TOPIC № 7 SPACE AGEI. Study the vocabulary: 1. artificial satellite – искусственный спутник 2. on board – на борту 3. conduct – проводить 4. establish – учреждать 5. facility – сооружение 6. immense – огромный, необъятный 7. launch – запускать 8. outlandish – странный, необычайный 9. outer space – открытый космос 10. predict – предсказывать 11. prominent – выдающийся 12. remarkable event – замечательное событие 13. science fiction – научная фантастика
II. Read the text: For hundreds of years man dreamed of flying to the stars. At the beginning of the 20th century a prominent Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky predicted that mankind would not remain on Earth forever. Half a century later his words came true, the dream became a reality. It happened on October 4, 1957, when the 1st artificial satellite, the sputnik, was launched. Russians were the 1st in the world to fly into outer space. Then the most remarkable event in the history of cosmonautics took place. On April 12, 1961 the spaceship "Vostok", piloted by Yuri Gagarin went up. He orbited the Earth only once, staying in space for 108 minutes. A new era of man's exploration of outer space began. Many space rockets went up with our cosmonauts on board. Among them were Leonov, Tereshkova, Savitskaya, Nikolaev and others. Today Russia wants the exploration of space to be based on broad international cooperation. Many international crews go up in space and work on board the International Space Station. This is the best example of a peaceful cooperation. The International Space Station (ISS) is the most complex and expensive structure that has ever been launched and built in space. It looks like a huge multi-room hotel as well as a research facility orbiting the Earth. Built by a partnership of 16 nations, the ISS will consist of 36 modules and hundreds of individual elements that come from all over the world. Russia is the supplier of 12 modules for the station, each being a key module among its 36 ones. They are: the basic power module, the control, the life support, the service module and others. The purpose of the ISS is not only conducting scientific investigations in the absence of gravity, or learning how to build a massive project weighing 400 tons in orbit, or establishing the base for the trip to the Mars. It is also a political program as well. It is also aimed to promote international cooperation and create thousands of peacetime jobs for highly skilled workers and engineers. One of the greatest opportunities people have today is space tourism. This is no longer just an outlandish vision of science fiction writers. It is still affordable to the very wealthy; space tourism offers a unique type of adventure and the experience of a lifetime - looking at the Earth from the space and having the feeling of weightlessness. An American Dennis Tito became the first fee-paying tourist in space. The space station era is likely to open new possibilities for mankind and we are looking forward to new discoveries in such an immense and mysterious world.
III. Complete the sentences using the words from the text: 1. At the beginning of the 20th century a prominent Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky predicted that … 2. Russians were the 1st in the world … 3. He orbited the Earth only once,… 4. Today Russia wants the exploration of space to be based on… 5. The International Space Station (ISS) is the most complex and expensive structure that… 6. It looks like a huge multi-room hotel as well as… 7. It is also aimed to… 8. It is still affordable to… 9. … became the first fee-paying tourist in space. 10. On... the spaceship "Vostok", piloted by Yuri Gagarin went up.
IV. Answer the questions: 1. What did Tsiolkovsky predict? 2. What happened on October 4, 1957? 3. When did the first manned flight to the space take place? 4. How long did Gagarin stay on the Earth orbit during the first flight? 5. What other Russian cosmonauts went up to space? 6. What is the greatest space project that provides international cooperation? 7. How does the ISS look like? 8. How many modules does the station consist of? 9. What is the purpose of the ISS? 10. Can everyone afford to become a space tourist?
V. Find English equivalents in the text: Невесомость, событие всей жизни, международное сотрудничество, на борту МКС, исследования космоса, высококвалифицированные инженеры, отсутствие гравитации, космонавты, модуль жизнеобеспечения, построено при партнерстве, уникальное путешествие, позволительно для очень состоятельных людей, мечта стала реальностью.
VI. Discuss the following: 1. Imagine you’ve been offered to become a space tourist and to join the ISS crew. Would you agree? Why? 2. What could be the next step in exploring the space?
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