Daily Life Aboard the Space Station: Comprehension and Vocabulary

Coming Down to Earth: Comprehension Questions (4 Points)

Part A: Answering Questions

1. How different was daily life on board the Space Station?

   Daily life was uncomfortable because of the lack of common pleasures (hot showers, favorite food, etc.).

2. How did the astronauts manage not to miss their families very much? (Specify two reasons)

   They managed by writing to them and receiving messages by electronic mail, and also by talking to them over the phone.

Part B: True or False Statements

Determine if these statements are True or False. Justifications are provided below:

• Pedro Duque was in orbit for six months.

  FALSE: “Spaniard Pedro Duque, who was on a one-week mission, …” (lines 3-4)

• The orbital platform was exclusively a Russian and American enterprise.

  FALSE: “Lu said the exciting life on the 16-nation orbital platform…” (line 5)

• Living in the orbital platform was so stimulating that astronauts could manage without ordinary comforts.

  TRUE: “the exciting life on the 16-nation orbital platform had amply compensated for not enjoying common comforts” (lines 5-6)

• The Russian astronaut got married while in space.

  TRUE: “Having married his fiancée Ekaterina Dmitriev in August via a satellite video link from space” (line 8)

Use of English and Vocabulary Exercises (3 Points)

7. Give one opposite for EXCITING (adjective) (line 5)

   BORING, UNINTERESTING, DULL (0.25 points)

8. Find in the text one word meaning GO ON (verb)

   CONTINUE (line 9) (0.25 points)

9. Find in the text the word which has the following definition: “a group of people working on a spaceship” (noun)

   CREW (Line 3) (0.25 points)

10. Give an adjective with the same root as ENJOY (verb) (line 5)

    ENJOYABLE, JOYFUL (0.25 points)

11. Give a question for the underlined words:

    Edward Lu met his fiancée after Christmas.

    Question: WHEN DID EDWARD LU MEET HIS FIANCÉE? (0.5 points)

12. Use the words in the boxes to make a meaningful sentence.

    MALENCHENKO HAD A WALK AROUND THE STATION

13. Turn the following sentence into passive:

    The astronauts are giving the journalists a lot of information

    Passive Forms:

    • A LOT OF INFORMATION IS BEING GIVEN TO THE JOURNALISTS
    • THE JOURNALISTS ARE BEING GIVEN A LOT OF INFORMATION

14. Complete the following sentence:

    If I went to space some day, …

    Example Completion: I WOULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE THERE