First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.
Since Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, rounded off his space mission, space travel has become a much discussed topic even among the common people. But how far are we from space travel becoming a popular recreation? Perhaps there is still a long way to go.
The crux of the problem is not technological complexity but the effects of weightlessness, and the latter poses the dominant and single most important issue of all.
As most doctors can testify, it's difficult to predict what will happen when the human body is presented with this challenge. Time and again, space travel has revealed the body's marvelous and sometimes subtle ability to adapt. But only in the last few years have scientists begun to understand the body's responses to weightlessness, as indicated in data accumulated through many investigations. Pursuit of this analytic knowledge is improving health care not only for those who journey into space but also for those of us stuck on the ground.
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions.
1. Do you think it is possible for ordinary people to experience space travel? Why or why not?
2. What is the major problem that prevents people from traveling in space?
3. How has scientists' understanding of the body's responses to weightlessness changed in the last few years?
