Before you read

Work in partner. Ask and answer the following questions.

(Làm việc với bạn học. Hỏi và trả lời các câu hỏi sau.)

1. Who is the first human to fly into space?

(Ai là người đầu tiên bay vào không gian?)

2. Can vou name the first humans to set foot on the moon?

(Bạn có thể kể tên những người đầu tiên đặt chân lên Mặt Trăng?)

3. Who is the first Vietnamese to fly into space?

(Ai là người Việt Nam đầu tiên bay vào không gian?)

While you read

Read the text about Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, the first human to fly into space and then do the tasks that follow.

(Đọc các văn bản về Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, người đầu tiên bay vào không gian và sau đó làm các nhiệm vụ tiếp theo.)

1. At 9.07 a.m. Moscow time on 12^th April, 1961, Yuri Gagarin lifted off into space aboard the Vostok 1. Approximately 12 minutes later, the first human being was in orbit around the Earth at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour. His flight lasted 108 minutes.

2. The 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut became the first person to eat and drink in weightlessness. From his window in space, Gagarin was able to view the earth in a way that no human beings had done before. The first words spoken from space were: “I see the Earth. It’s so beautiful!"

3. Before Gagarin’s historic flight, there were still enormous uncertainties. No one knew precisely what would happen to a human being in space. How would the body react to the extreme changes in temperature? How would the mind deal with the psychological tension? If there was a technical failure, Gagarin might never get back to the Earth.

4. The success of Gagarin’s flight attracted worldwide attention and made him a hero. In a telegram to Moscow, U.S. President John F. Kennedy wrote, “The people of the United States share with the people of the Soviet Union their satisfaction for the safe flight of the astronaut in man's first venture into space. We congratulate you and the Soviet scientists and engineers who made this feat possible. ...”

5. Gagarin could have made another space flight if a tragic accident had not occurred. He died in a plane crash on a routine training flight in March 1968. After his death, his hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin, and the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City, Russia, was given the name of this national hero.

Task 1. Match the headings to the paragraphs.

(Ghép tiêu đề với đoạn văn.)

Task 2. Read the passage again and answer the questions.

(Đọc kĩ đoạn văn một lần nữa và trả lời các câu hỏi.)

1. How old was Gagarin when he became the first human being in space?

(Gagarin bao nhiêu tuổi lúc trở thành người đầu tiên bay vào vũ trụ?)

2. How long was he in space?

(Anh ấy ở trong vũ trụ bao lâu?)

3. What questions were raised before Gasarin's space flight?

(Trước chuyến bay vào vũ trụ của Gagarin, người ta đã nêu lên những vấn đề gì?)

4. What was the speed of his spacecraft in orbit around the Earth?

(Vận tốc chiếc tàu vũ trụ của ông là bao nhiêu khi ở trong quỹ đạo bay vòng quanh Trái Đất?)

5. Why couldn’t Gagarin make a new space flight?

(Tại sao Gagarin không thể thực hiện một chuyến bay vũ trụ mới?)

6. What was done after Gagarin's death to honour this national hero?

(Người ta đã làm gì sau cái chết của Gagarin để tuyên dương anh ấy là anh hùng dân tộc?)

After you read

Complete the summary of the reading passage by putting the words/ phrases in the box into the blanks.

(Hoàn thành bản tóm tắt của bài đọc bằng cách đặt các từ/ cụm từ trong bảng vào chỗ trống.)

On 12^th April, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Russian (1) ______ became the first human being (2) ______. Although his flight (3) ______ only 108 minutes, its (4) ______ made him become a national hero. He also became the first person to eat and drink in zero (5) ______ , and he was able to (6) ______ the Earth in a way that no one had done before. Unfortunately, plane crash in March 1968 made Gagarin's desire of revisiting space (7) ______. After his death, his hometown and the Cosmonaut Training: Centre at Star City, Russia were (8) ______ him.