space travel and health reading answer

Space travel and health Answers and Questions

The Blog post contains the following IELTS Reading Questions :

  • IELTS Reading Yes/No/Not given
  • IELTS Reading Matching headings
  • IELTS Reading Sentence completion

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IELTS Reading Passage: Space travel and health

space travel and health reading answer

Space travel and health

A. Both in the United States and Europe, space biomedicine is a relatively new field of study. Its primary goals are to investigate how space travel affects the human body, pinpoint the most pressing medical issues, and come up with solutions for those issues. NASA and/or the European Space Agency are providing more direct funding to space biomedicine centres. (ESA).

B. NASA and the ESA’s involvement reflects a growing concern that human endurance limits rather than engineering limitations are limiting the viability of travel to other planets and beyond. For example, the discovery of ice on Mars eliminates the need to design and build a spacecraft that is both large and powerful enough to transport the enormous quantities of water required to keep the crew alive during journeys that could last for many years. However, without the proper safeguards and medical care, the relentlessly hostile environment of space would wreak havoc on their bodies.

C. In many cases, the most noticeable physical changes people experience in zero gravity are harmless or even amusing. Because Earth’s gravity no longer pulls blood and other bodily fluids downward toward the feet, they accumulate higher up in the body, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as a “fat face” and the contrasting “chicken legs” syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner.

D. The unobserved effects following months or years in space are much more severe. Without gravity, the body doesn’t need a strong skeleton to support it, which causes the bones to deteriorate and release calcium into the bloodstream. The kidneys may become overloaded by the extra calcium, which ultimately results in renal failure. Muscles also lose strength from inactivity. The lungs lose their ability to fully expand while the heart gets smaller, losing the ability to pump oxygenated blood to every part of the body. The immune system weakens, the digestive system becomes less effective, and high levels of solar and cosmic radiation can result in different types of cancer.

E. To make matters worse, in the event of an accident or serious illness, a variety of medical challenges may present themselves to the patient while they are millions of kilometres away from Earth. Simply put, the equipment from a hospital’s casualty unit cannot be transported inside a spacecraft because there is not enough room for it, and some of it would not function properly in space anyway. Even simple things like a drip rely on gravity to work, whereas standard resuscitation techniques fail if enough weight is not applied. The only option appears to be to develop incredibly tiny medical tools and “smart” gadgets that can, for instance, use ultrasound to identify and treat internal injuries. The price of creating and manufacturing this type of equipment is inevitably astronomical.

F. Given these factors, some have questioned the morality of spending enormous sums of money to aid a small group of individuals who are willingly risking their health in space when there is a great need for assistance much closer to home. However, it is now obvious that every issue with space travel has an equivalent issue on Earth that will gain from the knowledge amassed and the expertise honed through space biomedical research. For instance, the difficulty of treating astronauts in space has accelerated the field of telemedicine’s development, allowing surgeons to communicate with patients in inhospitable locations around the world. Another illustration: Systems developed to purify waste water on spacecraft could be used by rescue personnel to filter contaminated water at the scene of earthquakes and floods. Similar to how tiny monitoring devices that However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring the astronomical costs of working in space. Working underwater is a tried-and-true method to simulate conditions in zero gravity, but the space biomedicine centres are also considering other approaches. In one experiment, scientists look at the deterioration of bones brought on by extended inactivity. This would require volunteers to spend three months in bed, but the centre in question is confident that it shouldn’t be too difficult to find volunteers willing to spend a month lying down.Of course, AII was done in the name of science.were created to reduce weight in spacecraft will eventually become monitors that patients on Earth can wear comfortably wherever they go.

G. However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring the astronomical costs of working in space. Working underwater is a tried-and-true method to simulate conditions in zero gravity, but the space biomedicine centres are also considering other approaches. In one experiment, scientists look at the deterioration of bones brought on by extended inactivity. This would require volunteers to spend three months in bed, but the centre in question is confident that it shouldn’t be too difficult to find volunteers willing to spend a month lying down. Of course, AII was done in the name of science.

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Space travel and health IELTS Reading Questions

Questions 1 – 3

Do the following statements agree with the writer’s views in the Reading Passage? Write:

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO, if the state does not agree with the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

1. The obstacles to going far into space are now medical, not technological. 2.  Astronauts cannot survive more than two years in space. 3.  It is morally wrong to spend so much money on space biomedicine. 4.  Some kinds of surgery are more successful when performed in space. 5.  Space biomedical research can only be done in space.

Want to excel in identifying the writer’s views and claims? Click here to explore our in-depth guide on how to accurately determine Yes, No, or Not Given in the IELTS Reading section .

Questions     6-10

Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E and G from the list of headings below. Write the correct member (i-x) in boxes 6 —10 on your answer sheet. 

List of Headings

i. The issue of handling emergencies in space ii. How space biomedicine can benefit patients here on Earth (ii) iii. The reason accidents happen so frequently in space iv. What is biomedicine in space? v. Astronauts’ mental health issues vi. conducting on-planet biomedical research in space vii. The internal harm that space travel does to the human body viii. The history of space medicine ix. The physical repercussions of space travel on the human body, item x. The current need for space biomedicine

Example:  Paragraph A Answer iv

6.   Paragraph B 7.   Paragraph C 8.   Paragraph D 9.   Paragraph E 10.   Paragraph G

Example: Paragraph F Answer ii

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Questions 11-13

Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

11. The space travellers can find water in ________ apart from Earth. 12. The legs become ___________ while in space travel. 13. Telemedicine treating astronauts _________ in remote areas.

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Space travel and health Reading answers

Solution for 1: YesSolution for 2: Not given Solution for 3: No Solution for 4: Not given Solution for 5: No Solution for 6: x Solution for 7: ix Solution for 8: vii Solution for 9:  i Solution for 10: vi Solution for 11: Mars Solution for 12: They become thinner Solution for 13: Communication with patients

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Space Travel And Health Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test with Answers

Updated on Aug 29, 2024, 09:54

This passage, “Space travel and health”, explores space biomedicine, a field studying the effects of space travel on human health. It highlights the challenges astronauts face, such as bone loss, muscle atrophy, and weakened immune systems. It also discusses the high costs and technical difficulties of space medicine, including the need for compact medical tools and innovative research methods like underwater simulations. Despite the debate over the ethics of investing in space health research, it is noted that advancements in this field benefit Earth-bound medical practices.

Understanding this passage will help in the  IELTS Reading section by enhancing your ability to summarise complex information, grasp main ideas, and recognise the implications of scientific research. Practising with such detailed content can contribute to achieving a higher  IELTS Reading score by improving comprehension and analytical skills.

Let’s look at the “Space Travel And Health” reading passage along with questions, answers and explanations.

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1. Space Travel And Health Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering  Questions 1 - 13  based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam.

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2. Space Travel And Health Reading Questions & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Space Travel And Health Reading Questions & Answers

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Space Travel And Health Reading Passage

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

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Paragraph A

Both in the United States and Europe, space biomedicine is a relatively new field of study. Its primary goals are to investigate how space travel affects the human body, pinpoint the most pressing medical issues, and come up with solutions for those issues. NASA and/or the European Space Agency are providing more direct funding to space biomedicine centres. (ESA).

Paragraph B

NASA and the ESA's involvement reflects a growing concern that human endurance limits rather than engineering limitations are limiting the viability of travel to other planets and beyond. For example, the discovery of ice on Mars eliminates the need to design and build a spacecraft that is both large and powerful enough to transport the enormous quantities of water required to keep the crew alive during journeys that could last for many years. However, without proper safeguards and medical care, the relentlessly hostile space environment would wreak havoc on their bodies.

Paragraph C

In many cases, the most noticeable physical changes people experience in zero gravity are harmless or even amusing. Because Earth's gravity no longer pulls blood and other bodily fluids downward toward the feet, they accumulate higher up in the body, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as a "fat face" and the contrasting "chicken legs" syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner.

Paragraph D

The unobserved effects following months or years in space are much more severe. Without gravity, the body doesn't need a strong skeleton to support it, which causes the bones to deteriorate and release calcium into the bloodstream. The kidneys may become overloaded by the extra calcium, which ultimately results in renal failure. Muscles also lose strength from inactivity. The lungs lose their ability to fully expand while the heart gets smaller, losing the ability to pump oxygenated blood to every part of the body. The immune system weakens, the digestive system becomes less effective, and high levels of solar and cosmic radiation can result in different types of cancer.

Paragraph E

To make matters worse, in the event of an accident or serious illness, a variety of medical challenges may present themselves to the patient while they are millions of kilometres away from Earth. Simply put, the equipment from a hospital's casualty unit cannot be transported inside a spacecraft because there is not enough room for it, and some of it would not function properly in space anyway. Even simple things like a drip rely on gravity to work, whereas standard resuscitation techniques fail if enough weight is not applied. The only option appears to be to develop incredibly tiny medical tools and "smart" gadgets that can, for instance, use ultrasound to identify and treat internal injuries. The price of creating and manufacturing this type of equipment is inevitably astronomical.

Paragraph F

Given these factors, some have questioned the morality of spending enormous sums of money to aid a small group of individuals who are willingly risking their health in space when there is a great need for assistance much closer to home. However, it is now obvious that every issue with space travel has an equivalent issue on Earth that will be gained from the knowledge amassed and the expertise honed through space biomedical research. For instance, the difficulty of treating astronauts in space has accelerated the field of telemedicine's development, allowing surgeons to communicate with patients in inhospitable locations around the world. Another illustration: Systems developed to purify wastewater on spacecraft could be used by rescue personnel to filter contaminated water at the scene of earthquakes and floods. Similar to how tiny monitoring devices are. However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring the astronomical costs of working in space. Working underwater is a tried-and-true method to simulate conditions in zero gravity, but the space biomedicine centres are also considering other approaches. In one experiment, scientists look at the deterioration of bones brought on by extended inactivity. This would require volunteers to spend three months in bed, but the centre in question is confident that it shouldn't be too difficult to find volunteers willing to spend a month lying down. Of course, AII was created in the name of science to reduce the weight of spacecraft. These will eventually become monitors that patients on Earth can wear comfortably wherever they go.

Paragraph G

However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring the astronomical costs of working in space. Working underwater is a tried-and-true method to simulate conditions in zero gravity, but the space biomedicine centres are also considering other approaches. In one experiment, scientists look at the deterioration of bones brought on by extended inactivity. This would require volunteers to spend three months in bed, but the centre in question is confident that it shouldn't be too difficult to find volunteers willing to spend a month lying down. Of course, AII was done in the name of science.  

Space Travel And Health Reading Questions & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Space Travel And Health

Questions and Answers 1-5

  • YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
  • NO if the state does not agree with the views of the writer
  • NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

1. The obstacles to going far into space are now medical, not technological.

2.  Astronauts cannot survive more than two years in space.

3.  It is morally wrong to spend so much money on space biomedicine.

4.  Some kinds of surgery are more successful when performed in space.

5.  Space biomedical research can only be done in space.

Space Travel And Health Reading Answers with Explanations (1-5)

Type of question: Yes/No/Not Given(True/False/Not Given)

In this question type, you are required to determine whether the statements provided agree with, contradict, or are not mentioned in the reading passage. 

How to best answer: 

  • Understand what information is being presented and what is being asked.
  • Find relevant information in the reading passage that relates to the statement.
  • Determine if the statement agrees with, contradicts, or is not mentioned in the passage.
  • If the information is not explicitly provided in the passage, select 'Not Given' rather than making assumptions.
  • Base your answers solely on the information presented in the passage, avoiding personal opinions or outside knowledge.

Reference: 

From paragraph A:  “Its primary goals are to investigate how space travel affects the human body, pinpoint the most pressing medical issues, and come up with solutions for those issues”.

Explanation:  This line clarifies that the primary focus of space biomedicine is to address how space travel impacts the human body and to tackle medical issues arising from it. This reflects that medical concerns are currently the main obstacles to deep space travel, not technological ones. Hence, the statement is correct.

From paragraph:  N/A

Explanation: The passage does not provide any information about the specific duration for which astronauts can survive in space. Therefore, there is no basis to confirm or refute the statement about survival limits.

From paragraph F:  “Given these factors, some have questioned the morality of spending enormous sums of money to aid a small group of individuals who are willingly risking their health in space when there is a great need for assistance much closer to home”.

Explanation:  This line reflects that there is a debate about the morality of the expenditure on space biomedicine due to the perceived higher need for resources on Earth. It does not assert that spending money on space biomedicine is morally wrong, only that some people question it, making the statement incorrect.

Explanation:  This line describes the Voyager spacecraft's use of coding methods to ensure accurate data transmission despite potential errors. The mention of error-detecting systems and clear pictures from the spacecraft illustrates how technology can handle incomplete information, making E the correct answer.

From paragraph G:  “However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring the astronomical costs of working in space. Working underwater is a tried-and-true method to simulate conditions in zero gravity, but the space biomedicine centres are also considering other approaches”.

Explanation:  This line demonstrates that space biomedicine research can be conducted using methods other than space travel itself, such as underwater simulations. It highlights that researchers are exploring alternative approaches to reduce costs, thereby indicating that space biomedicine research is not limited to space alone. Hence, the statement is incorrect.

Also Read: IELTS General Reading Test .

Questions and Answers 6-10

  • Reading Passage has seven paragraphs: A-G.
  • Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E and G from the list of headings below.
  • Write the correct member (i-x) in boxes 6 —10 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i. The issue of handling emergencies in space

ii. How space biomedicine can benefit patients here on Earth (ii)

iii. The reason accidents happen so frequently in space

iv. What is biomedicine in space?

v. Astronauts' mental health issues

vi. conducting on-planet biomedical research in space

vii. The internal harm that space travel does to the human body

viii. The history of space medicine

ix. The physical repercussions of space travel on the human body, item

x. The current need for space biomedicine

6.   Paragraph B

7.   Paragraph C

8.   Paragraph D

9.   Paragraph E

10.   Paragraph G

Space Travel And Health Reading Answers with Explanations (6-10)

Type of question: Matching Headings

In this question type, you will be asked to choose the correct heading for each paragraph from a list of headings provided. This type of question assesses your ability to understand the main idea or theme of each paragraph.

  • Familiarise yourself with the list of headings before reading the paragraphs. This helps you know what to look for.
  • Identify the main idea or theme of each paragraph by looking for topic sentences or recurring themes.
  • Find keywords or phrases that are similar to those in the headings. This can help you make connections.
  • Eliminate incorrect options that don't match any paragraphs to narrow down your choices.
  • Skim and Scan each paragraph efficiently to get a context about the content.

From paragraph B:  “NASA and the ESA's involvement reflects a growing concern that human endurance limits rather than engineering limitations are limiting the viability of travel to other planets —------- relentlessly hostile environment of space would wreak havoc on their bodies”.

Explanation:  This line highlights that NASA and ESA’s involvement in space biomedicine is driven by concerns over human endurance rather than just technical challenges. It emphasises the current need for space biomedicine to address health issues in prolonged space travel, making “the current need for space biomedicine” the most relevant heading. Hence, “x” is the correct answer.

Reference: From paragraph C:  “In many cases, the most noticeable physical changes people experience in zero gravity are harmless —-------- the contrasting "chicken legs" syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner”.

Explanation: The line discusses how the body undergoes physical changes in zero gravity, such as a "fat face" and thinner legs, which are usually harmless or amusing. This focus on the physical changes due to zero gravity supports “the physical repercussions of space travel on the human body, item” as the correct heading. Hence, “ix” is the correct answer.

Reference: From paragraph D:   “The unobserved effects following months or years in space are much more severe. Without gravity, the body doesn't need a strong skeleton —---------- digestive system becomes less effective, and high levels of solar and cosmic radiation can result in different types of cancer”.

Explanation: This line describes the severe health effects experienced after long durations in space, including bone deterioration, muscle loss, and weakened organs. The detailed description of these severe internal harms confirms “the internal harm that space travel does to the human body” as the appropriate heading. Hence, “vii” is the correct answer.

Reference: From paragraph E:   “To make matters worse, in the event of an accident or serious illness, a variety of medical challenges may present themselves—-------------- not enough room for it, and some of it would not function properly in space anyway”.

Explanation:  This line outlines the difficulties of handling medical emergencies in space due to limitations in equipment and space constraints. It underscores the specific challenges of managing emergencies far from Earth, making “the issue of handling emergencies in space” the fitting heading. Hence, “i” is the correct answer.

Reference: From paragraph G:  “However, there is still a significant barrier to conducting studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without incurring —---------- willing to spend a month lying down. Of course, AII was done in the name of science”.

Explanation: The line points out the major obstacle of high costs in space research and explores alternative methods such as underwater simulations. This discussion aligns with “conducting on-planet biomedical research in space,” highlighting the need for cost-effective research approaches. Hence, “vi” is the correct answer.

Learn about  IELTS Reading Vocabulary here! 

Questions and Answers 11-13

  • Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

11. The space travellers can find water in ________ apart from Earth.

12. The legs become ___________ while in space travel.

13. Telemedicine treating astronauts _________ in remote areas.

Space Travel And Health Reading Answers with Explanations (11-13)

Type of question: Sentence Completion

In this question type, you are required to fill in the blanks in a given sentence with words or phrases taken directly from the passage. These questions test your ability to understand specific details and information presented in the text.

  • Read the sentence carefully to understand the context.
  • Identify keywords or clues that can help you find the answer in the passage.
  • Scan the passage for relevant information, focusing on the area around the blank.
  • Choose the answer that fits grammatically and contextually.
  • Verify your answers and finalise them.

Reference: From paragraph B:   "For example, the discovery of ice on Mars eliminates the need to design and build a spacecraft that is both large and powerful enough to transport the enormous quantities of water required to keep the crew alive during journeys that could last for many years."

Explanation: This line highlights that finding ice on Mars could potentially provide water for space travellers, eliminating the need for large spacecraft designed to carry significant amounts of water. This makes "Mars" the correct answer, as it directly addresses the source of water mentioned in the passage.

Reference: From paragraph C:   “Because Earth's gravity no longer pulls blood and other bodily fluids downward toward the feet, they accumulate higher up in the body, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as a "fat face" and the contrasting "chicken legs" syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner.”

Explanation: This line describes the physical changes astronauts experience in zero gravity, specifically how their lower limbs become thinner due to the redistribution of bodily fluids. This makes  "they become thinner" the correct answer, as it directly reflects the change described in the passage.

Reference: From paragraph F: “ For instance, the difficulty of treating astronauts in space has accelerated the field of telemedicine's development, allowing surgeons to communicate with patients in inhospitable locations around the world.”

Explanation : The need for advanced medical care in space has led to significant advancements in telemedicine, enabling remote communication between surgeons and patients in isolated locations. This line underscores the role of space travel in advancing telemedicine, making "communication with patients" the right answer.

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Ans.  If you run out of time, quickly move on and complete as many questions as you can in the remaining time. Ensure you at least provide answers for all questions, even if they are guesses. Practice time management during your preparation to reduce the likelihood of running out of time during the actual test.

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Space travel And Health IELTS Reading Answers

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Updated on 13 April, 2023

Mrinal Mandal

Mrinal Mandal

Study abroad expert.

Mrinal Mandal

The IELTS examinations are again coming close. Students who wish to enroll in international universities must score well on this test. The IELTS test assesses a student's comprehension skills and language proficiency. For a better understanding of the question pattern and type, students must practice regularly using sample papers. The Space Travel and Health Reading sample is designed to support preparations so students can ace the test. 

Table of Contents

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  • Questions 1-5
  • Questions 6-7

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Study Abroad Without IELTS

Explore ielts reading samples with answers.

A. Space biomedicine is a relatively new area of research both in the USA and Europe. Its main objectives are to study the effects of space travel on the human body, identify the most critical medical problems, and find solutions to those problems. Space biomedicine centers are receiving increasing direct support from NASA and/or the European Space Agency (ESA).

B. This involvement of NASA and the ESA reflects growing concern that the feasibility of travel to other planets and beyond is no longer limited by engineering constraints but by what the human body can withstand. The discovery of ice on Mars, for instance, means that there is now no necessity to design and develop a large and powerful spacecraft to transport the vast amounts of water needed to sustain the crew throughout journeys that may last many years. Without the necessary protection and medical treatment, however, their bodies would be devastated by the unremittingly hostile environment of space.

C. The most apparent physical changes undergone by people in zero gravity are harmless; in some cases, they are even amusing. The blood and other fluids are no longer dragged down towards the feet by the gravity of Earth, so they accumulate higher up in the body, creating what is sometimes called 'fat face`, together with the opposite 'chicken legs' syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner.

D. More serious are the unseen consequences after months or years in space. With no gravity, there is less need for a sturdy skeleton to support the body, resulting in the bones weakening and releasing calcium into the bloodstream. This extra calcium can overload the kidneys, leading ultimately to renal failure. Muscles, too, lose strength through lack of use. The heart becomes smaller, losing the power to pump oxygenated blood to all body parts, while the lungs lose the capacity to breathe fully. The digestive system becomes less efficient, a weakened immune system is increasingly unable to prevent diseases, and high levels of solar and cosmic radiation can cause various forms of cancer.

E. To make matters worse, a wide range of medical difficulties can arise in the case of an accident or severe illness when the patient is millions of kilometers from Earth. There is not enough room inside a space vehicle to include all the equipment from a hospital's casualty unit, some of which would not work correctly in space. Even basic things such as a drip depend on gravity to function, while standard resuscitation techniques become ineffective if sufficient weight cannot be applied. The only solution seems to be to create extremely small medical tools and 'smart` devices that can, for example, diagnose and treat internal injuries using ultrasound. The cost of designing and producing this kind of equipment is bound to be astronomical.

F. Such considerations have led some to question the ethics of investing vast sums of money to help a handful of people who, after all, are willingly risking their health in outer space, when so much needs to be done a lot closer to home. However, it is clear that every problem of space travel has a parallel problem on Earth that will benefit from the knowledge gained and the skills developed from space biomedical research. For instance, the difficulty of treating astronauts in space has led to rapid progress in telemedicine, which has brought about developments that enable surgeons to communicate with patients in inaccessible parts of the world. To take another example, systems invented to sterilize wastewater onboard spacecraft could be used by emergency teams to filter contaminated water at the scene of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. In the same way, miniature monitoring equipment, developed to save weight in space capsules, will eventually become tiny monitors that patients on Earth can wear without discomfort wherever they go.

G. Nevertheless, there is still one major obstacle to studying the effects of space travel: how to do so without going to the enormous expense of working in space. One tried and tested method to simulate conditions in zero gravity is to work underwater, but the space biomedicine centers are also looking at other ideas. In one experiment, researchers studied the weakening of bones that results from prolonged inactivity. This would involve volunteers staying in bed for three months, but the center concerned is confident there should be no great difficulty in finding people willing to spend twelve weeks lying down. AII in the name of science, of course.

IELTS IDIOMS GUIDE

Questions 1-5 

Reading passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E and G from the list of titles below. Write the valid number (i-x) in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. 

List of Headings 

  • The problem of dealing with emergencies in space. 
  • How space biomedicine can help patients on Earth 
  • Why are accidents so common in outer space 
  • What is space biomedicine?
  • The psychological problems of astronauts 
  • Conducting space biomedical research on Earth 
  • The internal damage caused to the human body by space travel 
  • How space biomedicine first began 
  • The visible effects of space travel on the human body 
  • Why space biomedicine is now necessary 

Answer (1) –  x (Why space biomedicine is now necessary) 

Explanation: 

In the second paragraph or Paragraph B of the  Space Travel and Health Reading Answers , the author says that returning to space is no longer a problem due to engineering limitations. The primary issue is human health in outer space. Towards the end also, the author says that if proper medical equipment and teams are unavailable, the same can have irrecoverable health consequences given how hostile the outer space environment is. This shows how necessary space for biomedical research is. 

Answer (2) –  ix (The visible effects of space travel on the human body) 

Explanation:  According to Paragraph C of the  Space Travel and Health Reading sample, the author talks about visible changes that outer space travel cause on the human body. From the get-go, mention is made of the first visible change, which is rather amusing. The blood accumulating towards the face due to zero gravity is the first change – the fat face situation. Then comes chicken legs syndrome since the lower half of the limbs become leaner. So, this paragraph is all about visible physiological changes. 

Answer (3) –  vii (The internal damage caused to the human body by space travel)

Explanation:  Paragraph D of the  Space Travel and Health Reading sample starts by mentioning that the visible physiological changes are trivial compared to the other dangerous changes happening within the body over months and years of staying in space. Then the author mentions what those changes can be – calcium accumulating in the kidneys, bones weakening significantly, renal failure, heart becoming smaller, and decreased muscle strength. So, this paragraph is all about the internal damage of space travel. 

Answer (4) –  i (The problem of dealing with emergencies in space)

Explanation:  In the fifth paragraph of Paragraph E of the reading passage, the author carefully discusses the complications that health emergencies in space may cause. Many such examples are also mentioned, including drip not functioning due to lack of gravity. Then there is the problem of resuscitation in case the patient's body weight has reduced dramatically. This paragraph focuses heavily on the complications that space health emergencies cause.  

Answer (5) –  vi (Conducting space biomedical research on Earth) 

Explanation:  In the final paragraph or Paragraph G of the  Space Travel and Health Reading sample, the author talks explicitly about how space biomedical research may be conducted on Earth. He mentions two experiments that may work – one is to experiment underwater for zero gravity situations and the other is to have volunteers lie down for 12 weeks straight to help study the weakening of bones due to extended periods of inactivity. 

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Questions 6-7 

Do the following statements agree with the writer’s views on the Reading Passage? Write –

YES -  If the statement agrees with the views of the writer 

NO  – If the statement contradicts the views of the writer 

NOT GIVEN –  If there is no information about this in the passage 

8. The obstacles to going far into space are medical, not technological.

Answer – YES 

Explanation:  The answer to this question may be found in Paragraph B of the  Space Travel   and Health Reading Answers . This paragraph begins as a continuation of the previous one, wherein the author says that the greater involvement of ESA and NASA in space biomedicine centers is raising concerns. In Paragraph B, the concerns are revealed – space travel limitations currently do not extend to engineering or technological issues but to medical reasons. This is implied by the sentence talking about the conditions that the human body can endure. Hence, the statement is true. 

9. Astronauts cannot survive more than two years in space. 

Answer – NOT GIVEN

Explanation:  This question's answer may be found in Paragraph D of the  Space Travel and Health Reading sample. In the previous paragraphs, the author addressed concerns about space travel. In Paragraph D, questions are raised on the effects of space on the human body after months and years of living there. The author mentions several adverse consequences, such as too much calcium in the bloodstream, weakened muscles, a smaller heart, and an inefficient digestive system. However, no mention is made of whether or not humans can survive in space for more than two years. 

10. Spending so much money on space biomedicine is morally wrong. 

Answer – NO

Explanation:  Paragraph F of the  Space Health and Travel Reading Answers answers this question. In the previous paragraph, the writer talks about the enormous sum space travel-related medical research would cost. In the paragraph in question, the author reveals that some people consider space travel-related biomedical research unethical investments. However, he further states that such research has value for medical science on Earth. Instances include advancements in telemedicine. Therefore, the statement contradicts what is given in the passage. 

11. Some kinds of surgery are more successful when performed in space. 

Answer – NOT GIVEN 

Explanation:  A clue to this question's answer can be found in Paragraph F of the Reading passage. As the paragraph proceeds, the author says that investing in biomedicine research for space travel is helpful because it helps medical research on Earth. He gives the example of telemedicine. We also get to know that the way this has helped is it has enabled surgeons to communicate with patients in every part of the world. However, nowhere is mention of certain surgeries being more successful in space. 

12. Space biomedical research can only be done in space. 

Answer – NO 

Explanation:  The answer to this question is available in Paragraph G of the  Space Travel and Health Reading Answers sample. In this paragraph, the author mentions that it is possible to carry out biomedicine research for space travel on Earth itself. However, the same will involve huge expenses and out-of-the-ordinary experiments. An example is also given in the form of having volunteers lay in bed for three months straight to test the weakening of bones. Though the experiment seems impractical, at least the statement is true because space-related biomedicine research is possible on Earth. 

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Questions 13-14 

Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer 

Answer for Question 13 –  Communicate with patients 

Explanation:  The answer to this question may be found in Paragraph F of the  Space Travel   and Health Reading Answers . In this paragraph, the author continues the debate on whether investing money in space-related biomedicine research is ethical. Then, the author justifies the spending, saying that this research has benefitted the Earth in several ways, one of which is the advancement of telemedicine. And the reason is that surgeons can now speak to people in previously inaccessible parts of the world. 

Answer for Question 14 –  Filter contaminated water 

Explanation:  The answer to this question can again be found in Paragraph F of the  Space   Travel and Health   Reading sample. In this paragraph, the author first mentions advancements in telemedicine as one of the significant benefits of space-related biomedicine research. An example was how surgeons were able to communicate with patients in previously inaccessible parts of the world. Then, he offers another example – systems through which wastewater in the spacecraft was sterilized could also be used to fix contaminated water in sites of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. 

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READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

BEEN THERE; DONE THAT – IN ZERO GRAVITY

Until recently, only nation-states and their agencies were capable of sending satellites and astronauts into space. We’ve all heard of NASA, ESA, and the ISS (International Space Station), but now some private firms are challenging those institutions. The question is: are these companies merely chasing tourist dollars, or will their space exploration benefit humanity?

Currently, there are at least four big American and two British companies involved in the new space race – the mission to send tourists to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. There they can experience the thrills of weightlessness and the marvellous sight of our planet so far away.

One such company, Blue Origin, was founded by Jeff Bezos. The billionaire Bezos was the man behind Amazon, America’s largest online retailer. The main project of Blue Origin is a vertical take-off and landing rocket, designed exclusively for tourism.

Armadillo Aerospace was also set up by a well-known American: John Carmack. He gave the world the video games Doom and Quake. Armadillo is developing a similar spacecraft to that of Blue Origin. Fares for suborbital trips will start at around $100,000. Although the spacecraft is still in the testing stage, a travel agency, Space Adventures, has signed a deal with Armadillo to sell seats.

A cheaper alternative to Armadillo’s trip may be a ride on a Lynx spacecraft. This is the brainchild of Jeff Greason, of XCOR Aerospace. This company subcontracts for NASA and is well known for producing reliable craft. Its new tourist spacecraft can take off and land on a runway at a civilian airport. It may be able to make four daily suborbital flights but will carry only one passenger each time.

Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur, is planning to start space-tourist flights on his Virgin Galactic craft. These will carry six passengers, paying up to $200,000 for their space thrill. Once thrust upwards, the craft will head for the edge of the atmosphere. The whole journey will last just a few minutes.

Starchaser, a company headed by Briton, Steve Bennet, hopes its rockets will offer a more enduring experience – a 20-minute flight, several minutes of which will be spent in zero gravity.

But probably the most impressive private space company is SpaceX. This was set up by Elon Musk, an internet entrepreneur born in South Africa. Musk made his fortune creating PayPal, which eBay bought from him for $1.5bn. While anyone else with that kind of money may well have retired, Musk works 100 hours a week at his Los Angeles rocket factory, intent on realising his dream.

For Musk, space travel is not just about ticking things off in a Lonely Planet guidebook. He believes the future of humanity lies in its ability to colonise other planets. Since his days as a student at Penn State University, he has been passionate about the future. He is certainly living on other planets is the only way humans can prevent self-destruction or save themselves from a catastrophic event like the impact of a large meteorite.

Musk established SpaceX in 2002. Yet within only seven years, it had launched a satellite from its rocket, Falcon 1. By contrast, agencies like NASA and ESA take decades to achieve similar feats. In 2010, SpaceX sent its much larger Falcon 9 rocket into space. The next venture is to provide a taxi service to the ISS with Dragon, a small shuttle that Falcon 9 launches. This will deliver cargo and astronauts to the station. Dragon is radically different in design from the existing Shuttle, and far less costly.

In fact, before building Falcon and Dragon, Musk thoroughly researched the costs of building and launching rockets. He could not understand why government agencies spent so much money on these activities, and he concluded, quite simply, that they were inefficient. To prove his theory, SpaceX has produced the Merlin engine, which is elegantly designed, extremely powerful, and relatively cheap. It runs on highly refined kerosene that costs half the price of other rocket fuel. In most of SpaceX’s spacecraft, parts are re-usable, an innovation in the industry. There are also fewer stages in rocket transformation. That is: there are fewer times a rocket separates into smaller parts. All of this means spacecraft can be produced at a fraction of the cost of competitors while maintaining the same high safety standards.

Musk maintains that the Falcon 9, a rocket that carries astronauts, is so powerful it could already reach Mars if it were assembled in Earth’s orbit. He believes this technological advance will occur within 20 years – something most experts consider unlikely. Moreover, he firmly believes living on Mars is possible within the lifetime of his children. For him, the new space race is not only about selling tickets for a mind-blowing ride, but also about securing the future of our species.

For other private companies, however, there is no urge to invest heavily in missions to distant planets. Making a profit at the high end of the tourist market here on Earth is their only goal.

Questions 1-4

Reading Passage 1 has five sections: A-E .

Choose the correct heading for sections B-E from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-vii , in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i            To colonise or generate revenue?

ii           The big six

iii         NASA spends too much

iv          It’s not rocket science

v           Public or private spacecraft?

vi          Why Americans dominate

vii         An idealist and a realist  

Example          Answer

Section A        v  

1    Section B

2    Section C

3    Section D

4    Section E

Questions 5-9

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND / OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 5-9 on your answer sheet.

5   A ticket on one of Armadillo Aerospace’s trips into space is likely to cost …………………… .

6   A single passenger will journey on a(n) ………………….. spacecraft.

7   A ride on Virgin Galactic will take only …………………… minutes.

8   On a Starchaser spacecraft, a passenger will experience ……………………… minutes of weightlessness.

9   Elon Musk sold ………………….. , and set up SpaceX, which builds rockets.

Questions 10-13

Do the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 23-27 on your answer sheet, write:

TRUE                if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE               if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN      if there is no information on this

10    Musk is a keen supporter of human settlement in space.

11    Overall, SpaceX’s rockets are faster than its competitors.

12    Musk believes a manned spacecraft will reach Mars within 20 years.

13    Most private space companies share Musk’s enthusiasm for distant space travel.

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26  which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.  

BRAND LOYALTY RUNS DEEP

At almost any supermarket in Sydney, Australia, food from all over the world fills the shelves. Perhaps you fancy some Tick Tock Rooibos tea made in South Africa, or some Maharaja’s Choice Rogan Josh sauce from India. Alongside local Foster’s beer, Chinese Tsingtao and Indonesian Bintang are both to be found. For homesick Britons, the confectionary aisle is stocked with Mars Bars and Bountys, while for pining Poles sweets manufactured by firms like Wawel or Solidarposc are available. Restaurants in Sydney range from Afghan to Zambian, catering for different ethnic groups as well as the rest of the curious general public.

All of this variety is a result of population movement and changes in global trade, and, to a lesser extent, reduced production and transportation costs. While Australia can claim around 40% of its population as the first generation, other countries, like Switzerland, may have fewer international migrants, but still, have people who move from city to city in search of work. Even since the 1990s, taxes or tariffs on imported goods have decreased dramatically. The World Trade Organisation, for example, has promulgated the idea of zero tariffs, which has been adopted into legislation by many member states. It is estimated that within a century, agriculture worldwide has increased its efficiency five-fold. Faster and better-integrated road and rail services, containerisation, and the ubiquitous aeroplane have sped up transport immeasurably.

Even with this rise in the availability of non-local products, recent studies suggest that supermarkets should do more to increase their number to match more closely the proportion of shoppers from those countries or regions. Thus, if 10% of a supermarket’s customers originate in Vietnam, there ought to be 10% Vietnamese products in store. If Americans from southern states dominate in one northern neighbourhood, southern brands should also be conspicuous. Admittedly, there are already specialist shops that cater to minority groups, but minorities do frequent supermarkets.

Two separate studies by Americans Bart Bronnenberg and David Atkin have found that brand loyalty (choosing Maharaja’s Choice over Patak’s, or Cadbury’s over Nestlé) is not only determined by advertising, but also by a consumer’s past. If a product featured in a person’s early life in one place, then, as a migrant, he or she is likely to buy that same product even though it is more expensive than an otherwise identical locally-produced one.

In the US context, between 2006 and 2008, Bronnenberg analysed data from 38,000 families who had bought 238 different kinds of packaged goods. Although the same brands could be found across America, there were clear differences in what people purchased. In general, there were two leading brands in each kind of packaged good, but there were smaller brands that assumed a greater proportion of consumers’ purchases than was statistically likely. One explanation for this is that 16% of people surveyed came from interstate, and these people preferred products from their home states. Over time, they did buy more products from their adopted state, but, surprisingly, it took two decades for their brand loyalty to halve. Even people who had moved interstate 50 years previously maintained a preference for home-state brands. It seems the habits of food buying change more slowly than we think.

Bronnenberg’s findings were confirmed by Atkin’s in India although there was something more unexpected that Atkin discovered. Firstly, during the period of his survey, the cost of all consumables rose considerably in India. As a result, families reduced their spending on food, and their calorific intake fell accordingly. It is also worth noting that although India is one country, states impose tariffs or taxes on products from other Indian states, ensuring that locally-produced goods remain cheaper. As in the US, internal migrants bought food from their native place even when it was considerably more expensive than local alternatives, and at a time when you might expect families to be economising. This element made the brand-loyalty theory even more convincing.

There is one downside to these findings. In relatively closed economies, such as India’s, people develop tastes that they take with them wherever they go; in a more globalised economy, such as America’s, what people eat may be more varied, but still dependent on early exposure to brands. Therefore, according to both researchers, more advertising may now be directed at minors since brand loyalty is established in childhood and lasts a lifetime. In a media-driven world where children are already bombarded with information, their parents may not consider appropriate yet more advertising is hardly welcome.

For supermarkets, this means that wherever there are large communities of expatriates or immigrants, it is essential to calculate the demographics carefully in order to supply those shoppers with their favourite brands as in light of Atkin and Bronnenberg’s research, advertising and price are not the sole motivating factors for purchase as was previously thought.

Questions 14-18

Choose the correct letter: A , B , C , or D .

Write the correct letter in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

14    In this article, the writer refers to food products that are sold

A    at markets.

B    wholesale.

C    online.

D    retail.

15    In Sydney, shoppers can buy beer from

A    China and Indonesia.

B    India and South Africa.

C    Poland.

D    Vietnam.

16    The greater variety of goods and brands now available is mainly due to:

A    cheaper production and more migration.

B    changes in migration and international trade.

C    cheaper production and transport.

D    changes in migration and transport.

17    The writer thinks supermarkets ………… should change their products slightly.

A    in Australia

B    in India and the US

C    in Switzerland

D    worldwide

18    The writer suggests that:

A    the quality of products at specialist shops will always be better than at supermarkets.

B    specialist shops will close down because supermarkets will be cheaper.

C    specialist shops already supply minority groups, so supermarkets shouldn’t bother.

D    specialist shops already supply minority groups, yet supermarkets should compete with them.

Question 19

Which chart below – A , B , or C – best describes the relationship between shoppers at one Sydney supermarket, and what research suggests that same supermarket should sell?

Write your answer in box 19 on your answer sheet.

space travel and health reading answer

Questions 20-26

Which study/studies do the following statements relate to?

In boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet, write:

A          if the information relates only to Atkin’s study

B          if the information relates only to Bronnenberg’s study

C          if the information relates to both Atkin’s and Bronnenberg’s studies

20    There was a correlation between brands a shopper used in childhood, and his or her

preferences as an adult.

21    One reason for the popularity of smaller brands was that many people surveyed came

from another state where those brands were bigger.

22    Even living in a new state for a very long time did not mean that shoppers chose new

23    In general, food became more expensive during the time of the study. Despite this,

families bought favourite brands and ate less.

24    Taxes on products from other states also increased the cost of food. This did not stop

migrants from buying what they were used to.

25    Children may be the target of more food advertising now.

26    Advertising and price were once thought to be the main reasons for buying products. This

theory has been modified now.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Diprotodon, human, Pleistocene & modern wombat skeletons

Imagine a bird three times the size of an ostrich, or a burrowing animal as big as an elephant. How about a kangaroo three metres tall? Such creatures were all Australian megafauna, alive during the Pleistocene.1

Fifteen million years ago, 55 species of megafauna were widespread in Australia, the largest of which was the marsupial2 diprotodon, weighing around 2700 kilograms (5952 lb). Giant snakes, crocodiles, and birds were also common. Wombats and kangaroos reached more than 200 kg (440 lb), and even koalas weighed 16 kg (35 lb). Then, rather suddenly, around 46 thousand years ago (46 kyr), all these animals became extinct. Some scientists claim this was due to environmental pressures, like climate change or fire; others favour predation.3

At the end of the Pleistocene, humans reached Australia via Indonesia, and, according to the archaeological record, by 45 kyr their settlement was widespread. One hundred and sixty archaeological sites in Australia and New Guinea have been much surveyed. There is some disagreement about the dates of these sites; meantime, a forceful movement aims to push human settlement back before 45 kyr.

Dating the rare bones of megafauna was highly controversial until 20 years ago when a technique called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) was developed. With OSL, the age of minerals up to 200 kyr can be established with + / – 10% accuracy.

The largest OSL dating of megafauna was carried out in 2001 by Roberts, who put the extinction date for megafauna at around 46 kyr, very early on in the time of human habitation.

Megafaunal bones are rare enough, but, at archaeological sites with human habitation, they are extremely rare with fewer than 10% of the 160 sites containing them. Bones that show cutting, burning, or deliberate breaking by humans are virtually non-existent, and thus far, not one megafaunal skeleton shows conclusively an animal was killed by humans. There are no ‘kill sites’ either whereas, in New Zealand, where the giant moa bird became extinct in the 18th century due to hunting, there are sites with hundreds of slaughtered creatures. As a result, many scientists still believe that humans were not responsible for megafaunal extinction – especially as the weapons of Australian Aborigines at 45 kyr were only wooden clubs and spears.

There is, perhaps, a cultural record of megafauna in Aboriginal myths. The Adnyamathanha people of South Australia tell of the Yamuti, something like a diprotodon. An ancient rock painting in Arnhem Land shows an extinct giant echidna. But this record is small and open to interpretation.

If the Aborigines were not technologically advanced enough to kill them, what else might have destroyed megafauna? One theory has been climate change – perhaps there was a relatively hot, dry period between 60-40 kyr. Research suggests otherwise. Indeed, at 40 kyr, the climate was moderate, and Lake Eyre, in central Australia, grew. If there was desertification, scientists would expect megafauna to have moved towards the coast, looking for food and water, but instead, the fossil record details an equal distribution of the dead inland and on the coast.

In addition, changes in specific vegetation occurred after the extinction of the megafauna. Trees that relied on large animals to eat their fruit and disperse their seed covered far smaller areas of Australia post 40 kyr. These plants were not threatened by climate change; rather, they died off because their megafaunal partners had already gone.

Typically, climate change affects almost all species in an area. Yet, around 46 kyr, only the megafauna died. Previously, there had been many species of kangaroo, some as heavy as 200 kg (440 lb), but, after, the heaviest weighed only 32 kg (70 lb). This phenomenon is known as dwarfing, and it occurred with many animals in the Pleistocene.

Dwarfing has been studied extensively. In 2001, Law published research related to fish farming. Despite excellent food and no predators, farmed fish become smaller as generations continue. This adaptation may be a response to their being commercially useless at a smaller size, meaning they hope to survive the harvest.

Of the dwarf marsupials, the most notable development over the giants was their longer reproductive lives, which produced more young. They were better runners as well, or, those that were slow-moving retreated to the mountainous forest, beyond the reach of humans.

If climate change isn’t a credible factor in extinction, what about fire? Fire is caused naturally by lightning strikes as well as by humans with torches. Surprisingly, the charcoal record for many thousands of years does not show a marked increase in fire after human habitation of Australia – there is only a slow increase over time. Besides, it could be argued that forest fires aid megafauna since grass, their favoured food, invariably replaces burnt vegetation.

Johnson, an archaeologist, has proposed that the Aborigines could have wiped out all 55 megafaunal species in just a few thousand years. He believes that the 45 kyr human settlement date will be pushed back to make this extinction fit, and he also maintains that 700 years are enough to make one species extinct without large-scale hunting or sophisticated weapons. Johnson used computer modelling on a population of only 1000 animals to demonstrate this. If just 30 animals are killed a year, then the species becomes extinct after 520-700 years. Human populations in Australia were small at 45 kyr – only 150 people occupied the same 500 square kilometres as 1000 animals. However, at a rate of killing just two animals a year by each group of ten people, extinction is highly likely.

A recent study on the albatross has shown the bird has almost disappeared due to females’ occasionally being hooked on fishing lines. A large number of animals do not need to be killed to effect extinction especially if an animal breeds late and infrequently like the albatross and like megafauna.

———————-

1 A period of 2.6 million-10,000 years ago. 2 This mammal, like a kangaroo, keeps its very young baby in a pouch. 3 The killing of a group or groups of animals by another group.

Questions 27-30

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G , below.

Write the correct letter, A-G , in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

27   Many animals in the Pleistocene were

28   Australian megafauna became extinct

29   The figure 45 kyr refers to

30   OSL represented

A      surprisingly swiftly.

B      optically stimulated luminescence.

C      over a long period of time.

D      considerably larger than their modern equivalents.

E      the date of megafaunal disappearance.

F      human habitation of Australia.

G      a breakthrough in dating technology.

Questions 31-34

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 31-34 on your answer sheet.

31   ‘Kill sites’ for moas have been found in ……………………. , but no equivalents have been

found for megafauna in Australia.

32   It seems unlikely megafaunal extinction was caused by ……………………. .

33   Modern kangaroo species bear more ……………………. than megafaunal species.

34   Johnson does not think it is strange that megafaunal ……………………. with proof of

hunting have not yet been found.

Questions 35-39

Look at questions 35-39 and the list of people below.

Match each statement with a person or group of people.

Write the letters in boxes 35-39 on your answer sheet.

List of people

A      The Adnyamathanha

B      Johnson

D      Roberts

35   This scientist used reliable dating techniques to propose a likely extinction date for megafauna.

36   These people have a mythical description of a creature like a diprotodon.

37   This scientist drew on data from fish farming to understand dwarfing.

38    This person believes dates will be revised so that the period between human settlement in Australia and the extinction of megafauna is longer.

39   This scientist developed a theory that even with basic weapons, Aborigines made megafauna extinct.  

Question 40

Choose the correct letter: A , B , C , D , or E .

Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.

Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading Passage 3?

A     The rise and fall of giant mammals in Australia

B     Is a koala still cute at 16 kilograms?

C     Climate change: killer of Australian megafauna

D     Modern research techniques solve an archaeological puzzle

E     Invisible hunters caused mass extinctions

Reading Test 67

Reading test 69, answer reading test 68.

5. around $100,000 ( dollar sign necessary )

6. Lynx ( capital optional )

7. a few (‘a’ necessary )

9. PayPal ( capitals optional )

11. NOT GIVEN

31. New Zealand ( capitals optional )

32. climate change/ environmental pressures

34. bones/skeletons

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Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS; Academic Test 5 Reading passage 3; Science in Space; with best solutions and detailed explanations

This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to  IELTS Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS Test 5 Reading Passage 3 which is titled ‘ Science in Space’ . This is a targeted post for IELTS candidates who have big problems finding and understanding Reading answers in the Academic module. This post can guide you properly to understand every Reading answer without much trouble. Finding out IELTS Reading answers is a steady process, and this post will assist you in this respect.

Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS Test 5: AC Reading Module

Reading Passage 3: Questions 27-40

The headline of the passage: Science in Space

Questions 27-30: Multiple-choice questions

[This type of question asks you to choose a suitable answer from the options using the knowledge you gained from the passage. This question type generally follows a sequence. So, scanning skill is effective here.]

Question no. 27: What does the writer state about the ISS in the first paragraph?

Keywords for the question: ISS, first paragraph,     

In the first paragraph, have a close look at the first six lines, “A premier, world-class laboratory in low Earth orbit. That was how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) sold the International Space Station (ISS) to the US Congress in 2001. Today no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition . . . .. .. .”

Here, no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition = a great example of technological achievement,

So, the answer is: B (It is a great example of technological achievement.)

Question no. 28: What are we told about Satoshi Iwase’s experimental machine?

Keywords for the question: Satoshi Iwase’s experimental machine,

If you look at paragraph no. 2, the writer describes the design of the experimental machine designed by Satoshi Iwase in the final few lines. Here in lines 16-19 the writer mentions, “ . .. . .. .. This is where Iwase comes in. He leads a team designing a centrifuge for humans. In their preliminary design, an astronaut is strapped into the seat of a machine that resembles an exercise bike . . .. . . .. . ..” 

Here, designing a centrifuge = designing the experimental machine, resembles an exercise bike = based on conventional exercise equipment,

So, the answer is: A (It is based on conventional exercise equipment.)

Question no. 29: The writer refers to the Hubble Space Telescope in order to –

Keywords for the question: the Hubble Space Telescope,

The answer to this question can be found in paragraph no. 5, in lines 7-15, where the writer mentions the Hubble Space Telescope. Let’s read there, “ .. . .. . . One of CASIS’s roles is to convince public and private investors that science on the station is worth the spend because judged solely by the number of papers published, the ISS certainly seems poor value : research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998 . The Hubble Space Telescope , meanwhile, has produced more than 11,300 papers in just over 20 years, yet it cost less than one-tenth of the price of the space station .”

Here, the ISS certainly seems poor value = the ISS is not given proper value that it deserves,

research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998 = the ISS has generated a good number of papers on space research,

These lines suggest that the Hubble Space Telescope is just a telescope and it produced more than 11,300 papers in just over 20 years; whereas the ISS or the International Space Station should be given bigger priority as it has already produced about 3100 papers. 

So, the answer is: B (highlight the need to promote the ISS in a positive way.)  

Question no. 30: In the sixth paragraph, we are told that CASIS has –

Keywords for the question: comparison, construction of Homer’s poems, another art form,   

In paragraph no. 6, the writer says in lines 5-11, “ . . .. . . . . CASIS has examined more than 100 previous microgravity experiments to identify promising research themes. From this, it has opted to focus on life science and medical research, and recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system . .. . . .. .”

Here, recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system = invited researchers to suggest certain health-based projects,

So, the answer is: D (invited researchers to suggest certain health-based projects.)   

Questions 31-35: Matching statements with the correct researchers

[In this type of question, candidates need to relate statements that are given by or link to some researchers in the passage. The rules for finding answers to this sort of question are simple. Just find the name of the researchers and read it carefully. Then, give a quick look to check whether there is another statement or idea provided by the same researchers in the text. If there is, check the reference carefully and decide your answer. Remember, the questions may not follow any sequential order.]

Question no. 31: The ISS should be available for business-related ventures.

Keywords for the question: ISS, should be available for, business-related ventures,  

In lines 15-17 of paragraph no. 6, the writer mentions the comment made by Mark Uhran, “ . . . . .. . Investment from outside organisations is vital , says Uhran , and a balance between academic and commercial research will help attract this.”

Here, Investment from outside organisations is vital = the ISS should be encouraged to accept business-related ventures,

So, the answer is: C (Mark Uhran)   

Question no. 32: There is general ignorance about what kinds of projects are possible on the ISS.

Keywords for the question: general ignorance, what kinds of projects are possible, ISS,   

In paragraph no. 7, the writer of the text says, “ . . … .. . The station needs to attract cutting-edge research, yet many scientists seem to have little idea what goes on aboard it. Jeanne DiFrancesco at ProOrbis conducted more than 200 interviews with people from organisations with potential interests in low gravity studies. Some were aware of the ISS but they didn’t know what’s going on up there, she says . ‘ Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind .”

Here, Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind = general ignorance about the kinds of projects that are possible on the ISS,

So, the answer is: D (Jeanne DiFrancesco)

Question no. 33: The process of getting accepted projects onto the ISS should be speeded up.

Keywords for the question: process, getting accepted projects, onto the ISS, should be speeded up,    

The answer to this question is found in paragraph no. 4. Here, the writer says in lines 5-14, “ . . .. . . . Lengthy delays like this are one of the key challenges for NASA, according to an April 2011   report from the US National Academy of Sciences . Its authors said they were ‘deeply concerned’ about the state of NASA’s science research, and made a number of recommendations. Besides suggesting that the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space , it also recommended setting clearer research priorities..”

Here, Lengthy delays = it takes too much time for the projects to get accepted,

suggesting that the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space = the process of getting accepted projects should be speeded up,

So, the answer is: B (Authors of the US National Academy of Sciences report)

Question no. 34: Some achievements of the ISS are underrated.

Keywords for the question: some achievements, ISS, underrated,    

Have a look at the first few lines of paragraph no. 6. Here, the writer says, “ . . .. . . . Yet Mark Uhran , assistant associate administrator for the ISS, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t done any useful research . . .. . . . . . ”

Here, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t done any useful research = Uhran doesn’t think it is correct to criticize the ISS because he believes that the ISS is doing better research, but it doesn’t get the proper appreciation. This means it’s achievement is underrated.  

So, the answer is: C (Mark Uhran)

Question no. 35: To properly assess new space technology, there has to be an absence of gravity.

Keywords for the question: properly assess, new space technology, has to be, absence of gravity,

Paragraph no. 3 gives us the answer to this question. Here, the writer talks about the issue of gravity. Take a look at the final few lines, “ . . . . .. The only way to test this is in weightlessness , and the only time we have to do that is on the space station,’ says Laurence Young , a space medicine expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

Here, The only way to test this = To properly assess new space technology, weightlessness = absence of gravity,

So, the answer is: A (Laurence Young)

Questions 37-39: Completing summary with a list of words

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to complete a summary with a list of words taken from the passage. Candidates must write the correct letter (not the words) as the answers. Keywords and synonyms are important to find answers correctly. Generally, this type of question maintains a sequence. Find the keywords in the passage and you are most likely to find the answers.]

The headline of the summary: The influence of commercial space flight on the ISS

We find a discussion about commercial space flight on the International Space Station in the final Paragraph. So, all the answers have to be in this paragraph.

Question no. 36: According to Alan Stern, private space companies could affect the future of ISS. He believes they could change its image; firstly because sending food and equipment there would be more ________ if a commercial craft were used, . . … .. .. .

Keywords for the question: Alan Stern, private space companies, could affect the future of ISS,  they could change its image, firstly, because, sending food and equipment there, would be more, if, a commercial craft were used,      

Let’s take a look at the first few lines of paragraph no. 8. The writer says here, “According to Alan Stern , planetary scientist, the biggest public relations boost for the ISS may come from the privately funded space flight industry . Companies like SpaceX could help NASA and its partners when it comes to resupplying the ISS, as it suggests it can reduce launch costs by two-thirds . .. . . .”

Here, privately funded space flight industry = sending food and equipment there . .. . . . commercial craft,

reduce launch costs by two-thirds = economical,

So, the answer is: H  (economical)

Question no. 37: and secondly, because commercial flights might make the whole idea of space exploration seem ________ to ordinary people.      

Keywords for the question: secondly, because, commercial flights, might make, whole idea of space exploration, seem, ordinary people,  

The answer can be found in lines 9-12 of paragraph 8, where the writer says, “ . . .. . . .They might not come close to the ISS’s orbit, yet Stern believes they will revolutionise the way we, the public , see space. Soon everyone will be dreaming of interplanetary travel again , he predicts. .. .. .. .. .”

Here, the public = ordinary people, Soon everyone will be dreaming of interplanetary travel again = space exploration seem real to ordinary people,

So, the answer is: D (real)

Question no. 38: Another point is that as the demand for space flight increases, there is a chance of them becoming more __________.

Keywords for the question: another point, demand for space flight, increases, chance of them becoming more,

The answer can be found in lines 16-18 of paragraph no. 8, “ .. . .. This demand for low-cost space flight could eventually lead to a service running on a more frequent basis , . . . .. .”

Here, This demand for low-cost space flight = as the demand for space flight increases, could eventually lead to = there is a chance, on a more frequent basis = regular,

So, the answer is: F (regular)   

Question no. 39: And by working on a commercial flight first, scientists would be more __________ if an ISS position came up.     

Keywords for the question: by working on a commercial flight, first, scientists, would be more, if, an ISS position, came up, 

The final lines of paragraph no. 8 says, “ . . … .. . giving researchers the chance to test their ideas before submitting a proposal for experiments on the ISS. Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on the station ,”

Here, researchers = scientists, Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on the station = scientists would be more suitable ,

So, the answer is: G (suitable)  

Question no. 40: Multiple choice questions (Identifying the main purpose/aim/title of the passage)

[This type of question asks you to choose a suitable answer from the options that shows the main aim/purpose/title using the knowledge you gained from the passage. Generally, this question is found as the last question so you should not worry much about it. Finding all the answers to previous questions gives you a good idea about the title.]

Question no. 40: The writer’s purpose in writing this article is to –

Keywords for the question: writer’s purpose, writing this article,

Solving all the answers in this passage, we get a clear idea about the suggestions made to make the International Space Station more effective . We get suggestions like investing more money in ISS research projects , attracting cutting-edge researches, starting commercial flights etc.  

So, the answer is: B (illustrate how the ISS could become more effective.)

© All the texts with inverted commas used in this post are taken from Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS Test 5

Click here for solutions to Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS Academic Test 5 Reading passage 1

Click here for solutions to Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS Academic Test 5 Reading passage 2

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Science in Space- IELTS Reading Answers

Janice Thompson

13 min read

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

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Reading passage 3.

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The Academic passage, ‘ Science in Space  Reading Answers’ , is a reading passage that consists of 14 questions.

With diligent practice, the  Reading Module  can be the top-scoring category for IELTS aspirants. To score well, you must understand how to approach and answer the different question types in the Reading Module.

By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark. Take the practice test  Science in Space  below and try more  IELTS reading practice tests  from IELTSMaterial.com.

The question types found in this passage are:

  • Multiple Choice Question  (Q. 27-30) & (Q. 40)
  • Matching Features  (Q. 31-35)
  • Summary Completion  (Q. 36-39)

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Science in Space

A  premier, world-class laboratory in low Earth orbit. That was how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) sold the International Space Station (ISS) to the US Congress in 2001. Today no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition. The most complex engineering project ever attempted has created an enormous set of interlinked modules that orbits the planet at more than 27,000 kilometres per hour. It might be travelling fast but, say critics, as a lab it is going nowhere. So far, it has gone through $150 billion.

B So where should its future priorities lie? This question was addressed at the recent 1st annual ISS research and development conference in Colorado. Among the presenters was Satoshi Iwase of Aichi Medical University in Japan who has spent several years developing an experiment that could help solve one of the key problems that humans will face in space: keeping our bodies healthy in weightlessness. One thing that physiologists have learned is that without gravity our bodies begin to lose strength, leaving astronauts with weakened bones, muscles and cardiovascular systems. To counter these effects on a long- duration mission to, say, Mars, astronauts will almost certainly need to create their own artificial gravity. This is

where Iwase comes in. He leads a team designing a centrifuge for humans. In their preliminary design, an astronaut is strapped into the seat of a machine that resembles an exercise bike. Pedalling provides a workout for the astronauts muscles and cardiovascular system, but it also causes the seat to rotate vertically around a central axis so the rider experiences artificial gravity while exercising.

C The centrifuge project highlights the station’s potential as a research lab. Similar machines have flown in space aboard NASA’s shuttles, but they couldn’t be tested for long enough to prove whether they were effective. It’s been calculated that to properly assess a centrifuge’s impact on human physiology, astronauts would have to ride it for 30 minutes a day for at least two months. The only way to test this is in weightlessness, and the only time we have to do that is on the space station,’ says Laurence Young, a space medicine expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

D There are certainly plenty of ideas for other experiments: but many projects have yet to fly. Even if the centrifuge project gets the green light, it will have to wait another five years before the station’s crew can take a spin. Lengthy delays like this are one of the key challenges for NASA, according to an April 2011 report from the US National Academy of Sciences. Its authors said they were ‘deeply concerned’ about the state of NASAs science research, and made a number of recommendations. Besides suggesting that the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space, it also recommended setting clearer research priorities.

E NASA has already begun to take action, hiring management consultants Pro-Orbis to develop a plan to cut through the bureaucracy. And Congress also directed NASA to hire an independent organisation, the Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to help manage the station’s US lab facilities. One of CASIS’s roles is to convince public and private investors that science on the station is worth the spend because judged solely by the number of papers published, the ISS certainly seems poor value: research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998.The Hubble Space Telescope, meanwhile, has produced more than 1,300 papers in just over 20 years, yet it cost less than one-tenth of the price of the space station.

F Yet Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for the ISS, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t done any useful research. He points to progress made on a salmonella vaccine, for example. To get the ISS research back on track, CASIS has examined more than 100 previous microgravity experiments to identify promising research themes. From this, it has opted to focus on life science and medical research, and recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system. The organisation also maintains that the ISS should be used to develop products with commercial application and to test those that are either close to or already on the market. Investment from outside organisations is vital, says Uhran, and a balance between academic and commercial research will help attract this.

G The station needs to attract cutting-edge research, yet many scientists seem to have little idea what goes on aboard it. Jeanne Di Francesco at ProOrbis conducted more than 200 interviews with people from organisations with potential interests in low gravity studies. Some were aware of the ISS but they didn’t know what’s going on up there, she says. ‘Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind.’

H According to Alan Stern, planetary scientist, the biggest public relations boost for the ISS may come from the privately funded space flight industry. Companies like SpaceX could help NASA and its partners when it comes to resupplying the ISS, as it suggests it can reduce launch costs by two-thirds. Virgin Atlantic’s Space Ship Two or ZeroUnfinity’s high- altitude balloon could also boost the space station’s fortunes. They might not come close to the ISS’s orbit, yet Stern believes they will revolutionise the way we, the public, see space. Soon everyone will be dreaming of interplanetary travel again, he predicts. More importantly, scientists are already

queuing for seats on these low-gravity space-flight services so they can collect data during a few minutes of weightlessness. This demand for low-cost space flight could eventually lead to a service running on a more frequent basis, giving researchers the chance to test their ideas before submitting a proposal for experiments on the ISS. Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on the station, says Stern.

Questions 27-30

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

27 What does the writer state about the ISS in the first paragraph?

A  Its manufacture has remained within the proposed budget.

B  It is a great example of technological achievement.

C  There are doubts about the speed it has attained.

D  NASA should have described its purpose more accurately.

28 What are we told about Satoshi Iwase’s experimental machine?

A  It is based on conventional exercise equipment.

B  It was originally commissioned by NASA.

C  It is designed only to work in low-gravity environments.

D  It has benefits that Iwase did not anticipate.

29 The writer refers to the Hubble Space Telescope in order to

A  show why investment in space technology has decreased.

B  highlight the need to promote the ISS in a positive way.

C  explain which kind of projects are more likely to receive funding.

D  justify the time required for a space project to produce results.

30 In the sixth paragraph, we are told that CASIS has

A  rejected certain applications for experiments on the ISS.

B  expressed concern about testing products used for profit.

C  questioned the benefits of some of the projects currently on the ISS.

D  invited researchers to suggest certain health-based projects.

Questions 31-35

Look at the following opinions (Questions 31-35) and the list of people below. Match each opinion with the correct person, A, B,C or D. Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

31 The ISS should be available for business-related ventures.

32 There is general ignorance about what kinds of projects are possible on the ISS.

33 The process of getting accepted projects onto the ISS should be speeded up.

34 Some achievements of the ISS are underrated.

35 To properly assess new space technology, there has to be an absence of gravity.

List of people

A  Laurence Young

B  Authors of the US National Academy of Sciences report

C  Mark Uhran

D  Jeanne Di Francesco

Questions 36-39

Complete the summary using the lists of words, A-H, below.

The influence of commercial space flight on the ISS

According to Alan Stern, private space companies could affect the future of the ISS.

He believes they could change its image; firstly because sending food and equipment there would be more (36) …………………….. if a commercial craft were used, and secondly, because commercial flights might make the whole idea of space exploration seem (37)…………………… to ordinary people. Another point is that as the demand for space flights increases, there is a chance of them becoming more (38)…………………… And by working on a commercial flight first, scientists would be more (39) ……………………. if an ISS position came up.

A  safe

B  competitive

C  flexible

D  real

H economical

Question 40

40 The writer’s purpose in writing this article is to

A  promote the advantages of space flight in general.

B  illustrate how the ISS could become more effective.

C  criticise the ISS for its narrow-minded attitude.

D  contrast useful and worthless space projects.

Reading Answers 

27 Answer:  B

Question type:  Multiple choice Question

Answer location:  Paragraph A, line 1 – line 3

Answer explanation:  In the introductory lines of Paragraph A, it is given that  “A premier, world-class laboratory in low Earth orbit. That was how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) sold the International Space Station (ISS) to the US Congress in 2001.Today no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition.”.  From these statements it can be concluded that the International Space Station (ISS) was sold as it was a world-class laboratory and no one has any doubt about its technological advancements. Hence, the answer is B.

28 Answer:  A

Answer location:  Paragraph B, line 7 – line 8

Answer explanation:  In the quoted lines, it is noted that “ He leads a team designing a centrifuge for humans. In their preliminary design, an astronaut is strapped into the seat of a machine that resembles an exercise bike.” . It is clear that Satoshi Iwase’s experimental machine is based on conventional exercise equipment, which is an exercise bike. Hence, the answer is A.

29 Answer:  B

Answer location:  Paragraph E, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation:  In the noted lines of Paragraph E, it is said that “ One of CASIS’s roles is to convince public and private investors that science on the station is worth the spend because judged solely by the number of papers published, the ISS certainly seems poor value: research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998.The Hubble Space Telescope, meanwhile, has produced more than 1,300 papers in just over 20 years, yet it cost less than one-tenth of the price of the space station. ”. It can be pointed out that initially the ISS seemed to have poor value and produced less number of papers. But, with the Hubble Space Telescope, it was stressed on the increasing number of research papers at a lower cost. Hence, the answer is B.

30 Answer:  D

Answer location:  Paragraph F, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation:  In Paragraph F, it is said that  “To get the ISS research back on track, CASIS has examined more than 100 previous microgravity experiments to identify promising research themes. From this, it has opted to focus on life science and medical research, and recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system.”.  This points to the fact that CASIS has called promising research themes by various researchers to conduct experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune system. Hence, the answer is D.

31 Answer:  C

Question type:  Matching Features

Answer location:  Paragraph F, line 5 – line 6

Answer explanation:  In the lines of Paragraph F, it is said that  “The organisation also maintains that the ISS should be used to develop products with commercial application and to test those that are either close to or already on the market. Investment from outside organisations is vital, says Uhran…”  This proves the fact that Mark Uhran is of the opinion that the ISS should be available for business-related ventures (commercial application) as investment from outside the organization is essential. Hence, the answer is C.

32 Answer:  D

Answer location:  Paragraph G, line 3 – line 4

Answer explanation:  In the mentioned lines, it is stated  “Some were aware of the ISS but they didn’t know what’s going on up there, she says. ‘Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind.’” . It can be concluded that Jeanne Di Francesco points out that some are aware of the ISS but do not know about what kinds of projects are possible on the ISS. Hence, the answer is D.

33 Answer:  B

Answer location:  Paragraph D, line 4 – line 5

Answer explanation:  In Paragraph D, it is said that  “Its authors said they were ‘deeply concerned’ about the state of NASAs science research, and made a number of recommendations. Besides suggesting that the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space, it also recommended setting clearer research priorities.”.  This points out that the authors of the US National Academy of Sciences report suggested that the process of getting accepted projects onto the ISS should be speeded up. Hence, the answer is B.

34 Answer:  C

Answer location:  Paragraph F, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation:  The following lines – Yet Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for the ISS, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t done any useful research. He points to progress made on a salmonella vaccine, for example. – proves the fact that Uhran pointed out the progress made on a salmonella vaccine and stated that people underrated the achievements of the ISS. Hence, the answer is C.

35 Answer:  A

Answer location:  Paragraph C, line 4

Answer explanation:  The specified line states that  “The only way to test this is in weightlessness, and the only time we have to do that is on the space station,’ says Laurence Young, a space medicine expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” . From this reference, it can be said that according to Laurence Young, to assess new space technology, there has to be an absence of gravity (weightlessness), otherwise the experiments might fail. Hence, the answer is A.

36 Answer:  H

Question type:  Summary Completion

Answer location:  Paragraph H, line 1 – line 2

Answer explanation:  The indicated lines of Paragraph H mention that  “According to Alan Stern, planetary scientist, the biggest public relations boost for the ISS may come from the privately funded space flight industry. Companies like SpaceX could help NASA and its partners when it comes to resupplying the ISS, as it suggests it can reduce launch costs by two-thirds.”.  This statement indicates that Alan Stern said that the private space companies would be beneficial as resupplying food and equipment would cost less (economical). Hence, the answer is H (economical).

37 Answer:  D

Answer location:  Paragraph H, line 4 – line 5

Answer explanation:  The given lines of Paragraph H say that  “They might not come close to the ISS’s orbit, yet Stern believes they will revolutionise the way we, the public, see space.”.  It is clear that Virgin Atlantic’s SpaceShipTwo or ZeroUnfinity would make the whole idea of space exploration seem real, as the public (ordinary people) will be able to see it in front of their own eyes. Hence, the answer is D (real).

38 Answer:  F

Answer location:  Paragraph H, line 7

Answer explanation:  The given line of Paragraph H says that  “This demand for low-cost space flight could eventually lead to a service running on a more frequent basis…”.  It is clear that as the demand for space flights increases, there is a chance of them becoming more regular (running on a more frequent basis). Hence, the answer is F (regular).

39 Answer:  G

Answer location:  Paragraph H, line 7 – line 8

Answer explanation:  The given lines in Paragraph H say that  “…giving researchers the chance to test their ideas before submitting a proposal for experiments on the ISS. Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on the station, says Stern.”  In light of the fact that by working on a commercial flight first, scientists would be more suitable to get chosen if an ISS position came up (win a slot on the station), the answer is G (suitable).

40 Answer:  B

Question type:  Multiple Choice Question

Answer location:  Whole Passage

Answer explanation:  Throughout the passage, the writer points out various ways in which the ISS can be improved upon or highlights its contribution. In the first paragraph, the space station is mentioned as a ‘premier, world-class laboratory in low Earth orbit’. Next, in Paragraph C, it is stated that “The only way to test this is in weightlessness, and the only time we have to do that is on the space station…”, which proves that the ISS is an important place to conduct various researches as there is no gravity. Finally, the writer describes ways to boost the prospects of the ISS for the future in Paragraph E and H. Hence, the answer is B.

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Janice Thompson

Janice Thompson

Soon after graduating with a Master’s in Literature from Southern Arkansas University, she joined an institute as an English language trainer. She has had innumerous student interactions and has produced a couple of research papers on English language teaching. She soon found that non-native speakers struggled to meet the English language requirements set by foreign universities. It was when she decided to jump ship into IELTS training. From then on, she has been mentoring IELTS aspirants. She joined IELTSMaterial about a year ago, and her contributions have been exceptional. Her essay ideas and vocabulary have taken many students to a band 9.

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IELTS Cambridge Book 11 Reading Practice Test 1 with Answers

Cambridge 11 reading test 1, ielts reading practice test 1.

The IELTS Cambridge Book 11 Reading Practice Test 1 with Answers.

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Crop-growing skyscrapers

By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth’s population will live in urban centres. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about three billion people by then. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods continue as they are practised today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices.

What can be done to ensure enough food for the world’s population to live on?

The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people. Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is required, employing cutting-edge technologies. One such proposal is for the ‘Vertical Farm’. The concept is of multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions.

Situated in the heart of urban centres, they would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to consumers. Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate. If successfully implemented, proponents claim, vertical farms offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted. Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time frame, we evolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the majority, we humans have shelter from the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigours of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year. However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens.

Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.

The supporters of vertical farming claim many potential advantages for the system. For instance, crops would be produced all year round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum growing conditions. There would be no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests. All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers. The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface. Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting nonedible parts of plants.

It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.

A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light. Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system. Single-storey greenhouses have the benefit of natural overhead light; even so, many still need artificial lighting.

A multi-storey facility with no natural overhead light would require far more. Generating enough light could be prohibitively expensive, unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.

One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails. Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough sunlight. This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it Is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.

Vertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face in producing enough food for a growing population. At the moment, though, more needs to be done to reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the environment, particularly as regards the use of energy. While it is possible that much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops.

Questions 1-7

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

Indoor farming

1. Some food plants, including …………… are already grown indoors.

2. Vertical farms would be located in ……………, meaning that there would be less need to take them long distances to customers.

3. Vertical farms could use methane from plants and animals to produce ……………..

4. The consumption of ………………… would be cut because agricultural vehicles would be unnecessary.

5. The fact that vertical farms would need …………….. light is a disadvantage.

6. One form of vertical farming involves planting in …………….. which are not fixed.

7. The most probable development is that food will be grown on ……………… in towns and cities.  

Questions 8-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE           if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE          if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

8   Methods for predicting the Earth’s population have recently changed.

9   Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction to food-producing land.

10   The crops produced in vertical farms will depend on the season.

11   Some damage to food crops is caused by climate change.

12   Fertilisers will be needed for certain crops in vertical farms.

13   Vertical farming will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.

Crop growing skyscrapers reading answers are given below.

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READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

The Falkirk Wheel

A unique engineering achievement.

The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland is the world’s first and only rotating boat lift. Opened in 2002, it is central to the ambitious £84.5m Millennium Link project to restore navigability across Scotland by reconnecting the historic waterways of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals.

The major challenge of the project lays in the fact that the Forth & Clyde Canal is situated 35 metres below the level of the Union Canal. Historically, the two canals had been joined near the town of Falkirk by a sequence of 11 locks – enclosed sections of canal in which the water level could be raised or lowered – that stepped down across a distance of 1.5 km. This had been dismantled in 1933, thereby breaking the link.

When the project was launched in 1994, the British Waterways authority were keen to create a dramatic twenty-first-century landmark which would not only be a fitting commemoration of the Millennium, but also a lasting symbol of the economic regeneration of the region.

Numerous ideas were submitted for the project, including concepts ranging from rolling eggs to tilting tanks, from giant seesaws to overhead monorails. The eventual winner was a plan for the huge rotating steel boat lift which was to become The Falkirk Wheel. The unique shape of the structure is claimed to have been inspired by various sources, both manmade and natural, most notably a Celtic double headed axe, but also the vast turning propeller of a ship, the ribcage of a whale or the spine of a fish.

The various parts of The Falkirk Wheel were all constructed and assembled, like one giant toy building set, at Butterley Engineering’s Steelworks in Derbyshire, some 400 km from Falkirk. A team there carefully assembled the 1,200 tonnes of steel, painstakingly fitting the pieces together to an accuracy of just 10 mm to ensure a perfect final fit. In the summer of 2001, the structure was then dismantled and transported on 35 lorries to Falkirk, before all being bolted back together again on the ground, and finally lifted into position in five large sections by crane.

The Wheel would need to withstand immense and constantly changing stresses as it rotated, so to make the structure more robust, the steel sections were bolted rather than welded together. Over 45,000 bolt holes were matched with their bolts, and each bolt was hand-tightened.

The Wheel consists of two sets of opposing axe-shaped arms, attached about 25 metres apart to a fixed central spine. Two diametrically opposed water-filled ‘gondolas’, each with a capacity of 360,000 litres, are fitted between the ends of the arms. These gondolas always weigh the same, whether or not they are carrying boats. This is because, according to Archimedes’ principle of displacement, floating objects displace their own weight in water. So when a boat enters a gondola, the amount of water leaving the gondola weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the Wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. It takes just 1.5 kilowatt-hours (5.4 MJ) of energy to rotate the Wheel -roughly the same as boiling eight small domestic kettles of water.

Boats needing to be lifted up enter the canal basin at the level of the Forth & Clyde Canal and then enter the lower gondola of the Wheel. Two hydraulic steel gates are raised, so as to seal the gondola off from the water in the canal basin. The water between the gates is then pumped out. A hydraulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn.

In the central machine room an array of ten hydraulic motors then begins to rotate the central axle. The axle connects to the outer arms of the Wheel, which begin to rotate at a speed of 1/8 of a revolution per minute.

As the wheel rotates, the gondolas are kept in the upright position by a simple gearing system. Two eight-metre-wide cogs orbit a fixed inner cog of the same width, connected by two smaller cogs travelling in the opposite direction to the outer cogs – so ensuring that the gondolas always remain level. When the gondola reaches the top, the boat passes straight onto the aqueduct situated 24 metres above the canal basin.

The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks. The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.

Questions 14-19

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE            if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE           if the statement contradicts the information

14   The Falkirk Wheel has linked the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal for the first time in their history.

15   There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.

16   The Falkirk Wheel was initially put together at the location where its components were manufactured.

17   The Falkirk Wheel is the only boat lift in the world which has steel sections bolted together by hand.

18   The weight of the gondolas varies according to the size of boat being carried.

19   The construction of the Falkirk Wheel site took into account the presence of a nearby ancient monument.

Questions 20-26

Label the diagram below.

Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.

How a boat is lifted on the Falkirk Wheel

IELTS Cambridge Book 11 Reading Practice Test 1 with Answers

Find The falkirk wheel reading answers at the end of this test.

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Reducing the Effects of Climate Change

Mark Rowe reports on the increasingly ambitious geo-engineering projects being explored by scientists

Such is our dependence on fossil fuels, and such is the volume of carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere, that many experts agree that significant global warming is now inevitable. They believe that the best we can do is keep it at a reasonable level, and at present the only serious option for doing this is cutting back on our carbon emissions. But while a few countries are making major strides in this regard, the majority are having great difficulty even stemming the rate of increase, let alone reversing it.

Consequently, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to explore the alternative of geo-engineering — a term which generally refers to the intentional large-scale manipulation of the environment. According to its proponents, geo-engineering is the equivalent of a backup generator: if Plan A – reducing our dependency on fossil fuels – fails, we require a Plan B, employing grand schemes to slow down or reverse the process of global warming.

Geo-engineering; has been shown to work, at least on a small localised scale. For decades, MayDay parades in Moscow have taken place under clear blue skies, aircraft having deposited dry ice, silver iodide and cement powder to disperse clouds. Many of the schemes now suggested look to do the opposite, and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the planet. The most eye-catching idea of all is suggested by Professor Roger Angel of the University of Arizona. His scheme would employ up to 16 trillion minute spacecraft, each weighing about one gram, to form a transparent, sunlight-refracting sunshade in an orbit 1.5 million km above the Earth. This could, argues Angel, reduce the amount of light reaching the Earth by two per cent.

The majority of geo-engineering projects so far carried out — which include planting forests in deserts and depositing iron in the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae – have focused on achieving a general cooling of the Earth. But some look specifically at reversing the melting at the poles, particularly the Arctic. The reasoning is that if you replenish the ice sheets and frozen waters of the high latitudes, more light will be reflected back into space, so reducing the warming of the oceans and atmosphere.

The concept of releasing aerosol sprays into the stratosphere above the Arctic has been proposed by several scientists. This would involve using sulphur or hydrogen sulphide aerosols so that sulphur dioxide would form clouds, which would, in turn, lead to a global dimming. The idea is modelled on historic volcanic explosions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which led to a short-term cooling of global temperatures by 0.5 °C. Scientists have also scrutinised whether it’s possible to preserve the ice sheets of Greenland with reinforced high-tension cables, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea. Meanwhile in the Russian Arctic, geo-engineering plans include the planting of millions of birch trees.

Whereas the -regions native evergreen pines shade the snow an absorb radiation, birches would shed their leaves in winter, thus enabling radiation to be reflected by the snow. Re-routing Russian rivers to increase cold water flow to ice-forming areas could also be used to slow down warming, say some climate scientists.

But will such schemes ever be implemented? Generally speaking, those who are most cautious about geo-engineering are the scientists involved in the research. Angel says that his plan is ‘no substitute for developing renewable energy: the only permanent solution’. And Dr Phil Rasch of the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is equally guarded about the role of geo-engineering: ‘I think all of us agree that if we were to end geo-engineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly, and probably within ten to twenty years. That’s certainly something to worry about.’

The US National Center for Atmospheric Research has already suggested that the proposal to inject sulphur into the atmosphere might affect rainfall patterns across the tropics and the Southern Ocean. ‘Geo-engineering plans to inject stratospheric aerosols or to seed clouds would act to cool the planet, and act to increase the extent of sea ice,’ says Rasch. ‘But all the models suggest some impact on the distribution of precipitation.’

‘A further risk with geo-engineering projects is that you can “overshoot”,’ says Dr Dan Hunt, from the University of Bristol’s School of Geophysical Sciences, who has studied the likely impacts of the sunshade and aerosol schemes on the climate. ‘You may bring global temperatures back to pre-industrial levels, but the risk is that the poles will still be warmer than they should be and the tropics will be cooler than before industrialisation.’ To avoid such a scenario,” Hunt says, “Angel’s project would have to operate at half strength; all of which reinforces his view that the best option is to avoid the need for geo-engineering altogether.”

The main reason why geo-engineering is supported by many in the scientific community is that most researchers have little faith in the ability of politicians to agree – and then bring in — the necessary carbon cuts. Even leading conservation organisations see the value of investigating the potential of geo-engineering. According to Dr Martin Sommerkorn, climate change advisor for the World Wildlife Fund’s International Arctic Programme, ‘Human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where we shouldn’t exclude thinking thoroughly about this topic and its possibilities.’

Questions 27-29

Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs A-H

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-H , in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

27   mention of a geo-engineering project based on an earlier natural phenomenon

28   an example of a successful use of geo-engineering

29   a common definition of geo-engineering

Questions 30-36

Complete the table below.

Write your answers in boxes 30-36 on your answer sheet.

GEO-ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Questions 37-40.

Look at the following statements ( Questions 37-40 ) and the list of scientists below.

Match each statement with the correct scientist, A-D .

Write the correct letter, A-D , in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

List of Scientists

A Roger Angel

B Phil Rasch

D Martin Sommerkorn

37   The effects of geo-engineering may not be long-lasting.

38   Geo-engineering is a topic worth exploring.

39   It may be necessary to limit the effectiveness of geo-engineering projects.

40   Research into non-fossil-based fuels cannot be replaced by geo-engineering.

Cambridge 11 test 1 reading answers and reducing the effects of climate change reading answers are below.

IELTS is jointly owned by three organizations: the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge Assessment English. These organizations work together to develop and administer the test worldwide. Enjoy IELTS Cambridge Book 11 Reading Practice Test 1 with Answers.

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Academic Reading Practice Test 56 Space Travel and Health

Academic Reading Test 56 SPACE TRAVEL AND HEALTH, VANISHED, DOGS – A LOVE STORY

we prefer you to work offline, download the test paper and blank answer sheet

IELTSFever-academic-reading-practice-test-56-pdf

Academic Reading Test 56 Answers

Writing Task 2 Course

SPACE TRAVEL AND HEALTH

Reading Passage 1 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E and G from the list of headings below. Write the correct member (i-x) in boxes 1—5 on your answer sheet. List of Headings

i. The problem of dealing with emergencies in space ii. How space biomedicine can help patients on Earth iii. Why accidents are so common in outer space iv. What is space biomedicine? v. The psychological problems of astronauts vi. Conducting space biomedical research on Earth vii. The internal damage caused to the human body by space travel viii. How space biomedicine First began ix. The visible effects of space travel on the human body x. Why space biomedicine is now necessary

Example Paragraph A Answer iv 1 . Paragraph B 2 . Paragraph C 3 . Paragraph D 4 . Paragraph E Example Paragraph F Answer ii 5 . Paragraph G

A. Space biomedicine is a relatively new area of research both in the USA and in Europe. Its main objectives are to study the effects of space travel on the human body, identifying the most critical medical problems, and finding solutions to those problems. Space biomedicine centers are receiving increasing direct support from NASA and/or the European Space Agency (ESA).

B. This involvement of NASA and the ESA reflects growing concern that the feasibility of travel to other planets, and beyond, is no longer limited by engineering constraints but by what the human body can actually withstand. The discovery of ice on Mars, for instance, means that there is now no necessity to design and develop a spacecraft large and powerful enough to transport the vast amounts of water needed to sustain the crew throughout journeys that may last many years. Without the necessary protection and medical treatment, however, their bodies would be devastated by the unremittingly hostile environment of space.

C. The most obvious physical changes undergone by people in zero gravity are essentially harmless; in some cases, they are even amusing. The blood and other fluids are no longer dragged down towards the feet by the gravity of Earth, so they accumulate higher up in the body, creating what is sometimes called ‘fat face`, together with the contrasting ‘chicken legs’ syndrome as the lower limbs become thinner.

D. Much more serious are the unseen consequences after months or years in space. With no gravity, there is less need for a sturdy skeleton to support the body, with the result that the bones weaken, releasing calcium into the bloodstream. This extra calcium can overload the kidneys, leading ultimately to renal failure. Muscles too lose strength through lack of use. The heart becomes smaller, losing the power to pump oxygenated blood to all parts of the body, while the lungs lose the capacity to breathe fully. The digestive system becomes less efficient, a weakened immune system is increasingly unable to prevent diseases and the high levels of solar and cosmic radiation can cause various forms of cancer.

E. To make matters worse, a wide range of medical difficulties can arise in the case of an accident or serious illness when the patient is millions of kilometers from Earth. There is simply not enough room available inside a space vehicle to include all the equipment from a hospital’s casualty unit, some of which would not work properly in space anyway. Even basic things such as a drip depend on gravity to function, while standard resuscitation techniques become ineffective if sufficient weight cannot be applied. The only solution seems to be to create extremely small medical tools and ‘smart` devices that can, for example, diagnose and treat internal injuries using ultrasound. The cost of designing and producing this kind of equipment is bound to be, well, astronomical.

F. Such considerations have led some to question the ethics of investing huge sums of money to help a handful of people who, after all, are willingly risking their own health in outer space, when so much needs to be done a lot closer to home. It is now clear, however, that every problem of space travel has a parallel problem on Earth that will benefit from the knowledge gained and the skills developed from space biomedical research. For instance, the very difficulty of treating astronauts in space has led to rapid progress in the field of telemedicine, which in turn has brought about developments that enable surgeons to communicate with patients in inaccessible parts of the world. To take another example, systems invented to sterilize wastewater onboard spacecraft could be used by emergency teams to filter contaminated water at the scene of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. In the same way, miniature monitoring equipment, developed to save weight in space capsules, will eventually become tiny monitors that patients on Earth can wear without discomfort wherever they go.

G. Nevertheless, there is still one major obstacle to carrying out studies into the effects of space travel: how to do so without going to the enormous expense of actually working in space. To simulate conditions in zero gravity, one tried and tested method is to work underwater, but the space biomedicine centers are also looking at other ideas. In one experiment, researchers study the weakening of bones that results from prolonged inactivity. This would involve volunteers staying in bed for three months, but the center concerned is confident there should be no great difficulty in finding people willing to spend twelve weeks lying down. AII in the name of science, of course.

Questions 6 and 7 Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

6. Where, apart from Earth, can space travelers find water? …………. 7. What happens to human legs during space travel? ……………..

Questions 8-12

Do the following statements agree with the writer’s views in Reading Passage 1? Write YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement does not agree with the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

8. The obstacles to going far into space are now medical, not technological. 9. Astronauts cannot survive more than two years in space. 10. It is morally wrong to spend so much money on space biomedicine. 11. Some kinds of surgery are more successful when performed in space. 12. Space biomedical research can only be done in space.

Questions 13-14 Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer

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29.1 The Kennedy Promise

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Assess Kennedy’s Cold War strategy
  • Describe Kennedy’s contribution to the civil rights movement

In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over a United States that prized conformity over change. Although change naturally occurred, as it does in every era, it was slow and greeted warily. By the 1960s, however, the pace of change had quickened and its scope broadened, as restive and energetic waves of World War II veterans and baby boomers of both sexes and all ethnicities began to make their influence felt politically, economically, and culturally. No one symbolized the hopes and energies of the new decade more than John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the nation’s new, young, and seemingly healthful, president. Kennedy had emphasized the country’s aspirations and challenges as a “new frontier” when accepting his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California.

THE NEW FRONTIER

The son of Joseph P. Kennedy, a wealthy Boston business owner and former ambassador to Great Britain, John F. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University and went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946. Even though he was young and inexperienced, his reputation as a war hero who had saved the crew of his PT boat after it was destroyed by the Japanese helped him to win election over more seasoned candidates, as did his father’s fortune. In 1952, he was elected to the U.S. Senate for the first of two terms. For many, including Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., a historian and member of Kennedy’s administration, Kennedy represented a bright, shining future in which the United States would lead the way in solving the most daunting problems facing the world.

Kennedy’s popular reputation as a great politician undoubtedly owes much to the style and attitude he personified. He and his wife Jacqueline conveyed a sense of optimism and youthfulness. “Jackie” was an elegant first lady who wore designer dresses, served French food in the White House, and invited classical musicians to entertain at state functions. “Jack” Kennedy, or JFK, went sailing off the coast of his family’s Cape Cod estate and socialized with celebrities ( Figure 29.3 ). Few knew that behind Kennedy’s healthful and sporty image was a gravely ill man whose wartime injuries caused him daily agony.

Nowhere was Kennedy’s style more evident than in the first televised presidential debate held on September 26, 1960, between him and his Republican opponent Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Seventy million viewers watched the debate on television; millions more heard it on the radio. Radio listeners judged Nixon the winner, whereas those who watched the debate on television believed the more telegenic Kennedy made the better showing.

Click and Explore

View television footage of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Kennedy did not appeal to all voters, however. Many feared that because he was Roman Catholic, his decisions would be influenced by the Pope. Even traditional Democratic supporters, like the head of the United Auto Workers, Walter Reuther, feared that a Catholic candidate would lose the support of Protestants. Many southern Democrats also disliked Kennedy because of his liberal position on civil rights. To shore up support for Kennedy in the South, Lyndon B. Johnson, the Protestant Texan who was Senate majority leader, was added to the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential candidate. In the end, Kennedy won the election by the closest margin since 1888, defeating Nixon with only 0.01 percent more of the record sixty-seven million votes cast. His victory in the Electoral College was greater: 303 electoral votes to Nixon’s 219. Kennedy’s win made him both the youngest man elected to the presidency and the first U.S. president born in the twentieth century.

Kennedy dedicated his inaugural address to the theme of a new future for the United States. “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” he challenged his fellow Americans. His lofty goals ranged from fighting poverty to winning the space race against the Soviet Union with a moon landing. He assembled an administration of energetic people assured of their ability to shape the future. Dean Rusk was named secretary of state. Robert McNamara, the former president of Ford Motor Company, became secretary of defense. Kennedy appointed his younger brother Robert as attorney general, much to the chagrin of many who viewed the appointment as a blatant example of nepotism.

Kennedy’s domestic reform plans remained hampered, however, by his narrow victory and lack of support from members of his own party, especially southern Democrats. As a result, he remained hesitant to propose new civil rights legislation. His achievements came primarily in poverty relief and care for the disabled. Unemployment benefits were expanded, the food stamps program was piloted, and the school lunch program was extended to more students. In October 1963, the passage of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act increased support for public mental health services.

KENNEDY THE COLD WARRIOR

Kennedy focused most of his energies on foreign policy, an arena in which he had been interested since his college years and in which, like all presidents, he was less constrained by the dictates of Congress. Kennedy, who had promised in his inaugural address to protect the interests of the “free world,” engaged in Cold War politics on a variety of fronts. For example, in response to the lead that the Soviets had taken in the space race when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to successfully orbit the earth, Kennedy urged Congress to not only put a man into space ( Figure 29.4 ) but also land an American on the moon, a goal finally accomplished in 1969. This investment advanced a variety of military technologies, especially the nation’s long-range missile capability, resulting in numerous profitable spin-offs for the aviation and communication industries. It also funded a growing middle class of government workers, engineers, and defense contractors in states ranging from California to Texas to Florida—a region that would come to be known as the Sun Belt—becoming a symbol of American technological superiority. At the same time, however, the use of massive federal resources for space technologies did not change the economic outlook for low-income communities and underprivileged regions.

To counter Soviet influence in the developing world, Kennedy supported a variety of measures. One of these was the Alliance for Progress , which collaborated with the governments of Latin American countries to promote economic growth and social stability in nations whose populations might find themselves drawn to communism. Kennedy also established the Agency for International Development to oversee the distribution of foreign aid, and he founded the Peace Corps , which recruited idealistic young people to undertake humanitarian projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He hoped that by augmenting the food supply and improving healthcare and education, the U.S. government could encourage developing nations to align themselves with the United States and reject Soviet or Chinese overtures. The first group of Peace Corps volunteers departed for the four corners of the globe in 1961, serving as an instrument of “soft power” in the Cold War.

Kennedy’s various aid projects, like the Peace Corps, fit closely with his administration’s flexible response , which Robert McNamara advocated as a better alternative to the all-or-nothing defensive strategy of mutually assured destruction favored during Eisenhower’s presidency. The plan was to develop different strategies, tactics, and even military capabilities to respond more appropriately to small or medium-sized insurgencies, and political or diplomatic crises. One component of flexible response was the Green Berets, a U.S. Army Special Forces unit trained in counterinsurgency —the military suppression of rebel and nationalist groups in foreign nations. Much of the Kennedy administration’s new approach to defense, however, remained focused on the ability and willingness of the United States to wage both conventional and nuclear warfare, and Kennedy continued to call for increases in the American nuclear arsenal.

Kennedy’s multifaceted approach to national defense is exemplified by his careful handling of the Communist government of Fidel Castro in Cuba. In January 1959, following the overthrow of the corrupt and dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista, Castro assumed leadership of the new Cuban government. The progressive reforms he began indicated that he favored Communism, and his pro-Soviet foreign policy frightened the Eisenhower administration, which asked the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to find a way to remove him from power. Rather than have the U.S. military invade the small island nation, less than one hundred miles from Florida, and risk the world’s criticism, the CIA instead trained a small force of Cuban exiles for the job. After landing at the Bay of Pigs on the Cuban coast, these insurgents, the CIA believed, would inspire their countrymen to rise up and topple Castro’s regime. The United States also promised air support for the invasion.

Kennedy agreed to support the previous administration’s plans, and on April 17, 1961, approximately fourteen hundred Cuban exiles stormed ashore at the designated spot. However, Kennedy feared domestic criticism and worried about Soviet retaliation elsewhere in the world, such as Berlin. He cancelled the anticipated air support, which enabled the Cuban army to easily defeat the insurgents. The hoped-for uprising of the Cuban people also failed to occur. The surviving members of the exile army were taken into custody.

The Bay of Pigs invasion was a major foreign policy disaster for President Kennedy. The event highlighted how difficult it would be for the United States to act against the Castro administration. The following year, the Soviet Union sent troops and technicians to Cuba to strengthen its new ally against further U.S. military plots. Then, on October 14, U.S. spy planes took aerial photographs that confirmed the presence of long-range ballistic missile sites in Cuba. The United States was now within easy reach of Soviet nuclear warheads ( Figure 29.5 ).

On October 22, Kennedy demanded that Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev remove the missiles. He also ordered a naval quarantine placed around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from approaching. Despite his use of the word “quarantine” instead of “blockade,” for a blockade was considered an act of war, a potential war with the Soviet Union was nevertheless on the president’s mind. As U.S. ships headed for Cuba, the army was told to prepare for war, and Kennedy appeared on national television to declare his intention to defend the Western Hemisphere from Soviet aggression.

The world held its breath awaiting the Soviet reply. Realizing how serious the United States was, Khrushchev sought a peaceful solution to the crisis, overruling those in his government who urged a harder stance. Behind the scenes, Robert Kennedy and Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin worked toward a compromise that would allow both superpowers to back down without either side’s seeming intimidated by the other. On October 26, Khrushchev agreed to remove the Russian missiles in exchange for Kennedy’s promise not to invade Cuba. On October 27, Kennedy’s agreement was made public, and the crisis ended. Not made public, but nevertheless part of the agreement, was Kennedy’s promise to remove U.S. warheads from Turkey, as close to Soviet targets as the Cuban missiles had been to American ones.

The showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union over Cuba’s missiles had put the world on the brink of a nuclear war. Both sides already had long-range bombers with nuclear weapons airborne or ready for launch, and were only hours away from the first strike. In the long run, this nearly catastrophic example of nuclear brinksmanship ended up making the world safer. A telephone “hot line” was installed, linking Washington and Moscow to avert future crises, and in 1963, Kennedy and Khrushchev signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, prohibiting tests of nuclear weapons in Earth’s atmosphere.

Cuba was not the only arena in which the United States sought to contain the advance of Communism. In Indochina, nationalist independence movements, most notably Vietnam’s Viet Minh under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, had strong Communist sympathies. President Harry S. Truman had no love for France’s colonial regime in Southeast Asia but did not want to risk the loyalty of its Western European ally against the Soviet Union. In 1950, the Truman administration sent a small military advisory group to Vietnam and provided financial aid to help France defeat the Viet Minh.

In 1954, Vietnamese forces finally defeated the French, and the country was temporarily divided at the seventeenth parallel. Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh controlled the North. In the South, the last Vietnamese emperor and ally to France, Bao Dai, named the French-educated, anti-Communist Ngo Dinh Diem as his prime minister. But Diem refused to abide by the Geneva Accords, the treaty ending the conflict that called for countrywide national elections in 1956, with the victor to rule a reunified nation. After a fraudulent election in the South in 1955, he ousted Bao Dai and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam. He cancelled the 1956 elections in the South and began to round up Communists and supporters of Ho Chi Minh.

Realizing that Diem would never agree to the reunification of the country under Ho Chi Minh’s leadership, the North Vietnamese began efforts to overthrow the government of the South by encouraging insurgents to attack South Vietnamese officials. By 1960, North Vietnam had also created the National Liberation Front (NLF) to resist Diem and carry out an insurgency in the South. The United States, fearing the spread of Communism under Ho Chi Minh, supported Diem, assuming he would create a democratic, pro-Western government in South Vietnam. However, Diem’s oppressive and corrupt government made him a very unpopular ruler, particularly with farmers, students, and Buddhists, and many in the South actively assisted the NLF and North Vietnam in trying to overthrow his government.

When Kennedy took office, Diem’s government was faltering. Continuing the policies of the Eisenhower administration, Kennedy supplied Diem with money and military advisors to prop up his government ( Figure 29.6 ). By November 1963, there were sixteen thousand U.S. troops in Vietnam, training members of that country’s special forces and flying air missions that dumped defoliant chemicals on the countryside to expose North Vietnamese and NLF forces and supply routes. A few weeks before Kennedy’s own death, Diem and his brother Nhu were assassinated by South Vietnamese military officers after U.S. officials had indicated their support for a new regime.

TENTATIVE STEPS TOWARD CIVIL RIGHTS

Cold War concerns, which guided U.S. policy in Cuba and Vietnam, also motivated the Kennedy administration’s steps toward racial equality. Realizing that legal segregation and widespread discrimination hurt the country’s chances of gaining allies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the federal government increased efforts to secure the civil rights of African Americans in the 1960s. During his presidential campaign, Kennedy had intimated his support for civil rights, and his efforts to secure the release of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was arrested following a demonstration, won him the African American vote. Lacking widespread backing in Congress, however, and anxious not to offend White southerners, Kennedy was cautious in assisting African Americans in their fight for full citizenship rights.

His strongest focus was on securing the voting rights of African Americans. Kennedy feared the loss of support from southern White Democrats and the impact a struggle over civil rights could have on his foreign policy agenda as well as on his reelection in 1964. But he thought voter registration drives far preferable to the boycotts, sit-ins, and integration marches that had generated such intense global media coverage in previous years. Encouraged by Congress’s passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which permitted federal courts to appoint referees to guarantee that qualified persons would be registered to vote, Kennedy focused on the passage of a constitutional amendment outlawing poll taxes, a tactic that southern states used to disenfranchise African American voters. Originally proposed by President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights, the idea had been largely forgotten during Eisenhower’s time in office. Kennedy, however, revived it and convinced Spessard Holland, a conservative Florida senator, to introduce the proposed amendment in Congress. It passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states for ratification in September 1962.

Kennedy also reacted to the demands of the civil rights movement for equality in education. For example, when African American student James Meredith, encouraged by Kennedy’s speeches, attempted to enroll at the segregated University of Mississippi in 1962, riots broke out on campus ( Figure 29.7 ). The president responded by sending the U.S. Army and National Guard to Oxford, Mississippi, to support the U.S. Marshals that his brother Robert, the attorney general, had dispatched.

Following similar violence at the University of Alabama when two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, attempted to enroll in 1963, Kennedy responded with a bill that would give the federal government greater power to enforce school desegregation, prohibit segregation in public accommodations, and outlaw discrimination in employment. Kennedy would not live to see his bill enacted; it would become law during Lyndon Johnson’s administration as the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

TRAGEDY IN DALLAS

Although his stance on civil rights had won him support in the African American community and his steely performance during the Cuban Missile Crisis had led his overall popularity to surge, Kennedy understood that he had to solidify his base in the South to secure his reelection. On November 21, 1963, he accompanied Lyndon Johnson to Texas to rally his supporters. The next day, shots rang out as Kennedy’s motorcade made its way through the streets of Dallas. Seriously injured, Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Hospital and pronounced dead.

The gunfire that killed Kennedy appeared to come from the upper stories of the Texas School Book Depository building; later that day, Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the depository and a trained sniper, was arrested ( Figure 29.8 ). Two days later, while being transferred from Dallas police headquarters to the county jail, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner who claimed he acted to avenge the president.

Almost immediately, rumors began to circulate regarding the Kennedy assassination, and conspiracy theorists, pointing to the unlikely coincidence of Oswald’s murder a few days after Kennedy’s, began to propose alternate theories about the events. To quiet the rumors and allay fears that the government was hiding evidence, Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor, appointed a fact-finding commission headed by Earl Warren, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to examine all the evidence and render a verdict. The Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone and there had been no conspiracy. The commission’s ruling failed to satisfy many, and multiple theories have sprung up over time. No credible evidence has ever been uncovered, however, to prove either that someone other than Oswald murdered Kennedy or that Oswald acted with co-conspirators.

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Since the first astronauts spent time in space, scientists have known that space travel affects the human body in strange ways. Muscle and bone mass decrease; telomeres, the protective end caps on chromosomes, shorten; and the risk of conditions usually associated with old age, such as cancers, cataracts and cardiovascular disease, ticks up.

Why the human body should decline faster in space is still largely a mystery, but one that researchers are tackling with increasing urgency as civilian space travel becomes more feasible.

Their discoveries could not only allow future space travelers to stay healthier and journey farther, but also treat a variety of ailments in Earth-bound humans.

In a recent study that involved sending muscle samples to the International Space Station, some 250 miles above Earth, researchers from Stanford Medicine found that the lack of gravity in space impairs the normal regenerative ability of skeletal muscle.

The samples were grown from muscle cells donated by healthy volunteers on scaffolds of collagen to resemble the bundled structure of muscle fibers. They spent seven days growing in space, then were frozen until their return to Earth.

The researchers found intriguing similarities between muscle that had spent a week in microgravity (gravity aboard the International Space Station is about 0.1% of gravity on Earth) and muscle in older adults with sarcopenia, a muscle-wasting condition that develops over decades.

The impaired regeneration could contribute to why astronauts' muscles weaken even with regular exercise.

"Microgravity is almost like an accelerated disease-forming platform and environment," said Ngan Huang , PhD, associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery and senior author of the study published recently in Stem Cell Reports . "It's important to understand how microgravity is affecting different tissues in the body, with skeletal muscle being one of the most essential ones because of how much of it we have in our bodies."

Most of the aging effects astronauts experience in space, such as muscle and bone loss, can reverse once they return home.

Huang's team also tested drugs that partially prevented these impairments in the muscle samples, which could benefit terrestrial seniors and space travelers -- perhaps even senior space travelers -- alike.

Markers of aging

"It's difficult to do clinical research on aging, because you cannot tell the FDA that you've come up with a drug that can prolong life by five to 10 years -- it's very difficult to design that trial for logistical reasons," said Joseph Wu , MD, PhD, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, the Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor and professor of medicine and of radiology.

Instead, researchers focus on specific markers associated with aging, such as cognitive decline, walking distance or sarcopenia, Wu said. Space provides a unique opportunity to study these markers on a shorter timeline.

His lab is separately investigating microgravity's impact on the heart and has sent three batches of samples to the International Space Station: heart muscle cells in 2016, 3D-structured heart tissue in 2020 and heart organoids (simplified mini-organs made up of different cell types) last year.

They've found that microgravity causes weakening of heart tissue, similar to that seen in patients with heart failure. They are analyzing the results from the 2023 launch , in which half the samples were treated with drugs to counter these effects.

Impaired regeneration

Huang's team found significant genetic changes in the skeletal muscle samples that had been to space, with over 100 genes upregulated and nearly 300 downregulated compared with identical samples kept on Earth. The changes indicated a shift toward more lipid and fatty acid metabolism and more inclination toward cell death. Certain muscle cells, known as myotubes, became shorter and thinner in microgravity.

These changes pointed to impaired regeneration and showed some similarities to sarcopenia, the muscle-wasting condition that affects 10% of people over the age of 60.

"It's believed that with every decade of life, you start losing some percentage of your muscle mass and gaining body fat," Huang said. "It becomes much more apparent in the later stages of life, over the age of 60."

Even Huang was surprised by how quickly these changes happened in space. "It's notable that in just seven days in microgravity, you see these profound effects," she said.

Some of the samples, infused with drugs known to promote regeneration (insulin-like growth factor-1 or 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase inhibitor), were less impaired.

Ultimately, Huang, who is also a principal investigator at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, hopes to find ways to enhance muscle regeneration to heal traumatic muscle injuries, like those many veterans suffer in combat.

"When we have small muscle tears, which happen with exercise, or some type of mild injury, muscle is normally quite regenerative," she said. "The muscle itself harbors stem cells that turn into what we call muscle progenitor cells. And those cells give rise to new muscle."

But if a large chunk of muscle is destroyed in a traumatic injury, that muscle doesn't grow back.

The new study proves that space can be a valuable platform for testing therapies that boost muscle regeneration, Huang said.

Other space dangers

While it's not yet clear exactly how microgravity leads to these profound changes, what's certain is that all life on Earth evolved in the presence of gravity.

"It's one of the foundational stimuli that every life form is subjected to," Huang said. "It's not until we suddenly take it away that we realize it's so important."

Though Wu is confident that microgravity is the major factor in these studies, he said we can't ignore other challenges of space travel.

The stress of being launched into space then returning to Earth might affect the tissue samples, for example. And in space, cosmic radiation ­-- high-energy, charged particles produced by stars, including our sun -- can penetrate space capsules and cause damage. 

To isolate the effects of microgravity, Huang plans to try the same experiments in a device that simulates microgravity -- a random positioning machine that spins samples on two axes simultaneously, generating a sense of weightlessness.

(In fact, gravity at the relatively low altitude of the International Space Station is only slightly lower than on Earth's surface. The microgravity aboard the station is largely due to the velocity of its orbit around Earth, creating a constant sense of freefall.)

For humans to eventually embark on years-long journeys to distant planets, scientists are looking into hibernation, inspired by the ability of squirrels and bears to sleep through long winters without eating. Hibernating space travelers might be able to stall aging during a long trek.

"If you can address microgravity, cosmic radiation and hibernation, then you can imagine a future in which an astronaut or civilian can hop from one planet to another planet to another planet," Wu said.

Along the way, researchers could find ways to slow aging, treat radiation-induced toxicity in cancer patients or even allow terminally ill patients to hibernate until treatments are found.

"It sounds like science fiction," Wu said. "But 100 to 200 years from now, this could all be possible."

For more information

This story was originally published by Stanford Medicine SCOPE . 

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space travel and health reading passage answer

IELTSDATA READING PASSAGE 68-SPACE TRAVEL AND HEALTH

IELTSData Reading Passage 68 – Space Travel and Health.

IELTSData Reading Passage 68-space Travel and Health. SPACE TRAVEL AND HEALTH A. Space biomedicine is a relatively new area of […]

IELTSData Reading Passage 68 – Space Travel and Health. Read More »

History of Space Travel

Learn about the history of humans traveling into space.

The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didn’t know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, we’ve been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see what’s beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heights—literally—in the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraft—space shuttle orbiters—to ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravity—literally, rocket science—to "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasn’t stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASA’s shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars—the next human step into the solar system—in 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe you’ll be a member of one? Don’t forget to bring your dog.

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IMAGES

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  2. Space and Astronomy Reading Text and Activity Health Risks in Space

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  3. Health Risks in Space Reading and Worksheet

    space travel and health reading answer

  4. Space Travel And Health- IELTS Reading Answers

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  5. Space travel and health Answers and Questions

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  6. Astronauts and Space Travel Reading Comprehension Activity by

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VIDEO

  1. 9 Walking in Space

  2. Why Astronauts Can't Walk on Earth! #shorts #space

  3. How Does Space Travel Affect the Human Body? #spacetravel #scaryfacts

  4. Space Medicine Health Challenge#shortvideo #spaceknoweldge #spaceknowledge #space #science

  5. The Hidden Health Risks of Space Travel #space #spaceexploration #universe

  6. What Does a NASA Scientist Do? ( BioPhysics & Space Travel)

COMMENTS

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  19. 29.1 The Kennedy Promise

    Figure 29.4 On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space, as millions across the country watched the television coverage of his Mercury-Redstone mission, including Vice President Johnson, President Kennedy, and Jacqueline Kennedy in the White House. (credit: National Archives and Records Administration)

  20. How space became a place we study aging

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  21. IELTSDATA READING PASSAGE 62-SPACE.ielts books

    Section E Habitation in outer space in huge stations is no longer just a dream, but a reality. A permanent international space station now orbits the earth. The first commercial tourist recently went into outer space with more trips planned for the near future. This is only the beginning, but the development of space hotels is not far-off.

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  24. History of Space Travel

    History of Space Travel. Learn about the history of humans traveling into space. The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space ...