Read the text and the questions below. For eachquestion, choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. 1What is the writer’s purpose?
A.to give advice to astronauts
B.to describe a mission to the Moon
C.to persuade people to travel in space
D.to explain how to travel to the Moon
2What does the writer say about the mission?
A.There were some problems at the start
B.They had planned the lift-off for a Friday.
C.Scientists should believe in bad luck.
D.The lift-off had been delayed.
3What was the astronauts’ attitude towards the explosion?
A.They didn’t think it was a problem.
B.They thought they would die.
C.They realised they had to do something.
D.They believed there was nothing they could do.
4How did the astronauts survive?
A.They used the lunar module as a lifeboat.
B.They created a new oxygen supply.
C.They repaired the command module.
D.They adapted to less oxygen.
5Which would be the most appropriate headline?
A.APOLLO 13 CREW LOST IN SPACE
B.LIFE AND DEATH DRAMA IN SPACE
C.METEOR STOPS MOON LANDING
D.ASTRONAUTS WALK ON MOON
TEXT
200,000 miles from Earth, the crew of the third manned mission to the Moonfaced an astronaut’s worst nightmare: an explosion on the spacecraft.It’s the plot of the Oscar-winning filmApollo 13, but it’s also a true storyof survival against the odds
Was it doomed from the beginning? The scientists at Houston wereincharge ofgetting the spacecraft to the Moon and back. They hadscheduledthe April 1970 lift-off for thirteen minutes after the thirteenth hour. They hadalso planned the moon landing itself for the thirteenth day of the month. Forthose who believe in bad luck, perhaps the only thing missing was a Friday.Scientists aren’t supposed to besuperstitious, though, anddespiteminorproblems on lift-off, Apollo 13 started its journey.Two days into the mission, the three-man crew facedcatastrophe. Theyhad beencarrying outroutine checks when there was a loud bang. Warninglights were starting to flash furiously. Looking out into space, they could see atrail of gas – the spacecraft was leaking oxygen. They sent out a short messageto the scientists back on Earth: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” At first,they thought that a meteor had hit them, but they later found out that a shortcircuit had caused an oxygen tank toexplode. Whatever the cause, they knewthere was no time to lose. Their electricity supply in the command moduledependedon that oxygen and pretty soon they would run out of both.
The only solution was toconserveoxygen by moving from the commandmodule into the lunar module – the sectionof the spacecraft that would have landed onthe Moon. Now though, they were using itas a kind of lifeboat. With its own powersupply, oxygen and water, the three mencould survive in the lunar module and returnto Earth. There was another problemthough. In an enclosed space like a lunarmodule, the carbon dioxide the crew wasbreathing out was dangerous. Theequipment to clear the air of carbon dioxidewas onlybuiltfor two people. Now it had tocope with three. Amazingly, the crewmanaged to put together an adapter thatreducedthe carbon dioxide to a safe level.There was one finalobstacle. Thelunar module wasn’t strong enough to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere so the crew had totransfer back into the damaged commandmodule. To everyone’s relief, the crew ofApollo 13 splashed down safely in the SouthPacific Ocean on April 17th. It was a spaceflight that wouldgo down in history.Although the crew didn’t land on the Moon,NASA* stillconsidersthe mission asuccess. The Apollo 13 disaster was proofthat their highly-trained astronauts coulddeal withanything that could go wrong
1. B (whole text)
2. A (Was it doomed from the beginning? ..minor problems on lift-off..)
3. C (..they knew there was no time to lose..)
4. A (.. by moving from the command module into the lunar module ... Now, though, they were using it as a kind of lifeboat ... the three men could survive in the lunar module ...)
5. B (whole text)
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