American

Culture Into Space MINI-DISCUSSION: In pairs Ask your partner what theyve heard about Koreas involvement in the recent space mission? Is it a proud moment in Korean history or nothing special? QUICK-QUIZ: find out which teams know anything about space 1. When did man first land on the moon? (a) June 1989. (b) July 1969. (c) August 1959. 2. Who was the first man in space? (a) Neil Armstrong. (b) Buzz Aldrin. (c) Yuri Gagarin. 3. What was the name of the first mission to the moon? (a) Apollo 11. (b) Apollo 12. (c) Apollo 13. 4. Which country was the first woman in space from? (a) Russia. (b) America (c) Canada. 5. In 1958, a monkey called Gordo was launched in a space capsule. What happened to him? (a) He died on re-entry into the Earths atmosphere. (b) He returned successfully and became a celebrated heroic monkey. (c) He drowned after the capsule crashed in the ocean. READING: Look at the meaning of the words in bold. Yi So-Yeon and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from Kazakhstan on Tuesday. The 29-year-old bio-engineer spent about 10 days in space and conducted a series of scientific tests. The mission made South Korea the ninth Asian country to have had an astronaut in space. Before the launch, Ms Yi had boarded the rocket flashing a thumbs-up and saying she felt "great". Ms Yi was chosen from about 36,000 applicants for the mission, which is costing South Korea about $20m (10m). Initially the back-up astronaut, she was moved up after Russian officials said the first-choice, 31-year-old Ko San, had broken space centre rules. At a news conference on the Monday before the launch, journalists asked Ms Yi what she would do when she arrived at the ISS: "I guess, first of all, I am going to shout: 'Wow!' She hoped that her spaceflight would help ease ties between the two Koreas. "I hope someday they will be one, and I hope the North Korean people will be happy with my flight," she said. The first Asian astronaut (or cosmonaut) was Vietnam's Pham Tuan, who travelled on a Soviet Soyuz mission in 1980. Since then, citizens of Mongolia, Afghanistan, Japan, India, Kazakhstan, China and Malaysia have also journeyed into space. Ms Yi returned to Earth on 19 April with the outgoing crew of the ISS.

American Culture Into Space DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Yi So-Yeon, the 29-year-old South Korean bioengineer, is the first Korean person to go into space and the youngest ever woman also. Why is this so important to the people of Korea and to women in general? Are you proud of her and South Korea for taking this step? 2. Every year a lot of money is invested in space exploration and countless movies are made about adventures in space. Why are humans so fascinated by space and exploring it? Does this interest you personally? 3. Some people say that we should focus our exploration (and the huge budget) on the Earth as there are so many things we dont understand here, for example, the depths of the sea, cures for diseases Do you think that we are wasting money on space exploration? How do you feel about South Korea spending about $20 million on this mission when the country needs money for other, more immediate things? 4. What useful discoveries could we find in space? Do you think space exploration will help us evolve / invent new technologies / cure diseases? 5. There are rumors of millionaires buying tickets to go into space for fun Do you think well be able to go on holiday in space one day? If you could, where would you go? 6. Will it be possible for humans to live on the Space Stations or on the moon one day? Would you be interested in moving there? 7. Is this the kind of thing that you could do? If you had all of the appropriate skills and training, would you be interested in going on a space mission? Why or why not? 8. Yis mother, Jung Kum-suk, is said to have screamed and collapsed after the shuttle took-off (shes okay now though). If someone you loved was about to leave on a potentially dangerous mission, how do you think you would react? 9. A special variety of kimchi was prepared for Korean astronauts in space, so that they could enjoy their national dish without the risk of the bacteria which ferments cabbage into kimchi. If you were going into space to live on the space station, what food would you like to take with you? Also, if you could take only three personal items with you, what would they be?