Science In Space IELTS Reading Answers with

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Luyện tập đề IELTS Reading Practice với passage Science In Space được lấy từ cuốn
sách IELTS Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS - Test 5 - Passage 3 với trải nghiệm thi
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DOL IELTS Đình Lực 28/02/2022

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Bài đọc (reading passage )
Science In Space

How will NASA transform the International Space Station from a building site into a cuttingedge
research laboratory ?

A premier, world class laboratory in low Earth orbit. That was how the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration agency (NASA) sold the International Space Station (ISS) to the US Congress in
2001 .Today no one can doubt the agency’s technological ambition. The most complex engineering project
ever attempted has created an enormous set of interlinked modules that orbits the planet at more than
27,000 kilometres per hour. It might be travelling fast but, say critics, as a lab it is going nowhere. So far,
it has gone through $150 billion.

So where should its future priorities lie? This question was addressed at the recent 1st annual ISS
research and development conference in Colorado. Among the presenters was Satoshi Iwase of Aichi
Medical University in Japan who has spent several years developing an experiment that could help solve
one of the key problems that humans will face in space: keeping our bodies healthy in weightlessness.
One thing that physiologists have learned is that without gravity our bodies begin to lose strength, leaving
astronauts with weakened bones, muscles and cardiovascular systems. To counter these effects on a long
duration mission to, say, Mars, astronauts will almost certainly need to create their own artificial gravity.
This is where Iwase comes in. He leads a team designing a centrifuge for humans. In their preliminary
design, an astronaut is strapped into the seat of a machine that resembles an exercise bike. Pedalling
provides a workout for the astronaut’s muscles and cardiovascular system, but it also causes the seat to
rotate vertically around a central axis so the rider experiences artificial gravity while exercising.

The centrifuge project highlights the station’s potential as a research lab. Similar machines have flown in
space aboard NASA’s shuttles, but they couldn’t be tested for long enough to prove whether they were
effective. It’s been calculated that to properly assess a centrifuge’s impact on human physiology,
astronauts would have to ride it for 30 minutes a day for at least two months. The only way to test this is
in weightlessness, and the only time we have to do that is on the space station,’ says Laurence Young, a
space medicine expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

There are certainly plenty of ideas for other experiments: but many projects have yet to fly. Even if the
centrifuge project gets the green light, it will have to wait another five years before the station’s crew can
take a spin. Lengthy delays like this are one of the key challenges for NASA, according to an April 201 I
report from the US National Academy of Sciences. Its authors said they were ‘deeply concerned’ about
the state of NASA’s science research, and made a number of recommendations. Besides suggesting that
the agency reduces the time between approving experiments and sending them into space, it also
recommended setting clearer research priorities.
NASA has already begun to take action, hiring management consultants ProOrbis to develop a plan to cut
through the bureaucracy. And Congress also directed NASA to hire an independent organisation, the
Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to help manage the station’s US lab facilities.
One of CASIS’s roles is to convince public and private investors that science on the station is worth the
spend because judged solely by the number of papers published, the ISS certainly seems poor value:
research on the station has generated about 3,100 papers since 1998 .The Hubble Space Telescope,
meanwhile, has produced more than I 1,300 papers in just over 20 years, yet it cost less than one tenth of
the price of the space station.

Yet Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for the ISS, refutes the criticism that the station hasn’t
done any useful research. He points to progress made on a salmonella vaccine, for example. To get the
ISS research back on track, CASIS has examined more than 100 previous microgravity experiments to
identify promising research themes. From this, it has opted to focus on life science and medical research,
and recently called for proposals for experiments on muscle wasting, osteoporosis and the immune
system. The organisation also maintains that the ISS should be used to develop products with commercial
application and to test those that are either close to or already on the market. Investment from outside
organisations is vital, says Uhran, and a balance between academic and commercial research will help
attract this.

The station needs to attract cutting edge research, yet many scientists seem to have little idea what goes
on aboard it. Jeanne DiFrancesco at ProOrbis conducted more than 200 interviews with people from
organisations with potential interests in low gravity studies. Some were aware of the ISS but they didn’t
know what’s going on up there, she says. ‘Others know there’s science, but they don’t know what kind.’

According to Alan Stern, planetary scientist, the biggest public relations boost for the ISS may come from
the privately funded space flight industry. Companies like SpaceX could help NASA and its partners when
it comes to resupplying the ISS, as it suggests it can reduce launch costs by two-thirds. Virgin Atlantic’s
Spaceship Two or Zero2lnfinity's high altitude balloon could also boost the space station’s fortunes. They
might not come close to the ISS’s orbit, yet Stern believes they will revolutionise the way we, the public,
see space. Soon everyone will be dreaming of interplanetary travel again, he predicts. More importantly,
scientists are already queuing for seats on these low gravity spaceflight services so they can collect data
during a few minutes of weightlessness. This demand for low-cost space flight could eventually lead to a
service running on a more frequent basis, giving researchers the chance to test their ideas before
submitting a proposal for experiments on the ISS. Getting flight experience should help them win a slot on
the station, says Stern.
Câu hỏi (questions )
Question 1 - 4
Choose appropriate options A, B, C or D.

1 What does the writer state about the ISS in the first paragraph?

A Its manufacture has remained within the proposed budget.

B It is a great example of technological achievement.

C There are doubts about the speed it has attained.

D NASA should have described its purpose more accurately.

2 What are we told about Satoshi Iwase’s experimental machine?

A It is based on conventional exercise equipment.

B It was originally commissioned by NASA.

C It is designed only to work in low-gravity environments.

D It has benefits that Iwase did not anticipate.

3 The writer refers to the Hubble Space Telescope in order to

A show why investment in space technology has decreased.

B highlight the need to promote the ISS in a positive way.

C explain which kind of projects are more likely to receive funding.

D justify the time required for a space project to produce results.

4 In the sixth paragraph, we are told that CASIS has

A rejected certain applications for experiments on the ISS.

B expressed concern about testing products used for profit.

C questioned the benefits of some of the projects currently on the ISS.

D invited researchers to suggest certain health-based projects.

Question 5 - 9
Look at the following opinions and the list of people below.

Match each opinion with the correct person, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

List of Findings

A Laurence Young

B Authors of the US National Academy of Sciences report

C Mark Uhran

D Jeanne DiFrancesco

5 The ISS should be available for business-related ventures.

6 There is general ignorance about what kinds of projects are possible on the ISS.

7 The process of getting accepted projects onto the ISS should be speeded up.

8 Some achievements of the ISS are underrated.

9 To properly assess new space technology, there has to be an absence of gravity.

Question 10 - 13
Complete the summary using the lists of words, A-H, below.

Write the correct letter, A-H.

The influence of commercial space flight on the ISS

According to Alan Stern, private space companies could affect the future of the ISS. He believes they
could change its image; firstly because sending food and equipment there would be more
10 if a commercial craft were used, and secondly, because commercial flights might make
the whole idea of space exploration seem 11 to ordinary people. Another point is that as
the demand for space flights increases, there is a chance of them becoming more 12 . And
by working on a commercial flight first, scientists would be more 13 if an ISS position
came up.
 A safe

B competitive

C flexible

D real

E rapid

F regular

G suitable

H economical
Question 14
Choose appropriate options A, B, C or D.

14 The writer’s purpose in writing this article is to

A promote the advantages of space flight in general.

B illustrate how the ISS could become more effective.

C criticise the ISS for its narrow-minded attitude.

D contrast useful and worthless space projects.

Answer key (đáp án và giải thích )

1 B Xem full giải thích

2 A Xem full giải thích

3 B Xem full giải thích

4 D Xem full giải thích

5 C Xem full giải thích

6 D Xem full giải thích

7 B Xem full giải thích

8 C Xem full giải thích

9 A Xem full giải thích

10 economical Xem full giải thích

11 real Xem full giải thích

12 regular Xem full giải thích

13 suitable Xem full giải thích

14 B Xem full giải thích

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