TEXT D Space is a dangerous
place, not only because of meteors but also because of rays from the sun and
other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth. Light
gets through, and this is essential for plants to make the food which we eat.
Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through
the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are
screened off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are exposed to this
radiation but their space suits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are
inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage. Radiation is the
greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called
"rem". Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more
radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been
agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about
radiation damage—a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her
sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of
deformed children or even grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had
to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys,
the Apollo crew accumulated a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts
of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short.
We simply do not know yet how men are going to get on when they spend weeks and
months. The best title for this passage would be ______.
A.The Atmosphere and Our Environment B.Research on Radiation C.Effects of Space Radiation D.Importance of Protection Against Radiation