Been There, Done That - In Zero Gravity - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation
In the IELTS exam, you have a reading assignment, in which you will be given a passage and asked multiple questions based on that particular passage. IELTS Reading section aims to assess your reading and comprehension talents. The solutions and explanations for the IELTS Reading topic "Been There, Done That In Zero Gravity" are discussed in this post. The types of questions asked in this passage are:
- Matching Heading
- Sentence completion
- True/False/Not Given
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Been There, Done That- In Zero Gravity IELTS Reading Sample
Section A
Until recently, only nation-states and their agencies were capable of sending satellites and astronauts into space. We’ve all heard of NASA, ESA, and the ISS (International Space Station), but now some private firms are challenging those institutions. The question is: are these companies merely chasing tourist dollars, or will their space exploration benefit humanity?
Section B
Currently, there are at least four big American and two British companies involved in the new space race – the mission to send tourists to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. There they can experience the thrills of weightlessness and the marvellous sight of our planet so far away.
One such company, Blue Origin, was founded by Jeff Bezos. The billionaire Bezos was the man behind Amazon, America’s largest online retailer. The main project of Blue Origin is a vertical take-off and landing rocket, designed exclusively for tourism.
Armadillo Aerospace was also set up by a well-known American: John Carmack. He gave the world the video games Doom and Quake. Armadillo is developing a similar spacecraft to that of Blue Origin. Fares for suborbital trips will start at around $100,000. Although the spacecraft is still in the testing stage, a travel agency, Space Adventures, has signed a deal with Armadillo to sell seats.
A cheaper alternative to Armadillo’s trip may be a ride on a Lynx spacecraft. This is the brainchild of Jeff Greason, of XCOR Aerospace. This company subcontracts for NASA and is well known for producing reliable craft. Its new tourist spacecraft can take off and land on a runway at a civilian airport. It may be able to make four daily suborbital flights but will carry only one passenger each time.
Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur, is planning to start space-tourist flights on his Virgin Galactic craft. These will carry six passengers, paying up to $200,000 for their space thrill. Once thrust upwards, the craft will head for the edge of the atmosphere. The whole journey will last just a few minutes.
Starchaser, a company headed by Briton, Steve Bennet, hopes its rockets will offer a more enduring experience – a 20-minute flight, several minutes of which will be spent in zero gravity.
But probably the most impressive private space company is SpaceX. This was set up by Elon Musk, an internet entrepreneur born in South Africa. Musk made his fortune creating PayPal, which eBay bought from him for $1.5bn. While anyone else with that kind of money may well have retired, Musk works 100 hours a week at his Los Angeles rocket factory, intent on realising his dream.
Section C
For Musk, space travel is not just about ticking things off in a Lonely Planet guidebook. He believes the future of humanity lies in its ability to colonise other planets. Since his days as a student at Penn State University, he has been passionate about the future. He is certainly living on other planets is the only way humans can prevent self-destruction or save themselves from a catastrophic event like the impact of a large meteorite.
Musk established SpaceX in 2002. Yet within only seven years, it had launched a satellite from its rocket, Falcon 1. By contrast, agencies like NASA and ESA take decades to achieve similar feats. In 2010, SpaceX sent its much larger Falcon 9 rocket into space. The next venture is to provide a taxi service to the ISS with Dragon, a small shuttle that Falcon 9 launches. This will deliver cargo and astronauts to the station. Dragon is radically different in design from the existing Shuttle, and far less costly.
Section D
In fact, before building Falcon and Dragon, Musk thoroughly researched the costs of building and launching rockets. He could not understand why government agencies spent so much money on these activities, and he concluded, quite simply, that they were inefficient. To prove his theory, SpaceX has produced the Merlin engine, which is elegantly designed, extremely powerful, and relatively cheap. It runs on highly refined kerosene that costs half the price of other rocket fuel. In most of SpaceX’s spacecraft, parts are re-usable, an innovation in the industry. There are also fewer stages in rocket transformation. That is: there are fewer times a rocket separates into smaller parts. All of this means spacecraft can be produced at a fraction of the cost of competitors while maintaining the same high safety standards.
Section E
Musk maintains that the Falcon 9, a rocket that carries astronauts, is so powerful it could already reach Mars if it were assembled in Earth’s orbit. He believes this technological advance will occur within 20 years – something most experts consider unlikely. Moreover, he firmly believes living on Mars is possible within the lifetime of his children. For him, the new space race is not only about selling tickets for a mind-blowing ride, but also about securing the future of our species.
For other private companies, however, there is no urge to invest heavily in missions to distant planets. Making a profit at the high end of the tourist market here on Earth is their only goal.
Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-4
Reading Passage has five sections A-E
Choose the proper heading for sections B-E from the list of titles below
Write the right number i-vii in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet
List of Headings:
- To colonise or generate revenue?
- The big six
- NASA spends too much
- It’s not rocket science
- Public or private spacecraft?
- Why Americans dominate
- An idealist and a realist
- Section B
Answer: ii
Supporting Sentence: Currently, there are at least four big American and two British companies involved in the new space race
Keyword: big, six
Keyword Location: Section B, First line
Explanation: Currently, there are at least four big American and two British companies involved in the new space race which means they are examining the big six companies. So the heading “ The big six” is appropriate for section B.
Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples
- Section C
Answer: vii
Supporting Sentence: For Musk, space travel is not just about ticking things off in a Lonely Planet guidebook. Musk established SpaceX in 2002. Yet within only seven years, it had launched a satellite from its rocket,
Keyword: idealist, realist
Keyword Location: Section C, First line, and Second paragraph, First line
Explanation: The two statements represent that Musk is an idealist and realist. So the heading “An idealist and a realist” is appropriate for section C.
- Section D
Answer: iv
Supporting Sentence: All of this means spacecraft can be produced at a fraction of the cost of competitors while maintaining the same high safety standards.
Keyword: not, rocket science
Keyword Location: Section D, Last line
Explanation: As spacecraft can be produced at a fraction of the cost of competitors, denoted that it’s not rocket science. So the heading “It’s not rocket science” is appropriate for section D.
- Section E
Answer: i
Supporting Sentence: For him, the new space race is not only about selling tickets for a mind-blowing ride but also securing the future of our species.
Keyword: colonise, generate, revenue
Keyword Location: Section E, Last line
Explanation: For him, the new space race is not only about selling tickets for a mind-blowing ride but also regarding securing the future of our species. As the information dealt with colonisers and revenue generation. So the heading “To colonise or generate revenue?” is appropriate for section E.
Questions 5-9
Choose no more than two words and/or a number from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 5-9 on your answer sheet.
- A ticket on one of Armadillo Aerospace’s trips into space is likely to cost ……
Answer: around $100,000
Supporting Sentence: Armadillo is developing a similar spacecraft to that of Blue Origin. Fares for suborbital trips will start at around $100,000
Keyword: ticket, Armadillo Aerospace, trips, space, cost
Keyword Location: Section C, third paragraph
Explanation: Fares for suborbital trips will start at around $100,000 suggest that the cost of Armadillo Aerospace’s trips is around $ 100,000. So the appropriate answer is around $ 100,000.
- A single passenger will journey on a(n) ………… spacecraft.
Answer: lynx
Supporting Sentence: A cheaper alternative to Armadillo’s trip may be a ride on a Lynx spacecraft
Keyword: single passenger, journey, spacecraft
Keyword Location: Section B, fourth paragraph
Explanation: A cheaper alternative to Armadillo’s trip may be a ride on a Lynx spacecraft. It may be able to make four daily suborbital flights but will carry only one passenger each time. From this, we can conclude that the lynx spacecraft will only take a single passenger. So the appropriate answer is lynx
- A ride on Virgin Galactic will take only …………… minutes
Answer: a few
Supporting Sentence: The whole journey will last just a few minutes.
Keyword: ride, Virgin Galactic, take, minutes
Keyword Location: Section B
Explanation: The whole journey will last just a few minutes. This statement shows that the journey will take only a few minutes, So the appropriate answer is few
- On a Starchaser spacecraft, a passenger will experience ……… minutes of weightlessness.
Answer: several
Supporting Sentence: a 20-minute flight, several minutes of which will be spent in zero gravity.
Keyword: Starchaser spacecraft, passenger, experience, minutes, weightlessness
Keyword Location: Section B
Explanation: The passage mentions that the passenger might encounter several minutes of weightlessness. So the appropriate answer is several.
- Elon Musk sold …………, and set up SpaceX, which builds rockets.
Answer: PayPal
Supporting Sentence: Musk made his fortune creating PayPal, which eBay bought from him for $1.5bn.
Keyword: Elon Musk, sold, set up, SpaceX, builds, rockets
Keyword Location: Section B, last paragraph
Explanation: Musk made his fortune creating PayPal, which eBay bought from him for $1.5bn. As stated eBay bought Paypal from Musk which means that he sold PayPal. So the appropriate answer is PayPal.
Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage
In boxes 23-27 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
- Musk is a keen supporter of human settlement in space.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: He is definitely living on other planets is the only way humans can control self-destruction or save themselves from a catastrophic occasion like the impact of a large meteorite.
Keyword: Musk, human settlement, space
Keyword Location: Section C, first paragraph
Explanation: It confirms that Musk is against human destruction and supports mortal settlements in space. The statement agrees with the information. So the answer is True.
- Overall, SpaceX’s rockets are faster than its competitors.
Answer: Not Given
- Musk believes a manned spacecraft will reach Mars in 20 years.
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: He believes this technical advance will occur within 20 years
Keyword: Musk, believes, manned spacecraft, reach, Mars, 20 years
Keyword Location: Section E, first paragraph
Explanation: The passage confirms Musk's claim of spacecraft reaching Mars 20 years. The statement agrees with the information. So the answer is True
- Most private space companies share Musk’s eagerness for distant space travel.
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: For other private firms, however, there is no wish to invest heavily in missions to distant planets
Keyword: most, private companies, share, Musk, distant, space travel
Keyword Location: Section E, last paragraph
Explanation: For other private firms, however, there is no wish to invest heavily in missions to distant planets. Since there is no desire to invest, which shows that no private companies share Musk’s eagerness for distant space travel. The statement contradicts the information. So the proper answer is False.
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