WHAT DOES SPACE SMELL OF?
Hello World! I smelled Space for the first time in my life!
Being in space has its wonderful sides. You can fly instead of walking. And you
can play with your food! You forgot your book at the other side of the ship. No
problem! You ask someone close to it to send it to you. That means they pick it
up and very gently push it towards you, and here it is!
The days here start at about 4:00 am and end at about 7:30 pm. 7:30 is supposed
to be lights out! But it is the time when everyone can relax a bit and just chat,
make some personal calls to family members, or simply look out of the window
and admire the views. As you may know, the station makes a complete orbit
every 90 minutes, so when I talk about night don't think of it as night on the
Earth when it is dark outside. The sun rises and sets during each orbit and you
can watch 32 beautiful sunrises and sunsets a day!
Keeping good hygiene* in space is not easy! There is no shower or running water. Water does not 'flow' here, it 'floats'! We use wet towels and dry towels for cleaning ourselves. The most interesting experience — or I should call it experiment — is washing your hair. I know why people keep their hair short in space. You basically take a water bag and slowly make a huge water bubble over your head and then very gently, using a dry shampoo, you wash your hair. At the slightest sudden movement, little water bubbles start floating everywhere.
Hello World,
I'm writing my last blog from orbit. We've just finished our last supper in orbit.
Misha Tyurin then gave a beautiful speech. He talked about how we, people,
from different countries, backgrounds and cultures, have established a special
link. He continued, "One day the space station will burn in the atmosphere but
the memories of this trip and our friendship will live..." Misha's speech was so
touching that I could not hold my tears anymore. I felt I was losing something
special. It is true that you establish a link up here that is hard to break. I'm sure
I will never forget my friends.
2. The astronaut mentions some advantages of being in space. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. What did you learn about the daily routine at the space station?
4. Why is it difficult to keep hygiene in space?
№54
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
SPECIAL REQUEST TO EDUCATION MINISTER
When the senior class of Gardane School heard that it might not get a new
teacher for their elementary school, the pupils wrote to the Minister of
Education. They live in or near a village in a mountainous district of Martonia
where it is difficult to recruit doctors and teachers. Their request was published
in a national paper and has become a common topic of conversation in a country
where there is great concern about people leaving rural areas for the cities, This
is the letter:
Dear Minister,
We are writing to ask for your help. We need a new teacher for the senior class
in our school, and we are worried because our parents have been told that the
Ministry cannot find one. Our school is very important to us and we like coming
here to learn.
Gardane is a small village. Every visitor from the city says our valley is very
beautiful and that we are lucky to live here. So why isn't there a new teacher
who wants to come here? We don't mind how old the new teacher is, or whether
it's a man or a woman. They should like the country and outdoor life, and be
healthy. We would like someone who is patient, happy and does not shout, The
teacher should be clever and know how to help us understand things. We.d
like our teacher to be properly dressed and to come on time. They should be
kind, make us feel happy in the school, and help us make our classroom nice.
We would like someone who thinks of exciting things to do, inside and outsid
school. For example, our last teacher got us to write down the history of the
village which our grandparents knew — we didn't realise how much the village
had changed; make a nature calendar so we learned more about farming and
about the animals and plants in our valley; read all sorts of books and write a
newspaper about our village.
If the Ministry does not send us a teacher, we will have to leave our families
and our valley to go to school.
Please help us!
Yours sincerely
The pupils of Gardane school.
The pupils have not had a reply yet, and so far the Ministry has refused to
comment on the situation.
2. The children mention some qualities that their future teacher should possess.
Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. Why did children like their last teacher?
4. What will happen if the school doesn't get a new teacher?
№55
1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Jewish
еврейский, иудейский
To sniff
обнюхивать
A wolf-cub
волчонок
SURVIVING WITH WOLVES
This is the story of Misha Defonseca, a Belgian Jewish* girl, who was adopted
not once, but twice, by wild wolves. She broke her silence after nearly 60 years,
and says that her tale is true...
It started in the autumn of 1941, when Misha was seven years old. It was the
time of the Second World War and Jewish people were being arrested and taken
away by the Nazis. One day Misha's own parents were taken away. She lived
with another family, but wanted to find her mother and father again. So, after
six months, she packed a small bag and ran away.
Misha started her trip to Germany. She remembered from a school atlas that
it was near Belgium. Afraid of being caught, she followed lonely forest paths
instead of busy roads. At night, she slept in deserted buildings, or in the woods.
She begged or stole food to survive. If Misha was passing through a village, she
waited for church bells to ring. When the people left their homes she would go
inside and take some bread and cheese. When she couldn't beg or steal, she ate
wild berries, seeds and insects.
One day, a farmer hit her with a stone when she was running away with some
stolen food. Misha escaped to a forest. She was crying with pain when a big grey
wolf approached. The wolf sniffed* her, and went away, but it came back. A few
nights later, the she-wolf came up to the girl and slept next to her... The two
shared food and walked in the forest together. Then, a hunter killed the wolf.
Misha was very sad and alone again.
Soon afterwards, she had another meeting with wolves. Some wolf-cubs* were
playing on a rock and Misha came near, delighted. She stayed with this wolf-
family sharing food and shelter with them. After a while, she moved on... Sadly,
she never found her parents. Eventually, she returned to Belgium where she was
adopted and went to school.
Today, Misha Defonseca is living happily in the US with her husband, two dogs
and 23 cats. Her book, Surviving with Wolves, was published in 1997. Every week
Misha visits the wolves in her local zoo...
2. The author describes Misha's first meeting with wolves. Find this extract and
read it aloud.
3. What made Misha run away and go to Germany?
4. Why did Misha avoid busy roads while going to Germany?
№56
1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
