Study Island Copyright © 2014 Edmentum - All rights reserved. Generation Date: 04/01/2014 Generated By: Cheryl Shelton Title: 10th Grade Reading Central Idea Galactic Suite, the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012. It would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes. Its Barcelona-based architects say the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy, costing $4 million for a three-day stay. During that time, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day. They would use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman. Company director Xavier Claramunt says the three-bedroom boutique hotel's joined up pod structure, which makes it look like a model of molecules, was dictated by the fact that each pod room had to fit inside a rocket to be taken into space. "It's the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge," says Claramunt. However, they may have solved the issue of how to take a shower in weightlessness. The guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around. When guests are not admiring the view from their portholes, they will take part in scientific experiments on space travel. Galactic Suite began as a hobby for former aerospace engineer Claramunt, until a space enthusiast decided to make the science-fiction fantasy a reality by fronting most of the $3 billion needed to build the hotel. Copyright 2007 Reuters. Reprinted with permission from Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere Logo are registered trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. For additional information about Reuters content and services, please visit Reuters website at www.reuters.com. 1. Based on the main idea, which would be the best title for the passage above? A. Space Hotel to Open in 2012 B. Space Hotel Costs $3 Billion C. Hotel Uses Bubbles in Showers D. Hotel Guests Watch Sun Rise The history of the space race between the Soviets and the U.S. is just as storied as the Cold War between both nations. Americans knew that the Soviets were constructing something similar to the U.S. space shuttle. This was made more real by the discovery of Soviet test models recovered from the ocean. When the Soviets announced the launch of their first shuttle, Buran, the U.S. wasn't surprised. What did surprise them was how closely the pictures of Buran mirrored their own shuttle design. Despite this, there were stark differences. The Buran orbiter did not have large engines of its own. It was instead strapped to a powerful booster called the Energia. The Energia is the most powerful booster rocket on the planet. In addition, the Buran was able to be run without any crew aboard. Its first flight in 1988 was without a crew. It safely orbited the Earth twice before returning. All of this without one human on board. 2. What is the main idea of the passage? A. The American space shuttle is never launched into orbit without a human crew. B. The Soviet Union launched a shuttle, Buran, which was similar to the U.S. shuttle. C. The Soviet Union's space program was superior to the United States' space program. D. The United States was unaware of the Soviet Union's interest in exploring space. Don Quixote, written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, is a book of "firsts." Written in 1605, it is widely considered to be the first modern novel. It was also the first book to tackle subjects such as eating disorders. Another "first" is the authorial perspective, i.e. who tells the story and how it is told. In the beginning of the book, Cervantes explains that he found the book and that it was actually written by Don Quixote's chronicler, a man named Cide Hamete Benengeli. Cervantes was likely one of the first authors to claim that his own book was actually written by another, fictional author. Additionally, Cervantes may have been one of the first authors to give readers multiple perspectives on his characters. For example, at one point in the book, the characters talk about a woman who is the cause of the death of a suitor, portraying her as evil. Later, this same woman gives a different perspective entirely that makes Quixote (and thus the reader) defend her. At other points in the book, Cervantes gives an incomplete perspective. For example, when Quixote enters a cave, Cervantes admits to the reader that he does not know what happened afterward. One of the most obvious of the novel's "firsts" is the adjective quixotic, which arose from the book's title and protagonist. The word is understood to mean "the foolishly impractical pursuit of ideals, typically marked with rash and lofty romantic ideals." 3. What is the main idea of this passage? Don Quixote A. is a book of "firsts." Don Quixote B. was the first modern novel. C. Don Quixote was written by a fictional author. Don Quixote D. tackled unusual subjects. 4. Which sentence from the passage supports the idea that Don Quixote deals with unusual or taboo topics? A. "Another 'first' is the authorial perspective, i.e. who tells the story and how it is told." B. "It was also the first book to tackle subjects such as eating disorders." C. "At other points in the book, Cervantes gives an incomplete perspective." D. "Written in 1605, it is widely considered to be the first modern novel." 5. What is the main point of paragraph 4? A. Cervantes was known to be a quixotic and foolish author. B. The word quixotic was improperly used in the book's title. C. The word quixotic originated from Cervantes' book. D. The meaning of the word quixotic changed over time. On March 15, 2004, a near-Earth asteroid was discovered by the NASA-funded LINEAR asteroid survey. The asteroid, called 2004 FH, is approximately 30 meters in diameter. On March 18, 2004, it passed about 26,000 miles above Earth's surface. This made it the fourth closest approach to Earth recorded. Had 2004 FH hit Earth, it would have probably detonated high in the atmosphere. It might have produced a blast measured in hundreds of kilotons of TNT. It probably would not have produced any ground level effect. Despite its relatively small size, it is still the third largest asteroid found coming closer to Earth than the moon. The asteroid will not make another close approach to Earth until 2044. 6. What is the best title for the article above? A. Asteroid Makes Close Pass to Earth B. Asteroid on Collision Course with Moon C. Astronomers Gather to Study Meteoroid D. Asteroids Come Close Every Two Years While Neil Armstrong may forever have the distinction of being the first man to walk on the moon, he wasn't the first man to walk in space. In fact, the first person to walk in space wasn't American. That distinction belongs to Russian Alexei Leonov. He flew into space in 1965 boarding the Voskhod 2 spacecraft. Like Armstrong, Leonov also had a partner to share in this accomplishment as Leonov was joined by cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev. Leonov exited the Voskhod's hatch and took the first steps into space. He wore a backpack containing air, similar to the pack worn by scuba divers. His 12-minute walk was the first of its kind. The fact that the walk looked more like he floated did not take away from this accomplishment. Three months later, the U.S. played catch-up and sent astronaut Edward White aboard the Gemini to walk in space. 7. What is this encyclopedia entry mainly about? A. Russian Alexei Leonov was the first human to walk in space in 1965. B. Alexei Leonov graduated from the Soviet air force flying and engineering schools. C. During the 1960s, the American space program tried to catch up to the Russians. D. American Edward White was the second human to walk in space in 1965. The General Foods Corporation created the orange-flavored drink mix Tang in 1957. However, the drink mix struggled to gain fans until 1965. In 1965, NASA began using Tang in its spaceflights. Astronauts on Gemini missions used Tang to flavor the water that was produced by Gemini’s life-support system. Soon after NASA began using the drink mix, General Foods began advertising the fact that astronauts drank Tang. This helped Tang go from being relatively unknown to being a popular drink mix for kids across the nation. 8. Based on the main idea, which would be the best title for this passage? A. Drink Mix Used by Astronauts Became Favorite of American Children B. It Didn't Take Long for Tang to Become a Popular Drink Among Children C. Tang Drink Mix Enjoyed by all NASA Astronauts During Long Spaceflights D. NASA Astronauts Used Water From Life-Support System to Make Tang 9. Technology Enhanced Questions are not available in Word format. 10. Technology Enhanced Questions are not available in Word format. When people think about space travel, they usually think of a giant spacecraft with rockets and fuel—lots of fuel. However, there's a way to sail across the solar system without fuel.