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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #63167 Easy Chris Hadfield: from fighter pilot to space station commander

Read the following passage.

A. Chris Hadfield was born in Sarnia, Ontario, on August 29, 1959, and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1978. In 1982 he graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he then trained as a fighter pilot. In 1985, flying a CF-18 for NORAD, he made the first CF-18 interception of a Soviet 'Bear' bomber. He later attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in California, where he flew 32 different aircraft and was named the top graduate. After that, he spent several years testing aircraft for the U.S. Navy in Maryland.

B. In 1992, Hadfield was chosen as one of four new Canadian astronauts from 5,330 applicants. On his first flight, in 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir. He became the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit, and he is still the only Canadian who has ever gone aboard Mir. In 2001 he flew again, this time to help build the International Space Station. He made two spacewalks and helped to install Canadarm2. In total he spent 14 hours and 54 minutes outside, and he became the first Canadian to leave a spacecraft in orbit.

C. In 2012, Hadfield was launched from Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with two crewmates, Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko. They travelled to the International Space Station, where Hadfield first worked as a flight engineer. In March 2013 he took over as the commander of the station. This made him the first Canadian to command a spaceship. The three men came back to Earth in May 2013 and landed in Kazakhstan after 146 days in space. A few weeks later, Hadfield announced that he would retire from the Canadian Space Agency on July 3, 2013.

D. During that stay, Hadfield let people around the globe see what daily life in orbit is like. He shared photographs of Earth on Twitter and made short videos with the Canadian Space Agency that explained simple science on board. One popular video showed an experiment on surface tension that two Grade 10 students had designed. He also recorded David Bowie's song 'Space Oddity' on the station. Permission to show it lasted one year, so it was taken down in May 2014, but after an outcry from fans a new two-year licence brought it back. Today the Canadian Space Agency still offers his mission videos on its website, along with quizzes about him and the station.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.

- 1.
People around the world got a view of everyday life in space through his pictures and clips.

- 2.
He was the youngest member of the crew on his first shuttle flight.

- 3.
No Canadian before him had taken charge of a vessel in space.

- 4.
He earned a university degree before training to fly military jets.

- 5.
He had wanted to lead a space crew ever since he was a child.

- 6.
The idea of recording the Bowie cover on the station came from one of his relatives.

- 7.
For a while, people could no longer watch his music video on the internet.

- 8.
On one mission he spent almost fifteen hours working outside the vehicle in total.

- 9.
At the end of his long stay on the station, he landed in Kazakhstan.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.

Correct Answer: D

Why this is correct: Paragraph D says that during his stay he let people around the globe see what daily life in orbit is like. He did this with photographs on Twitter and short videos, which are his pictures and clips.

Passage Reference: During that stay, Hadfield let people around the globe see what daily life in orbit is like.

Tips: Several parts talk about space. Ask which one shows everyday life there to the public through pictures and clips.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Paragraph A is about his years as a military pilot, long before he went to space or posted anything.
  • B: Paragraph B lists what he did on his shuttle flights in 1995 and 2001, but not how the public followed them.
  • C: Paragraph C gives the dates of his long stay and his role as commander, not what he showed people at home.
  • E: Paragraph D opens with exactly this idea and then names the photographs and videos he shared.

Correct Answer: E

Passage Reference: On his first flight, in 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir.

Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells us his first flight was in 1995 and that the shuttle docked with Mir. It gives no ages for anyone on board, so we cannot tell whether he was the youngest.

Tips: His first flight is in Paragraph B. Check whether any paragraph compares him with the people he flew with.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Paragraph A gives his birth date, but it covers his years as a pilot, not the people on any shuttle.
  • B: The second paragraph describes his first flight in 1995, yet it never compares his age with the other astronauts.
  • C: Look at paragraph C: it names his two crewmates in 2012, but that was a later mission, and no ages are given.
  • D: His photographs, videos and the Bowie song fill paragraph D. His first shuttle crew is not part of it.

Correct Answer: C

Passage Reference: This made him the first Canadian to command a spaceship.

Why this is correct: Paragraph C says he became commander of the station in March 2013. This made him the first Canadian to command a spaceship. To command a ship means to be in charge of it.

Tips: Many records for Canadians appear in this passage. Ask which one is about being in charge of a vessel.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Notice that paragraph A mentions a first in the air, the first CF-18 interception of a Soviet bomber. That was not in space.
  • B: The second paragraph gives several Canadian firsts, such as using the Canadarm in orbit and leaving a spacecraft. But none is about leading.
  • D: Notice that paragraph D is about sharing his stay with the public. No first of any kind is claimed there.
  • E: The fourth sentence of Paragraph C names him as the first Canadian to command a spaceship.

Correct Answer: A

Passage Reference: In 1982 he graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he then trained as a fighter pilot.

Why this is correct: Paragraph A says that in 1982 he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he then trained as a fighter pilot. The word 'then' shows the degree came first.

Tips: Find his university degree. Then check that the same sentence puts it before his flight training.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • B: The second paragraph starts in 1992, when he was chosen as an astronaut, and says nothing about his studies.
  • C: Notice that paragraph C covers his long stay on the station from 2012 to 2013, with no mention of his education.
  • D: Paragraph D turns to his photographs, videos and the Bowie song, not to what he studied.
  • E: His engineering degree from the Royal Military College, and the flight training after it, are both in Paragraph A.

Correct Answer: E

Passage Reference: In March 2013 he took over as the commander of the station.

Why this is correct: Paragraph C says he took over as commander of the station in March 2013. It says when this happened, but nothing about his childhood hopes or why he wanted the job.

Tips: Look at paragraph C: it gives the facts of his command. Ask whether any sentence tells you about his wishes as a child.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Look at paragraph A: it begins with his birth, but then moves to the armed forces. It gives no childhood dreams.
  • B: Notice that paragraph B tells us he was chosen as an astronaut in 1992. It does not say what he had hoped for as a boy.
  • C: The third paragraph reports that he became commander in 2013, but not that he had wished for this since childhood.
  • D: Look at paragraph D: it describes what he shared from the station, not his feelings about leading a crew.

Correct Answer: E

Passage Reference: He also recorded David Bowie's song 'Space Oddity' on the station.

Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D says he recorded 'Space Oddity' on the station and explains why the video was later taken down. It never says whose idea the recording was, and no family member appears in the passage.

Tips: The song is in Paragraph D. Check whether the text says who suggested it.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: The first paragraph covers his birth and his military flying. There is no song and no family in it.
  • B: His selection as an astronaut and his two shuttle missions are in paragraph B, long before the recording.
  • C: Look at paragraph C: it names his two crewmates on the Soyuz, but they are not family, and no song is mentioned.
  • D: The fourth paragraph tells us about the song and its permission, but not who first had the idea to record it.

Correct Answer: D

Passage Reference: Permission to show it lasted one year, so it was taken down in May 2014, but after an outcry from fans a new two-year licence brought it back.

Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D. The Space Oddity video was taken down in May 2014, when its one-year permission ended. A new licence later brought it back. So for a period, people could not watch it.

Tips: Find the part about his music video. Then check whether it was ever removed for a time and later returned.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: The first paragraph tells us about the aircraft he flew and tested, not about music or the internet.
  • B: Look at paragraph B: it describes his 1995 and 2001 missions, well before the song was recorded.
  • C: The third paragraph follows his launch, his command and his landing. A song is not part of it.
  • E: The removal in May 2014, and the return under a new licence, are explained in Paragraph D.

Correct Answer: B

Passage Reference: In total he spent 14 hours and 54 minutes outside, and he became the first Canadian to leave a spacecraft in orbit.

Why this is correct: His 2001 flight is in paragraph B. He made two spacewalks and spent 14 hours and 54 minutes outside in total. That is just under fifteen hours, so the statement matches.

Tips: Several times are given. Look for one just under 'fifteen hours' spent outside.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: The first paragraph gives numbers about aircraft, such as 32 different planes, but no time spent outside in space.
  • C: Look at paragraph C: it gives a long time in space, 146 days, but that time was spent on board the station.
  • D: Notice that paragraph D counts the years of the song's permission, not hours of work outside.
  • E: Notice that paragraph B adds up his two spacewalks in 2001 and gives the total time outside.

Correct Answer: C

Passage Reference: The three men came back to Earth in May 2013 and landed in Kazakhstan after 146 days in space.

Why this is correct: The third paragraph says the three men came back to Earth in May 2013. They landed in Kazakhstan after 146 days in space. That was the end of his long stay on the station.

Tips: Kazakhstan is named twice. The statement is about how the stay ended, so look for words about coming back.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A: Look at paragraph A: it names places in Canada and the United States where he trained, but not Kazakhstan.
  • B: The second paragraph mentions the Russian station Mir, but it does not say where he came down after that flight.
  • D: Notice that paragraph D describes what he shared during his stay and how his videos are used now. It does not say how the stay ended.
  • E: The landing in Kazakhstan after 146 days in space is reported in Paragraph C.

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