【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析]
Questions 17～20 are based on the following news report:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced the appointment of astronaut Eileen Collins as the commander of an upcoming space shuttle mission. Collins, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, would be the first woman to command a United States space mission. She was scheduled to lead the shuttle Discovery on the STS—93 mission, to be launched in December 1998. Collins' promotion to shuttle commander was made at a White House ceremony, where another tradition was broken when the announcement was made by the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as President Clinton stood to the side.
This was not the first barrier broken by Collins. An astronaut since 1990, Collins had graduated that year as the second female test pilot in the United States Air Force. In 1995she became the first woman chosen to pilot a shuttle mission. That flight, the STS—63mission, was part of a "dress rehearsal" for the imminent first shuttle that would dock at Mir, the Russian space station. On her second mission, in 1997, Collins visited the Mir space station as a pilot on the shuttle Atlantis.
At the White House announcement ceremony, which was engineered to focus public attention on science and math education, the 41-year-old Collins stated that she had dreamed about flying in space since she was a child, adding that she hoped her mission would inspire all children to reach for their dreams. After the ceremony, Collins and Mrs.Clinton met with 100 students enrolled in a pre-engineering program at a local high school.
The appointment of Collins to the rank of shuttle commander was a landmark event in the 37-year history of United States space flights: When asked in 1995 why no women had piloted missions, Collins replied that the main reason was that "we haven't had women who have had the credentials to apply to the astronaut program and compete right up therewith the men. "
Question 17: What shuttle was Collins scheduled to lead on an upcoming space mission?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析]
Question 18: Which of the following is NOT true according to the news?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析]
Question 19: How old was Collins when she was appointed the first woman shuttle commander?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析]
Question 20: What did Collins and Mrs. Clinton do after the ceremony?