Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
(2023·浙江省丽水、湖州、衢州三地市质检)
Born on her family's farm in Ray, North Dakota, Mary Sherman Morgan had been helping her father with farm work before she could attend the small-town schoolhouse.Being a few years behind didn't hold her back and she graduated from high school with honors.Aware of her intelligence, she ran away from Ray to attend Minot State University as a chemistry major, where her skill was evident.
The outbreak of World War Ⅱ resulted in a national shortage of chemists and scientists.In spite of the fact that she was still a student and a woman, she was offered a job as a chemical analyst due to her talents, producing explosives (爆炸物) for the wartime effort.She put her degree on hold and moved to Ohio, taking on the dangerous job of analyzing unstable chemicals to produce weapons.
After the war ended there was a fall in demand for explosives, so she made a move to the field of aeronautics, moving to California to work for NAA (North American Aviation)．The only woman out of 900 engineers, she was soon promoted to a role which involved calculating the performance of rocket propellants (推进剂) and designing speciality fuels to work with different engines.However, never having returned to complete her degree, she was not afforded the rank or higher pay of an engineer, even though she had all the skills and knowledge of one.
Her experience with propellants meant that when NAA was tasked to find a fuel capable of lifting the redesigned Redstone missiles into space, Mogan was appointed technical lead on the project.National pride was on the line, so Morgan set about investigating fuels.After countless trails, she finally designed her own mixture, which was named Hydyne.
Hydyne tested well with the Redstone missiles and subsequently other aircraft (飞行器)，such as Jupiter-C rockets, proving to be a quick solution to getting to space without a total rocket redesign.The fuel made the first successful US satellite launch possible, even if Morgan silently slipped away from her success, retiring to focus on her family and leaving her chemistry career behind.
语篇导读：本文介绍了科学家Mary Sherman Morgan的人生经历，她在高中时发现自己的天赋，又在战争后转移至航天领域，研究创造出使美国成功发射的卫星的燃料。
1．What do we know about Mary？ C
A．She attended school while helping with farm work.
B．She was offered a job as a chemistry analyst after graduation.
C．She shifted her working focus as the domestic demand changed.
D．She launched the first US satellite before retiring from her career.
解析：根据第三段第一句可知，当战争爆发后爆炸物的需求减少，她就转移到了航空学的领域，因此C项“根据国内需求变化改变自己的工作重心。”正确。故选C。
2．What does the underlined word “aeronautics” probably mean？ D
A．Analyzing chemicals.
B．Producing explosives.
C．Mixing and saving fuels.
D．Designing and building aircraft.
解析：后几句讲她的工作包括计算火箭推进器的表现、涉及特殊的燃料来适配引擎，下一段的第一句又提到“lifting the redesigned Redstone missiles into space”，因此可以推测出aeronautics是航天领域的意思，因此D“设计和建造飞行器。”正确。故选D。
3．What made Mary the technical lead on the project of NAA？ C
A．Her discovery of Hydyne.
B．Her rank as an engineer.
C．Her special knowledge in fuels.
D．Her sense of national pride.
解析：根据前两段可知，Mary在化学领域有极高的天赋，在第三段最后说她的“knowledge of one”她在燃料领域独一无二的知识，因此C“她在燃料领域的特殊知识。”正确。故选C。
4．Which of the following words can best describe Mary Sherman Morgan？ B
A．Caring and determined.
B．Courageous and creative.
C．Intelligent but sensitive.
D．Accomplished but proud.
解析：Mary能设计发明出全新的燃料Hydyne说明她很有创造力，由前两段她努力追寻自己天赋、从事危险工作的经历，也可以看出她的勇敢。故选B。
