Unit 15 Reading (Chuan)11

NAME PEOPLE OR THINGS
IN THE PICTURES.

2
4
6
3
The moon
The earth
Pham Tuan
Neil Armstrong
Astronaut
Yuri Gagarin
SPACE CONQUEST
1
5

Tuesday, March 13
th
, 2010
UNIT 15: SPACE CONQUEST
PERIOD 91. READING

I. Pre-reading:
1. Activity1: Questions-answers

Answer the questions below:
1. Who is the first Vietnamese to fly
into space?

2. Can you name the first humans to set foot on the moon?
3. Who is the first human to fly into space?
Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin
Yuri Gagarin
Pham Tuan

2. Activity 2: Collecting information.
Gagarin flew into space on
………………………….
He was ………years old when he became
the first human being in space.
…………………………………… made him a
hero.
He died in a plane crash in ……………
a.
b.
c.
d.
March 1968.
The success of his flight
12
th
April, 1961
27

- conquest (n) ['kɔηkwest]: sự chinh phục
- lift off (n /v) [lift ɔ:f]: phóng tên lửa lên.
- orbit (n) ['ɔ:bit]: quỹ đạo
- astronaut (n) ['æstrənɔ:t] ̣ = cosmonaut (n) ['kɔzmənɔ:t]
- weightlessness (n) ['weitlisnis]: zero gravity

- uncertainty (n) [ʌn'sə:tnti]: sự không chắc chắn
- precisely (adv) [pri'saisli]: exactly
- react (v) [ri:'ækt]: phản ứng
- extreme (adj) [iks'tri:m]: tột độ
- psychological tension (n) [,saikə'lɔdʒikl 'ten∫n]: áp lực tâm lý
- hero (n) ['hiərou]: anh hùng
- venture (n) ['vent∫ə] việc mạo hiểm
- feat (n) [fi:t]: chiến công
3. Activity 3: Vocabulary.
Match the words / phrases in column A with their definitions
or synonyms in column B.

Lift off into space

Orbit (around the earth)

A B
lift off
cosmonaut
enormous
failure
tragic
uncertainties
psychological
tension

a. unsuccess
b. doubt
c. take off
d. astronaut

e. disastrous or
greatly distressing
f. very big
g. worry about
something
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
1
5
3
2
6
4

4 .Activity 4. Gap-filling:
Complete the sentences with the correct form of
one of the words / phrases in column A above.
China ……………………its first manned spacecraft
into space on October 15
th
, 2003.
Who is the first Russian ….………………to fly into
space?
Have you ever seen an ………………….monster?

“ ……………is mother of success”.
Students often have ……….………………………
before examinations.
My close friend died in a …………. accident two
years ago.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
cosmonaut
psychological tension
lifted off
tragic
Failure
enormous

II. While-reading:
1. Activity 1: Main ideas
Match the headings
to the paragraphs (Task 1).

Match the headings to the paragraphs.
(Task 1)
Paragraph 1 A. The tragic accident
Paragraph 2 B. The lift-off
Paragraph 3 C. Congratulations
Paragraph 4 D. A view on Earth
Paragraph 5 E. Uncertainties

1
2
3
4
5
5
1
4
2
3

1. At 9.07 a.m. Moscow time on 12
th
April, 1961, Yuri Gagarin lifted off into space aboard
the Vostok 1. Approximately 12 minutes later, the first human beings was in orbit around
the Earth at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour. His flight lasted 108 minutes.
2. The 27- year- old Soviet cosmonaut became the first person to eat and drink in
weightlessness. From his window in space, Gagarin was able to see the earth in a way that
no human beings had done before. The first words spoken from space were: “I see the Earth.
It’s so beautiful.”
3. Before Gagarin’s historic flight, there were still enormous uncertainties. No one knew
precisely what would happen to a human being in space. How would the body react to the
extreme changes in temperature? How would the mind deal with the psychological tension?
If there was a technical failure, Gagarin might never get back to the Earth.
4. The success of Gagarin’s flight attracted worldwide attention and made him a hero. In a
telegram to Moscow, US. President John F. Kennedy wrote, “The people of the United
States share with the people of the Soviet Union their satisfaction for the safe flight of the
astronaut in man’s first venture into space. We congratulate you and Soviet scientists and

engineers who made this feat possible.”
5. Gagarin could have made another space flight if a tragic accident had not occurred. He
died in a plane crash on a routine training flight in March 1968. After his death, his
hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin, and the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star
City, Russia, was given the name of this national hero.

Match the headings to the paragraphs.
(Task 1)
Paragraph 1 A. The tragic accident
Paragraph 2 B. The lift-off
Paragraph 3 C. Congratulations
Paragraph 4 D. A view on Earth
Paragraph 5 E. Uncertainties


1
2
3
4
5
5
1
4
2
3
1. B 2. D 3. E 4. C 5. A

2. Activity2: Questions-answers.
Answer the following questions (Task 2):
1. How old was Gagarin when he became the first

human being in space?
2. How long was he in space?
3. What questions were raised before Gagarin’s space
flight?
4. What was the speed of his spacecraft in orbit around
the earth?
5. Why couldn’t Gagarin make a new space flight?
6. What was done after Gagarin ‘s death to honour this
national hero?

- He was 27 then
- 108 minutes
- What would happen to a human being in space?
- How would the body react to the extreme changes in
temperature?
- How would the mind deal with the psychological tension?”
2. Activity2: Questions-answers.
Answer the following questions (Task 2):

1. How old was Gagarin when he became the first human
being in space?
2. How long was he in space?
3. What question were raised before Gagarin’s space flight?

- It was more than 17,000 miles per hour
- Because he died in a plane crash on a routine training
flight in March 1968.
- His hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.
- The Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City, Russia, was
given the name Gagarin to honour this national hero.

2. Activity2: Questions-answers.
Answer the following questions (Task 2):
4. What was the speed of his spacecraft in orbit around the
Earth?
5. What couldn’t Gagarin make a new space flight?
6. What was done after Gagarin’s death to honor this
national hero?

1. He was 27 then.
2. He was in space for 108 minutes.
3. They were what would happen to a human being in space
or how the body would react to the extreme changes in
temperature or how the mind would deal with the
psychological tension.
4. It was more than 17,000 miles per hour.
5. Because he died in a plane crash on a routine training
flight in March 1968.
6. After his death, his hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed
Gagarin and the Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City,
Russia, was given the name of this national hero.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONAS

III. Post-reading:
1. Activity 1: Gap-filling

Complete the summary of the reading passage by putting the
words/ phrases in the box into the blanks.
impossible named after lasted gravity
success view in space cosmonaut
On 12th April,1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Russian (1)___________

became the first human being (2)______________ . Although
his flight (3) ______ only 108 minutes, its (4) _________
made him a national hero. He also became the first person to
eat and drink in zero (5) ____________, and he was able to
(6)_________ the Earth in a way that no one had done before.
Unfortunately, a plane crash in March 1968 made Gagarin’s
desire of revisiting space (7) ____________. After his death,
his hometown and the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star
City, Russia were (8) _______________ him.

2. Activity 2: Talking about Yuri Gagarin, using the given
numbers below.
108
27
1968
1961
Yuri Gagarin flew into space on 12
th
April,1961.
He was 27 years old when he became
the first human being into space.
His flight lasted 108 minutes.
He died in a plane crash in March 1968.


IV. HOME WORK
1. Reviewing vocabulary
learnt today.
2. Translating the text into
Vietnamese.