraft that brought him to the ISS was damaged.

3 In his time on the ISS， Mr Rubio， along with other astronauts， worked on dozens of experiments.One of these experiments involved trying to grow tomatoes in space. Not onlywere the plants growing in space， but they were being grown with only air and water—andno soil. One goal of the experiment was to learn how to grow fruits and vegetables to helpfeed astronauts on long trips through space.

4 Mr Rubio said that he loved working with those little plants and seeing them growand develop. When the plants finally produced tomatoes， all of the astronauts on board theISS got to sample them except Mr Rubio. He had lost his tomato. Because there is so littlegravity on the ISS， things that are not attached can simply float away. Mr Rubio alwaysbelieved that was what had happened to the tomato. The ISS is a small place for lots ofastronauts to live， but it has many， many places where little things can get lost. Mr Rubiosaid he spent many hours looking for the tomato. But his search came up empty. He believedthat the tomato had dried out and someone else had found it and thrown it away.

5 Last week， the mystery was solved in a video call with astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli.“We found the tomato，” she announced. But it was unclear where she found the tomato orwhat it looked like when it was finally discovered.

Reading Check

Detail

1. Why did Mr Rubio stay longer in space than initially expected？

A. He was conducting an important experiment.

B. The spacecraft that brought him was damaged.

C. He got lost on the ISS.

D. He wanted to set a new record.

Detail

2. What was unique about the way tomatoes were grown in the space experiment？

A. They required special space soil.

B. They were grown in complete darkness.

C. They were grown without soil.

D. They grew faster than on Earth.

Inference

3. What happened to his tomato according to Mr Rubio？

A. It was eaten by another astronaut.

B. It was used in some experiments.

C. It was intentionally thrown away.

D. It floated away due to low gravity.

Detail

4. Who announced the discovery of the missing tomato？

A. Frank Rubio.

B. The head of ISS.

C. Jasmin Moghbeli.

D. A reporter.

Language Study

Ⅰ. 日積月累

astronaut n. 宇航员

space n. 空间；太空

experiment n.实验

gravity n. 重力

record n. 记录

spacecraft n. 宇宙飞船

International Space Station （ISS） 国际空间站

spend over a year 花超过一年的时间

set a record 创下纪录

long trips through space 长途太空旅行

float away 飘走

dry out 干透

throw away 扔掉

in a video call 在一个视频通话中

Ⅱ. 语法填空

In September 2023， astronaut Frank Rubio 1.________（return） to Earth after a recordbreaking371 days aboard the ISS， exceeding his expected six?month stay due 2.________a damaged spacecraft. During his mission， he participated 3.________numerous experiments，4.________（include） growing tomatoes using only air and water， without soil. Onegoal of the experiment was 5.________（explore） sustainable food sources for extendedspace travel. Rubio was 6.________（particular） fond of the tomato experiment. Unfortunately，when it came time to taste the fruits of their labor， he discovered his tomato was7.________（miss）. On the ISS， unsecured items can float away due to minimal gravity，which Rubio suspected happened to his tomato. Despite searching extensively， he neverfound 8.________， thinking it may have dried up and been discarded by someone. The losttomato became a small mystery until recently， when astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli announcedin a video call 9.________they found the tomato. The location and condition of the tomatoat the time of 10.________（discover） remain unknown.