nduc74357 3/30/2024 7:09:02 AM

The Cold War, a tense global conflict between the U.S and the Soviet Union, affected today’s world in many major ways. And one of its results was The Space Race: a historical period during which both countries constantly demonstrated new technologies to prove that they are better at space exploration. 

The beginning of the Space Race was marked with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957. The public in the U.S was shocked when they saw that the Soviet Union, whose economy was still recovering after World War II, achieved this milestone first, especially when the U.S. government had already formed a plan to launch its own artificial satellite, something they did not manage to do until 1958 with the Explorer 1. That same year, NASA was officially founded and publicly announced the creation of a program to send human passengers into space.

In the first half of the space race, the Soviet Union was considered to be ahead. Its engineers accomplished many firsts, including the first probe to reach the moon, Luna 2. In April 1961, the Soviets obtained another spectacular victory with the successful flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first person to fly in space. Upon his safe return to Earth, Gagarin was hailed as an international hero.

Then, in 1969, the Space Race reached its peak with the Apollo 11 mission, in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and walked on its surface. Even though the race did not officially reach its conclusion after this historic event, it was widely believed to have been won by the U.S at this point. Eventually, as the Cold War was slowly coming to an end, both sides agreed to stop the Race and cooperate in space, and this led to the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), which officially began in 1998.

(Adapted from space.com)

Question 39: What is the passage mainly about?

        A. How the Cold War affected the Space Race         B. The beginning of the Space Race

        C. Why the United States won the Space Race         D. A brief history of the Space Race

Question 40: According to paragraph 2, why was the public in the U.S surprised when Sputnik 1 was launched?

        A. Because the Soviet government had not announced any plans before the launch.

        B. Because after World War II, the Soviet Union’s economy was still recovering.

        C. Because the U.S had already built and was preparing to launch its own satellite. 

        D. Because the Sputnik 1 launch happened one year before the Explorer 1 launch.

Question 41: The phrase “hailed” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________.

        A. recommended         B. confirmed         C. assisted         D. celebrated

Question 42: The word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to ___________.

        A. race         B. conclusion         C. event         D. point

Question 43: Which of the following is NOT TRUE, according to the passage? 

        A. In 1958, NASA decided to start a space travel program for human passengers.

        B. Yuri Gagarin became the first person in history to travel into space.

        C. After the Apollo 11 mission, many believed that the U.S won the Space Race.

        D. At the end of the Space Race in 1998, the ISS was fully constructed.

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