Adler planetarium honours yuri gagarin

The Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois has honoured Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He was the first person to travel to space. He made the flight on April the twelfth, 1961. Now, fifty years later, the Adler Planetarium is celebrating with a new sculpture of the man. Russian officials in Moscow donated the Gagarin sculpture to Chicago.

The planetarium opened in 1930, the country's first museum of astronomy. The Adler has always honoured scientific gains made by the Americans. But now the museum is working to honour astronomical achievements made by other nations as well.

Former Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu attended the ceremony to honour Yuri Gagarin. Twenty years after he became the first man in space, Mr Prunariu flew to space on a Soyuz rocket. That was in 1981. He remains Romania's only cosmonaut.

Mr Prunariu was eight year old when Gagarin made the flight. He remembers the moment he heard about it.

"I was in the house together with my sister and mother listening to the radio. And the radio stopped and very important news was broadcast about the flight of the first human into outer space... Yuri Gagarin showed us how to break frontiers, the frontier of the atmosphere."

James Andrews is a Russian history expert at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He says Gagarin's flight shocked Americans, coming just three and a half years after the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite. But America soon stole the world's attention with its Earth orbits and trips to the moon.

The president of the Adler Planetarium is Paul Knappenberger. He says, in the past, the Adler had not really shown what other nations were doing in space. But he said, "that is something we are working on now."

Mr Knappenberger says the Adler is expanding. He says plans include a new building. The new museum will feature the history of space exploration by Americans and Soviets. It will also show current, international activity connected to space travel; the private industry now involved in space flight will also be included.

2. The author describes how the Adler Planetarium is expanding. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3. What is Mr Prunariu grateful to Yuri Gagarin for?

4. Why did the Adler decide to include Yuri Gagarin's sculpture into its exhibition?

№64

1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

fake

поддельный, искусственный

Halloween

Halloween is always celebrated on 31 October. On that night, many people will look like frightening creatures such as vampires or ghosts. They do this with the help of special clothing and face paint.

Halloween traditions developed from Celtic beliefs in ancient Britain. The Celts believed that spirits of the dead would return to their homes on October the thirty-first, the day of the autumn feast. They built huge fires to frighten away evil spirits that night.

People from Scotland and Ireland brought these ideas with them when they came to America. Some believed that spirits played tricks on people on the last night of October. Historians say many of the Halloween traditions of today developed from those of ancient times. They say that wearing a mask to hide a person's face is similar to the way ancient villagers covered their faces to make evil spirits go away

On Halloween night, American children put on masks and other clothing. They go from home to home shouting "Trick or treat"! If the people in the homes do not give them a treat, the children may play a trick on them.

Some adults put on costumes and attend Halloween parties. They also decorate their homes. They might clean out the insides of pumpkins and cut funny faces on the surface. Then, they place a burning candle inside. Some hang fake* bats, spider webs and other things around the home.

The National Retail Federation is predicting that Americans will spend more on Halloween treats and products this year. The group says about six point nine billion dollars will be spent in all. That is eighteen percent more than last year when Americans spent five point eight billion dollars to celebrate Halloween.

The National Retail Federation also has information about what Americans will be wearing for Halloween this year. It says zombie costumes are tops among women, men and children.

2. The author describes how the ideas of celebrating Halloween came to the USA. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3. What do adults and children do to get ready for Halloween?

4. Why do many people celebrate this holiday nowadays?

№65

1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

felt boots

валенки

glue

клей