Question

Multiple Choice Question In the passage below, the author refers to space as “the void.” What is the connotative meaning of the word void in this context? NASA has been breeding super-mice to launch into space. Researchers have been worried about the dangers of space travel since we first started launching people and animals into the void in the 1950s. The United States was in a "space race" with the USSR throughout the 1950s and 1960s when competing nations developed competing technologies in an attempt to show their technological superiority to the world. Some of the dangers that astronauts face include loss of muscle mass and bone density due to the lack of gravity in space. To avoid issues like this, scientists have genetically altered mice to have stronger bones and greater muscle mass in hopes that they will not be as affected by the lack of gravity as normal mice. Researchers believe that the genetic re-sequencing of these mice could lead to other breakthroughs, like the ability for people to heal much faster after complex surgeries like hip replacement. These super-mice just might hold the key to long-term space travel as well as paving the way for a stronger breed of human beings. A. A calm and peaceful place filled with stars B. A dark, empty, and possibly dangerous space C. A laboratory used for scientific experiments D.

Answer 1

B. A dark, empty, and possibly dangerous space — the context (worries about dangers of space travel) gives "the void" a negative, empty, and threatening connotation.