Text b Exploration of the Moon

The physical exploration of the Moon began when “Luna 2”, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a hard landing on the Moon on September 14, 1959 and culminated with the landing of the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Between these two great achievements were many scientifically important firsts.

The first photographs of the unseen far side of the Moon were made in 1959 by the Soviet Union’s “Luna 3” probe. “Luna 9” was the first probe which performed a soft landing on the Moon and transmitted pictures from the Moon’s surface. “Luna 10” launched on March 31, 1966 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon.

On December 24, 1968, the crew of “Apollo 8” became the first human beings who entered lunar orbit and saw the far side of the Moon with their own eyes. And at last, on July 20, 1969 humans first landed on the Moon. The first man who stepped on the lunar surface was Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission “Apollo 11”. He spoke the famous words "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." The second astronauts of the “Apollo 11” mission, Buzz Aldrin, who stepped the Moon’s surface 15 minutes later, described the Moon’s view as "Magnificent desolation." There were six Apollo lunar landing missions at all. The first lasted about two-and-a-half hours was the shortest of any of the six Apollo missions. The crew of “Apollo 17”, by comparison, spent over 21 hours exploring the lunar surface. And Eugene Gernan, as a member of the “Apollo 17” crew, was the last man who walked on the Moon in December 1972. The astronauts of the all Apollo missions deployed the scientific equipment on the Moon and collected rock samples and lunar surface material.

The first robot lunar rover which landed on the Moon was the Soviet vessel “Lunokhod 1” on November 17, 1970 as part of the Lunokhod program.

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s there were 65 Moon landings (with 10 in 1971 alone), but after “Luna 24” in 1976 they suddenly stopped. The Soviet Union started focusing on Venus and space stations and the U.S. on Mars and beyond.

Задания к тексту B:

I. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующим русским выражениям:

фотографии с поверхности Луны; много научно важных начинаний; жесткая посадка; мягкая посадка; развертывать научное оборудование; космический спутник, запущенный Советским Союзом; по сравнению; первый искусственный спутник Луны; величественное запустение; физическое исследование Луны; собирать образцы скальных пород и поверхностного материала; гигантский скачок для человечества; невидимая сторона Луны;

II. Сформулируйте в нескольких словах содержание каждого абзаца.

III. Напишите резюме к тексту.

IV. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. When did the physical exploration of the Moon begin?

2. When and how did the first photographs of the Moon appear?

3. What space probe became the first artificial satellite of the Moon?

4. Who first saw the far side of the Moon with their own eyes?

5. When did the astronauts of “Apollo 11” land on the Moon?

6. What were the first words of Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission “Apollo 11”?

7. How did Buzz Aldrin, the second astronauts of the “Apollo 11” mission, describe the Moon’s view?

8. How long were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon?

9. How much time did the crew of “Apollo 17” spend on the Moon?

10. What did the astronauts do on the Moon?

11. When did the flights to the Moon suddenly stop?

V. Перескажите текст, используя в качестве плана вопросы предыдущего упражнения.