Reading_for_the_Real_World_1_2nd_Ed

29	firmly --- solidly; strongly
29	establish --- to set
32	target date --- future date for completion
38	capsule --- part of the rocket where people work
41	abandon --- to give up; to leave forever

52land --- to arrive on the ground

F.Kennedy gave a speech which set a specific goal for the American space program. This goal was for men to land on the moon before the end of the 1960s. This goal became firmly established when John Glenn orbited the

30	Earth in 1962. At this time, the space race became a race to the moon.
	In contrast to the United States, the Soviet moon program was secret.
	Its target date for reaching the Moon was 1967 or 68. However, the Soviet
	program began to have problems. Early designs of the N-1, a more powerful
	rocket, failed frequently. Many exploded after launch. Then in 1966, Sergei P.

35Korolev died during a medical operation. This was a great loss, since few people could replace Korolev. Even so, the Soviets continued their efforts. In 1967, the astronaut Vladimir Komarov, testing a possible moon vehicle, died when his capsule crashed. Two more rockets failed that year. The biggest shock of all came in 1968, when Yuri Gagarin, the hero of the Soviet space program, died in

40a plane crash. The Soviets began to abandon the idea of going to the moon. However, in 1968 a robotic probe circled the moon and took pictures of it. This

45would have been a bright moment, except that the probe crashed when it returned. In 1969, two more N-1 rockets exploded. It became clear that

50the Soviet Union would not only

fail to beat the United States but fail to reach the moon at all that decade. On July 20, 1969, the American mission Apollo 11 landed, and Neil

Armstrong walked on the moon. The space race was over.

Reading Time

_______ minutes _______ seconds

558 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ The space race involved many countries from all over the world.

2.____ An American was the first man in space.

3.____ The final goal of the space race was to land on the moon.

4.____ The space race is still continuing today.

BChoose the best answer.

1.What country was considered to be the leader in the beginning of the space race?

a.The Soviet Union because of their advanced N-1 rockets

b.The US because they landed on the moon

c.The Soviet Union because it sent up the first satellite and the first man in space

d.The US because they orbited the Earth in 1962

2.What was probably the main reason why the Soviet Union lost the space race?

a.Their N-1 rockets were not as good as the American rockets.

b.Their space program was a secret, so it couldn’t improve quickly.

c.Their robotic moon probe crashed, wasting a lot of money.

d.They lost hope when some important and skilled people in the space program died.

3.According to the reading, what is probably true?

a.The Soviet Union never replaced Sergei Korolev.

b.It took the Soviet Union many years before sending someone to the moon.

c.The US never had any space accidents.

d.The US succeeded in its first space mission.

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.Why did the space race occur?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.Why did the Soviets begin to abandon the idea of going to the moon in 1968?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Fill in the blanks in the table with the phrases below according to the category they belong to. Use each phrase only once.

Soviet Union Space Program

Achievements	Failures

1.Frequent failures of the early designs of the N-1 rocket

2.The first country to launch a satellite into orbit

3.The death of Sergei P. Korolev during a medical operation

4.Sent the first woman astronaut into space

5.In 1968 a robotic probe took pictures of the moon, but crashed when it returned

6.The first manned orbit of Earth

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

budget

booster

landing gear

re-entry

vacuum

pioneers

1.NASA needs a big __________ to run its space program---over a billion dollars!

2.__________ rockets are important for the space shuttle. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to break free of Earth’s gravity.

3.When an object in space comes back down through Earth’s atmosphere again, that is called __________.

4.Yuri Gagarin is considered to be one of the __________ of space since he was the first man in space.

5.The space shuttle must put down its __________ prior to landing.

6.Space has no air in it, so it is considered to be a(n) __________.

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Supplemental Reading

Two Very Different Space Programs

Track 30

The Soviet and American space programs were very different. In the United States, a government agency called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) had existed since 1915. This agency

was involved with the development of flight in the US. In 1958, the name was

5changed to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA was a government agency, but it did not depend completely on government support. The American space program was only about 50 percent military. It was operated primarily by civilians.

The Soviet military was strongly involved with the

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15

space program. About 95 percent of the program was related to the military in some way. Many of the Soviet space projects tested military applications. Also, the technical operations, like launching and mission control, were handled by the military.

One of the biggest differences between the Soviet

and American space efforts was how each was presented to the media. The Soviet space program was very secret. The Soviet government only publicized its program’s successes. For example, in 1960, a rocket exploded on its launch pad, killing one hundred people, but this was not revealed until much later. Even the

20name of the “Grand Designer,” Sergei P. Korolev, was not announced until he died in 1966. However, almost all of NASA’s actions were reported not just to Americans but to the whole world. NASA’s failures were just as clear as its successes.

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.Most recently, space probes have been exploring Mars and Jupiter. What do you think the next goal of the space program should be?

2.Would you like to go into space? Why or why not?

U N I T 8 Space & Exploration 2

Asteroid Impacts on Earth

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.Why did the dinosaurs all die out?

2.When was the last time a large rock from space or an asteroid hit Earth?

3.Which do you think are more dangerous, big asteroids or small asteroids?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	blast	a. the distance across a circle or sphere
2.	detect	b. to change to gas by some process
3.	diameter	c. an explosion
4.	locate	d. to know by seeing or measuring
5.	strike	e. to hit
6.	vaporize	f. to find

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Asteroid Impacts on Earth Track 31

Asteroids are small objects in space. They are small compared to the Earth and the other planets. They are made of different kinds of rock or metal. They orbit the sun, mostly between the paths of Mars and

Jupiter. Astronomers know where many asteroids are, but not all. Though they

5may seem small and far away, asteroids have hit the Earth many times, sometimes causing extreme destruction. It also seems clear that an asteroid will hit the Earth again in the future.

Most asteroids are located in what is called the “Main Belt.” This is an orbit

between Mars and Jupiter. All of these asteroids are very far from the Earth and

10will never come close. Several hundred asteroids follow Jupiter in its orbit. These are called “Trojans.” Asteroids can also be found in the outer solar system, past the orbit of Saturn. There is also a set

of asteroids that orbit close to the Earth. These are called NEAs (Near-Earth Asteroids). These are also

15included in a group called Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) which also includes comets. Because of their closeness, NEAs are dangerous to the Earth.

More than half of all NEAs have been discovered. There are still many

	asteroids that are unknown. There is no way to know when such asteroids could
20	strike the Earth. In 1989, a NEA passed very close. However, it was only
	discovered as it was going away. If it had hit the Earth, it would have been a
	complete surprise. It could have had 50,000 times the destructive force compared
	to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Though the possibility of an asteroid
	striking the Earth soon is not great, it is definite that the Earth will be struck
25	sometime.
		NEAs have struck the Earth before. Most scientists believe that a NEA caused
	3	Mars --- the fourth planet from the sun; the “red” planet
	4	Jupiter --- the fifth planet from the sun; the largest planet
	11	solar system --- the group of objects in space including the sun and
		planets near Earth
	12	Saturn --- the sixth planet from the sun; the planet with rings
	16	comet --- a visible asteroid due to its “tail” of gases

30	block out --- to cover from sight
38	visible --- able to be seen
42	remote --- isolated; far from other people or things
44	vibrations --- small movements, like shaking
47	vaporize --- to change to gas form

the extinction of the dinosaurs. This sort of asteroid would have been one or more kilometers in diameter. If it had hit land, it would have caused a huge cloud of

30dust that would have blocked out all sunlight for at least a year. This would have caused a short ice age, leading to the deaths of numerous plants and animals. If the asteroid had hit the water, which is more likely, the cloud of water vapor it produced would have had a

35similar effect. Further, the shock from the impact could

have caused volcanoes to erupt, adding to the dust and vapor around the Earth. Scientists think these kinds of events happen every million years or so.

The outlines of the craters of some of these impacts are still visible from space. The last time a large NEA struck the Earth was in 1908, in the forests of

40Tunguska, Siberia. This asteroid was between 30 and 60 meters across and exploded in the air instead of hitting the ground. This explosion was just as powerful as a nuclear bomb. Because Tunguska was a very remote place, no-one was killed. However, closer to the blast, windows were smashed, and

people could feel extreme heat. Vibrations were recorded in the Earth as far as

451,000 kilometers away. The forest near the blast site had been flattened as far as 30 kilometers from the center. Some trees were burned completely. The asteroid itself had vaporized completely.

Though people may worry about large asteroids striking the Earth, they are easy to detect. Smaller NEAs are much harder to find, and there are many more

50	of them. The history of asteroids and the Earth has not ended.
	Reading Time _______ minutes _______ seconds	590 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ Most asteroids are located between Mars and Jupiter.

2.____ NEAs have probably caused the extinction of animals in the past.

3.____ In 1989, a NEA hit Earth.

4.____ The effect of an asteroid strike can be similar to that of a nuclear bomb.

BChoose the best answer.

1.Why do scientists think that big asteroids hit the Earth in the past?

a.There is evidence in space.

b.We can see big marks on Earth.

c.We have experienced it recently.

d.We have had an ice age.

2.How could a NEA have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?

a.By hitting the dinosaurs

b.By making poisonous vapor

c.By causing the climate to become very cold

d.By causing volcanoes

3.Why are NEAs more dangerous to us?

a.We can’t easily find them to destroy.

b.They are too big to destroy.

c.They are smaller and faster.

d.We know where they are.

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.In terms of hitting the Earth, where are the most dangerous asteroids located?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.What is the probable reason why the Tunguska asteroid did less damage than the dinosaur-killing asteroid?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Fill in the blanks in the table with the sentences below according to the category they belong to. Use each sentence only once.

Asteroid Impacts on Earth

Types of Asteroids	Effects of Impact

1.Even though the NEA that struck the Earth in 1908 vaporized before it hit the ground, the blast still caused a lot of damage in the area.

2.Asteroids whose orbits are located near the Earth are called NEAs.

3.Scientists believe that an asteroid that was one or more kilometers in diameter may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

4.Asteroids that follow Jupiter in its orbit are called “Trojans.”

5.The NEA in 1989 that scientists failed to detect could have been 50,000 times more destructive than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima if it had struck the Earth.

6.Another name for a comet is NEO or Near-Earth Object.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

debris

collision

disaster

aftermath

precautions

probability

1.The __________ of an asteroid with Earth could cause a lot of damage.

2.In fact, an asteroid strike would be a(n) __________.

3.In the __________ of a large asteroid strike, dust and clouds would prevent sunlight from reaching Earth.

4.The __________ of a large asteroid strike is very low---much less than 1 percent.

5.The __________ from the plane crash was found all over the mountain.

6.If we take __________, we should have no trouble.

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Supplemental Reading

It’s All in the Location

Track 32

Different kinds of NEAs can produce different kinds of damage. The kind of damage depends first on the size and speed of the asteroid. However, it also depends on where the asteroid hits. An asteroid that

hits the ocean will have a very different effect than one that strikes the land.

5 An asteroid that hits the water would produce the most destruction. While an asteroid hitting land would cause damage in only one place, an ocean strike would cause a tsunami (a giant wave). This could severely damage or destroy cities close to the ocean over a very large area. Seventy percent of the Earth is covered by oceans, so an ocean impact is more likely. If a large asteroid struck

10the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami could destroy cities on the east coast of North and South America, as well as western cities of Europe and Africa.

Such an asteroid would only have to be about forty to sixty meters wide.

An asteroid strike on land would be destructive in a concentrated way. It would take an object of about seventy-five meters wide to destroy a city. This

15would not include all parts of the city, and suburbs might not be damaged so severely. To destroy an entire urban area would

take an asteroid of around 160 meters. A 700 meter asteroid could destroy a small country.

However, a one or two kilometer asteroid strike

20would be deadly enough to kill millions of people, simply by the dust and vapor it would throw into the atmosphere.

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.What are some possible solutions to reducing the threat of asteroids?

2.Do you think that the government should spend money on protection against an asteroid hit? Or is the money better spent on other areas like health care and education?