When the Apollo astronauts (宇航员) landed on the Moon in 1969, millions of people were rather sad. The person to blame for this was an artist named Chesley Bonestell. For many years, Bonestell had been creating beautifully detailed paintings of the Moon and planets. Viewers of his artwork were unhappy because the real Moon did not look like Bonestell’s pictures of it.
As a space artist, Bonestell tried to make his drawings look exciting and as true as the Moon is. He worked closely with astronomers and scientists to get the most up-to-date scientific information available. But in the 1940s and 1950s, no one had ever seen another planet up close. Yet Bonestell’s paintings looked so real that some people thought they were photographs.
Even though Bonestell was interested in astronomy, he did not start out as a space artist. As a young man he studied architecture — the art and science of designing and making buildings. In 1938 Bonestell became a special effects artist in Holly
wood. It was here that he learned he could improve his paintings by following the methods used in the movies.
In 1944, a popular magazine published a series of Bonestell’s paintings of the planet Saturn. He drew Saturn as if it were seen by someone standing on each of the planet’s moons. The results were dazzling. Within a few years, Bonestell’s artwork was appearing regularly in magazines and books on astronomy and space flight.
Many of Bonestell’s artworks had been right all along. But the biggest surprise was the Moon. Someone asked Bonestell what he was thinking when he saw the first pictures from the Moon. “I thought how wrong I was!” he said. “My mountains were sharp (陡峭的), and they aren’t on the Moon.”
But he shouldn’t have felt bad. No space artist had ever before taken so many people to so many faraway worlds. In the years just before the first manned space flights, Bonestell’s artwork prepared people for the amazing space adventure to come.
29. Bonestell made his space drawings .
A. from a very early age B. by copying photographs
C. with the help of scientists D. in order to make a living
30. The underlined word “dazzling” in Paragraph 4 can best be replaced by “ ”.
A. doubtful B. wond
erful C. terrible D. worrying
31. Bonestell’s success lay in the fact that .
A. he created a new drawing skill B. he helped finish the first space flight
C. he made space travel more popular D. He helped bring space closer to people
32. What would be the best title for the text?
A. The space art of Chesley Bonestell B. The first men on the Moon
C. The journeys of the Apollo astronauts D. Spacewalking: through an astronaut’s eyes