Choose the best answers to complete the following sentences.
Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
Space leisure
For most of their time in orbit, astronauts are fully ___(21)___ with repairs and scientific experiments. But time for relaxation and recreation is essential. To reduce boredom, homesickness and isolation, astronauts are ___(22)___ to receive a weekly video telephone call from home, as well as daily email messages.
If boredom ___(23)___, there are plenty of windows from which to admire the ever-changing ___(24)___ as the International Space Station orbits the planet every 90 minutes. The crew enjoy searching for familiar landmarks, watching lightning flashes, and waiting for one of the ___(25)___ sunrises and sunsets.
There is a wide choice of leisure activities ___(26)___ crew members are ___(27)___ to take along their personal choice of entertainment. These range from chequers or chess sets to books and CDs or their own instruments.
Time ___(28)___ and bond together is essential for any crew. Meal times are generally set aside for periods of friendly get-togethers, and evenings often ___(29)___ the crew settling down to watch the ___(30)___ DVD movies.
Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.
A Mission to Mars
Have you ever had a dream about traveling to another planet in our solar system? If you have, there is an actual programme that is happening right now, and it hopes to send people to Mars in 2023. Known as the Mars One Mission, it will send a crew of four people on a one-way mission to colonize Mars. Those chosen people will have to be ready to say good-bye to the earth forever, as there will not be a return trip.
For the people chosen, they will have to learn to do many different things. First of all, they will be living the rest of their lives with just a handful of other people, so they all must have personalities that allow them to get along. Second, the living quarters that they will have won’t be very spacious, so they will have to deal with that condition as well. If they feel homesick, they will only be able to communicate with people back on the earth via e-mail and videos and audio sent back and forth. However, there won’t be any real-time communication. Even at the speed of light, communication between the earth and Mars takes about 20 minutes.
Whether the Mars One Mission will actually happen is the big question that a lot of people are asking. There is an enormous skepticism in the science community, and Wired magazine gave the mission a miserable score of two out of ten on its probability scale. However, for those who dream to go to Mars, at least they can say there is a possibility that it could happen.
Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.
Space Tourism
If you are like most people, you probably dream of spending your next vacation sightseeing or relaxing in a tropical spot. But pretty soon, you may have the option of blasting into space and exploring the universe. It appears that space tourism may start to experience a boom that is sure to be out of this world.
Since ancient times, humans have surely dreamed about visiting space. However, it was just a fantasy until 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space. Yet in the years following, only a few highly-trained Soviet and American astronauts managed to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. In the mid-1980s, the US began to relax some of its restrictions. In 1986, an engineer named Charles Walker became the first non-government employee to fly into space. A year later, an American teacher named Christa McAuliffe was chosen to be the first teacher in space. Unfortunately, the Space Shuttle she was on, The Challenger, crashed during takeoff, killing everyone on board. Space tourism got an unexpected boost from the collapse of the Soviet Union. With Russia’s space programme in dire need of money, it became open to offers for space tourism. In 1990, a Japanese reporter was allowed to fly with a Russian crew into space, but the trip would cost his employer $28 million. In the late 1990s, a private company, MirCorp, started organizing trips to space for wealthy individuals. Now, many other companies are trying to do the same.
Still, most people who want to become space tourists face a major barrier: the price. Early space tourists have paid dozens of millions of dollars for a seven-to-ten-day stay outside the Earth. However, there are some indications that the price will come down in the near future. Some corporations are gearing up for this with big plans to make space a more hospitable place. The luxurious hotel chain Hilton has expressed interest in opening a space hotel in the next 15 to 20 years. Meanwhile, some experts believe that flights to and from the moon could become a common occurrence within a few decades. Hopefully someday soon we will all have the chance to get to know our solar system a little bit better.
Find the word which has a different sound in the part underlined.
Choose the word which has a different stress pattern from the others.