Контроль чтения Spotlight 11 (1 полугодие) READING

Контроль чтения Spotlight 11 (1 полугодие) READING

When Did Man First Dream of Space Travel?

The dream of leaving the earth and reaching another world can be traced back in history to the second century A. D. At the time a Greek, Lucian of Samos, wrote a fantasy about a man who was carried to the moon by a waterspout during a storm. In his second story about space, Lucian’s hero flew to the moon with a pair of wings he had made himself.

The moon was the obvious destination for such fantasies because it is so large and has clearly visible markings, which could be thought of as a land and sea areas. But for the next 1400 years, the dream of reaching the moon was abandoned.

It was not until 300 years ago, when the famous Italian astronomer Galileo looked through his telescope and told about the other worlds he saw, that men realized there were other worlds in addition to our earth. Again, they began to dream of reaching these worlds.

In 1634, there appeared a story about a journey to the moon by Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who discovered how the planets moved about the sun. Although Kepler was a scientist, he transported his hero to the moon by “magic moon people” who could fly through space. Kepler included a detailed description of the surface of the moon, which he had seen through his telescope.

After Kepler’s book, there were many others about space travel and voyages to the moon. The first serious discussion of space travel was written in 1640 by Bishop Wilkins of England. It contained a description of physical conditions on the moon and discussed ways in which man could possibly live on the moon. The first man who wrote about a rocket as a spaceship was the noted Frenchman, Cyrano de Bergerac. In his Voyage to the Moon and History of the Republic of the Sun, he had his space travelers flying to the moon and the sun inside a rocket.

When these books were written, no one seriously thought that it would be possible to fly through space. It was not until Jules Verne, the French novelist, wrote his story From the Earth to the Moon in 1865 that any attempt was made to apply scientific principles to the space vehicle. By the time that H. G. Wells, the English author, wrote The First Men on the Moon in 1901, man was already at the beginning of a new era in the development of air travel and conquest of space.

Read the text and choose the correct item to complete the sentences.

1. The dream of leaving the earth can be traced back in history to the

1. seventh century A. D.

2. second century A. D.

3. second century B. C.

4. seventh century B. C.

1. In his first story a Greek, Lucian wrote about a man who was carried to the moon by

1. a waterspout.

2. a lightening.

3. a wave.

4. a wind.

1. In his second story Lucian’s hero flew to the moon

1. with a magic carpet.

2. with a pair of wings.

3. with a pair of magic shoes.

4. with an umbrella.

1. For the next 1400 years, people

1. continued dreaming about flying to the moon.

2. wrote many books about moon.

3. abandoned their dreams to fly to the moon.

4. looked through their telescopes.

1. The telescope was invented by

1. Jules Verne.

2. Cyrano de Bergerac.

3. Kepler.

4. Galileo.

1. In 1634 Kepler wrote about

1. Magic moon people.

2. Magic earth people.

3. Magic planets.

4. Magic moon animals.

1. The first serious discussion of space travel was written in

1. 1632.

2. 1634.

3. 1640.

4. 1865.

1. The first man who wrote about a rocket as a spaceship was

1. Galileo.

2. Cyrano de Bergerac.

3. Jules Verne.

4. Kepler.

1. Cyrano de Bergerac wrote

1. Voyage to the Sun.

2. History of the Republic of the Moon.

3. Voyage to the Star Republic.

4. Voyage to the Moon.

1. Jules Verne was… novelist.

1. a French

2. an English

3. an Italian

4. a German

1. “The First Men on the Moon” was written by

1. Jules Verne.

2. H. G. Wells.

3. Cyrano de Bergerac.

4. Kepler.