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Exercise 2

Read the story. Choose the best answer to complete each statement.

Stranded in space 

‘Whatever possessed us to volunteer for this?’ Bob muttered to Emily as he struggled to walk in his bulky grey spacesuit.

‘What if something goes horribly wrong?’ ‘Oh, how many more times?’ Emily muttered under her breath. After all, it was

Bob who had seen the advertisement on the Space Trek  website and jumped at the chance to take this ‘journey of a

lifetime’. She had been slower to warm to the idea, torn between the desire for adventure and her apprehension at the

obvious risks. Bob’s enthusiasm had won out though and once the decision was made, for her there was no looking

back.

‘Shh!’ she told him, in the most reassuring voice she could manage. ‘You’re going to scare the others. We’re in expert

hands. What can possibly go wrong?’ ‘We’ll all feel better once the flight starts,’ one of their fellow travellers whispered

encouragingly. But was that actually the case? Bob, normally the most courageous of men, had been completelyspooked in the last few days. He’d been strangely silent during the day, while regular nightmares left him trembling and

bathed in sweat.

Worrying about Bob had prevented Emily from dwelling too much on her own reservations regarding the trip. But now,

as she struggled aboard the spaceship, panting under the weight of her padded suit, helmet and breathing equipment,

Emily could feel her heart pounding. Turning, she managed a smile and a somewhat shaky wave at the press

photographers thronging below, took one last look at the familiar things of Earth and then stepped inside the flight

capsule. The pilots, two experienced space veterans, were already seated in front of their instrument panels carrying

out pre-flight checks. Multi-coloured lights flashed on and off as a voice from a distant control room gave final

instructions.

Emily and Bob took their seats alongside their fellow ‘passengers’. Apart from the crew, there were six of them and they

sat three in a line on each side of the spaceship. In front of them were large round windows from which, in just a while,

they would view the wonders of space. As the countdown to take-off approached, there was silence in the capsule.

‘What was it like to be stranded in space?’ Emily wondered. Shuddering, she dismissed the thought from her brain. Such

last-minute doubts were a waste of time, she knew. Better to focus on the here and now. ‘Three minutes to go. Visors

down. Hold on to your seats, folks!’ a voice informed them through their headphones. Seconds later there was a mighty

roar and a sudden rush of air hit the spaceship – the adventure had begun!

Looking through the window, Emily watched the sky turn from blue to purple until, finally, the spaceship entered the

blackness of space. ‘Preparing to fire the booster rockets. We’re going into orbit everyone!’ A deafening roar confirmed

the next stage of their flight was underway. Emily grabbed Robert’s hand as the vehicle hurtled through space. The

woman opposite jerked upright in her seat in terror while others exchanged nervous looks. The noise was

overwhelming, but just as Emily thought she couldn't stand it any longer, it began to decrease until finally there was

nothing but silence. The travellers gazed at each other, almost in disbelief. They’d made it so far, safe and sound! Theirworried frowns relaxed into smiles, and they applauded wildly.

On a word from the crew, they unstrapped themselves from their seats and experienced the weightlessness of space,

floating around the cabin. ‘What did I tell you?’ Emily teased Bob as she somersaulted through the air. But Bob wasn’t

listening to her. His eyes were fixed on the window beside them, or rather on something outside the window that was

approaching at breakneck speed. A meteorite? But surely a lump of rock would not be so perfectly shaped or so

stunningly lit as this? And what was that noise? It sounded like … no, it couldn’t be … through her headphones,

someone – or something – was speaking in a language she’d never heard before. What was going on?

1 From the first paragraph, we understand that Emily

was angry at Bob for suggesting the space trip.

regretted agreeing to join Bob on the space trip.was firm in her resolution to go on the space trip.

was not sure about going on the space trip.

      G      I      V      E

      F      E      E      D      B      A      C      K

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2 The word spooked  in Paragraph 2 (line 10) suggests that Bob had been

feeling scared.

training hard.

unable to sleep.

feeling unwell.

3 When she first stepped onto the space ship, Emily

couldn't breathe in her spacesuit.

showed signs of anxiety.

was feeling worried about Bob.enjoyed being a celebrity.

4 As Emily waited for the final countdown, she

refused to think of anything.

wondered if she would enjoy space.

kept her mind on the present.

was unable to stop panicking.

5 When the booster rockets were fired, the passengers

thought there was something wrong.

made a deafening noise.

were scared into silence.

found the effects disturbing.

6 When the travellers first experienced weightlessness, Emily

felt reassured about the trip.

worried about what might happen next.

made a critical comment to Bob.

asked Bob to remind her about something.

Close

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