Junior High School Grade: Class: #: Name: A Young Boy’s Dream Do you know Mr. Koichi Wakata? He is the first Japanese to become an International Space Station (ISS) commander. Mr. Koichi Wakata was born in Omiya City, Saitama. He was 5 years old when he saw the moon landing of Apollo 11. He wanted to become an astronaut and fly in space too. He studied very hard. He finished aeronautical engineering at Kyushu University. NASA and partner countries planned to build and operate the International Space Station. He read about astronaut selection in the newspaper. He applied and passed all the tests. He was very happy to represent Japan. He was the youngest astronaut trainee in his class. He was 28 years old at the time. The training was done in the U.S. and Russia. It was a big challenge for him. He spoke very little English. Also, he had to learn Russian. He did his best and became a Mission Specialist. His first space flight was on January 1996. His dream came true. Mr. Wakata is very active. He enjoys flying and hang-gliding. He also likes baseball, tennis and skiing. Now, he works for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He does research and experiments to help space travel in the future. How about you? Do you have a dream?

[210 words] International Space Station (ISS) 国際宇宙ステーション commander 司令官 land 着陸する aeronautical 航空学の aeronautical engineering 航空工学 operate ～を操作する apply ～を申し込む represent ～を代表する trainee 訓練を受けている人 Russia ロシア連邦 Mission Specialist 宇宙船科学研究院 hang-gliding ハンググライディング Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) 宇宙航空研究開発機構 experiment 実験

Saitama City “Global Studies” Extensive Reading - 23 - Junior High School Grade: Class: #: Name: A Young Boy’s Dream A: Yes or No

(1) Yes / No Is Mr. Koichi Wakata the first Japanese to be an ISS Commander?

(2) Yes / No Was Mr. Wakata a member of Apollo 11 when he was five?

B: True or False

(1) T / F Mr. Wakata studied Aeronautical Engineering in Saitama City.

(2) T / F At first, Mr. Wakata spoke English and Russian very much.

C: Answer the Following Questions With Sentences

(1) As a young boy, what was Mr. Wakata’s dream?

(2) Where does he work now?

D: Write Your Dream! What is your dream? What do you want to be in the future? Please tell us your great dream!

Saitama City “Global Studies” Extensive Reading - 24 -