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- IELTS Reading Matching Headings
- IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions
- IELTS Reading True/False/Not Given
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IELTS Reading Passage: The final frontier for tourism
The final frontier for tourism
A. For certain reason human kind has always seemed regarding the stars and dreamt of one day making the journey into the unknown and wandering outer space. Maybe it is our inborn interest, maybe the challenge presented by the apparently unfeasible; anything the tempt, the search to venture into space has become a problem for many.
B. On an unforgettable July day in 1969 one man made a colossus leap for his kind. Neil Armstrong touched down on the moon as the universe watched with bated breath. Was this the beginning or the climax of years of trying that pushed science to its very limits? Well, it has been a long time to be sure since the last moon landing, more than 40 years, but science has not stood still in the meantime, nor have our dreams become any less aspiring. According to NASA, plans are going on for a crewed mission to Mars at some points after 2020. A return to the moon has been planned sooner- maybe 2018 if NASA’s new Crew Exploration Vehicle(CEV) is rolled out on lime. It may not be Hollywood razzle-dazzle-style progress; it may even be meticulously slow, but rest confident that schemes are going on for something very aspiring and special to be sure, and NASA may be back in the headlines making waves and history again, just as it did on that loyal day in 1969, in the not-too-distant future.
C. That said, it is the view of space tourism for the pile that has entrapped the headlines recently, and this may not be such a faraway dream as people would await. In 2001, an American millionaire, DennisTito, became the first space tourist, spending 10 days on the International Space Station along with his group of Russian pilots, and fulfilling a lifelong aspiration in the procedure. He narrates the experience rather contradictoryly as ‘ inexpressible’; everything that he thought it would be and more. One year later, South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth came after in his footfall. On his return to Earth he said, ‘every second will be with me for the rest of my life’. Clearly these men had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but this came at a burly price, both paying $20 million for the delight of their space adventures.
D. At present, space tourism is doubtless reticent for an elite and wealthy few, but what of the future? If Eric Anderson, president of Space Adventures, the company that organized Tito and Shuttleworth’s trips, is to be trusted, it will be the next big thing. ‘Everyone’s looking for a new experience’, he says. To be sure, Space Adventure is planning to provide rocket trips to the public for $100,000 within the next few years, so maybe space tourism is closer than we think. Another firm, The Space Island Group, is planning to build a space hotel stimulated by the spaceships in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Gene Meyers, the firm’s president, forecast that in 2020 a five-day holiday at the hotel will cost less than $25,000. Visualize , he says, a five-star hotel with all the normal luxuries, excluding that each morning you’ll be greeted by hallucinatory views of outer space. This is certainly food for thought for adventure-seeking holiday planners. That said, but there is a serious prong in inflation between now and 2020, $25,000 will still remain a sizable sum of money to have to part with for a comic activity, once-in-a-lifetime or not. But that may be missing the point- the prospect of accessible space travel is getting closer and closer and it is only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.
E. Other companies have even more aspiring plans. Bigelow Aerospace is spending close to $500 million on a blueprint to build a 700- meter spaceship to fly tourists to the moon. The spaceship will be able to hold 100 visitors, each with separate rooms providing truly distinctive views of the Earth’s sunset. Even the Hilton Hotel Group wants to get in on the act with talk of plans to build a Hilton on the moon. For the present, only men of wealth can enjoy the advantage of a space journey, but in the words of one Bob Dylan, ‘The times they are a swapping.’ And sooner than you’d think.
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IELTS Reading Questions:The final frontier for tourism
Questions 1-5
Reading passage has five paragraphs A-E.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph A-E from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-viii in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
| List of Headings i Not worth the cost. ii Space travel past, present and future. iii Russian innovations. iv A profitable investment. v The future of tourism. vi Insatiable desire for adventure. Vii The first space tourists. viii Moon hotels. |
| 1 | Paragraph A |
| 2 | Paragraph B |
| 3 | Paragraph C |
| 4 | Paragraph D |
| 5 | Paragraph E |
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Question 6-9
Look at the following people (questions 6-9) and the list of statements. Match each person with the correct statement, A-D
Write the correct letter, A-D, in box 6-9 on your answer sheet.
6. Denis Tito.
7. Mark Shuttleworth.
8. Eric Anderson.
9. Gene Meyers.
A. Touched down on the moon in 1969
B. Believes space tourism will be popular in the near future.
C. Spent ten days on the International Space Station
D. Was the second tourist to travel into space
E. Predicts space holidays will be more affordable by 2020.
F. Will build a hotel inspired by a film.
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Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1
In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
10 bigelow Aerospace’s spaceship will offer unique views of the Moon’s sunset.
11. The Hilton Hotel Group has ambitious plans to organize cheap space journeys.
12. NASA plans to launch a mission to Mars, but first, it is hoping to return to the moon.
13. At the moment, space tourism is too expensive for ordinary people, only the very rich can travel to space.
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Recommended Questions:
Renewable Energy IELTS Reading Question with Answer
The final frontier for tourism Reading Answers
1. vi
2. ii
3. vii
4. v
5. viii
6. C
7. D
8. B
9. E
10. False
11. Not given
12. True
13. True
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