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Six astronauts are about to experience what it's like to travel to Mars and back, only without actually
leaving Earth.Three Russian astronauts will join three colleagues from other countries as they are locked
up together for a year and a half on a simulated(模仿的) mission to Mars.The mission is called Mars
500.
The Mars500 mission at Moscow's Institute of Biomedical Problems will test the psychological and
physical effects of longterm isolation on humans.
The group's leader, engineer Sytev, looks at the threesquaremeter place that will be his personal
habitation."This phone will work for only 11 days.When we are near the Earth, it will be switched off, "
said Sytev.Sytev is a newlywed.He says the most difficult thing will be to be separated from his wife and
the persons around him.He finds it difficult to leave some of his habits behind-all their activities will be
directed towards a certain goal and that he won't see sunsets, sunrises, won't feel rain for 18 months.
After 250 days, three of the astronauts will simulate landing on Mars.The other three will wait for
them-in the mock spacecraft-for a month.All communication with Earth will be via email and will have as
much as a 40minute delay, like on a real Mars mission.
Suvorov is a physician.He and other scientists will monitor the astronauts."This experiment is unique
because the six persons will be isolated for a long period of time, " noted Suvorov."They will have to
make decisions on their own and only then report to the Earth, and the Earth will tell them whether they
did the right thing or not."He says the experiment will pave the way for a real Mars journey later this
century."We are going to determine how much food and other products of daily use are needed, and
how people of different cultures, of different training can find common language and work on performing
their tasks, " added Suvorov.
Mars500 is the third in a series of flight simulations.The earlier ones were shorter.The current
experiment is set to end in November 2011.
1. The underlined word "mock" in Paragraph 4 means ________.
A. simulated B. advanced
C. small D. comfortable
2. What do we learn about the Mars500 mission according to the text?
A. The base is located in New York, America.
B. It is a simulation program designed for the future space expedition.
C. All astronauts will spend 18 months in the spacecraft.
D. Astronauts can't use any mobile phone during the experiment.
3. What is the most difficult thing that Sytev will face during their training?
A. Standing the isolation and loneliness.
B. There existing a 40minute delay.
C. Lacking food and other products.
D. Being monitored by Suvorov and other scientists.
4. We can learn from Suvorov's words that ________.
A. it's hard for the astronauts to perform their tasks together
B. more experiments will be carried out for a real journey
C. the astronauts should learn to make decisions on their own
D. different cultures of the astronauts don't matter any more