Work in pairs. Do you think space programmes, which cost millions, are a good way for governments to spend money? Give reasons

LEARN THIS! Participle and infinitive clauses

a. We use participle or infinitive clauses to give more information about a noun. You can think of them as shortened relative clauses.

b. Participle clauses can begin with a present participle (-ing form). The participle replaces an active verb of any tense, including stative verbs.

I saw a man wearing (= who was wearing) a space suit.

c. Participle clauses can also begin with a past participle. The participle replaces a passive verb of any tense.

We lived in a large house, built (= which had been built) in the 17 century.

d. Infinitive clauses begin with an infinitive which replaces an active or passive verb.

Mark became the first teenage runner to finish (= who finished) the city marathon.

I still have a few jobs to do (= that have to be done) this afternoon.

2. Read Part 1 of the article. What happened to the spaceship? Rewrite the underlined participle or infinitive clauses as relative clauses.

(Đọc Phần 1 của bài viết. Điều gì đã xảy ra với con tàu vũ trụ? Viết lại các mệnh đề phân từ hoặc nguyên thể được gạch chân dưới dạng mệnh đề quan hệ)

... which was launched from Florida on 11 April 1970.

PART 1

Apollo 13, launched from Florida on 1 April 1970, was the third Apollo mission to land on the moon. The three astronauts chosen for the mission were James Lovell, Fred Haise and John Swigert. The launch, watched by millions on TV, went smoothly and for the first two days in space, everything went well. The crew gave a 49-minute TV interview explaining how they lived and worked in zero gravity. However, nine minutes after the interview finished, a tank containing oxygen exploded and John Swigert, noticing a red warning light, said the famous words: ‘Houston, we've had a problem here- They checked all their equipment and realised that they were running out of water, power and oxygen — hard and fast. They were in a damaged spaceship floating 320,000 kilometres from Earth.

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3. Read part 2 of the article. Why is Apollo 13 mission described as a ‘successful failure’? Rewrite the underlined clauses in part 2 as participle clauses.

(Đọc phần 2 của bài viết. Tại sao sứ mệnh Apollo 13 được mô tả là 'thất bại thành công'? Viết lại mệnh đề được gạch chân ở phần 2 dưới dạng mệnh đề phân từ)

1... fitted with its own oxygen tank ...

PART 2

The astronauts left the main part of the spaceship and went inside the lunar module, (1) which had been fitted with its own oxygen tank. But inside the smaller module, (2) which was designed to hold only two people, carbon dioxide levels started rising. The astronauts, (3) who had been following instructions from the ground crew, made special filters out of plastic bags and cardboard. Then they waited in the cold and dark while the ground crew, (4) who were working 24 hours a day, tried to work out a way to bring them home. If some People in America were losing interest in the Space Program, the Apollo 13 crisis, (5) which was discussed on all the TV news programmes, changed all that. The astronauts (6) who were risking their lives and the people (7) who were trying to save them all became national heroes — especially when Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth with all three astronauts alive.

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4. Identify the relative clauses in these sentences. (Some contain more than one.) Rewrite them as participle or infinitive clauses.

(Xác định mệnh đề quan hệ trong các câu này. (Một số chứa nhiều hơn một) Viết lại chúng dưới dạng mệnh đề phân từ hoặc nguyên mẫu)

1. The word astronaut, which is formed from two Greek words, means ‘star sailor’.

2. Only flights which reach an altitude of 100 km or more are considered space flights.

3. NASA astronauts are given a difficult training programme which they have to complete after twenty months.

4. Astronauts who spend long periods in space do exercises which have been designed to keep them strong.

5. Spacecraft which intend to escape from Earth’s gravity need to reach a speed of about 40,000 km/h.

6. The film Apollo 13, which was made in 1995, is a very interesting film on space travel that should be seen.

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5. SPEAKING Discuss the questions with your partner. Use the nouns and adjectives below to help you.

(Thảo luận các câu hỏi với đối tác của bạn. Sử dụng các danh từ và tính từ dưới đây để giúp bạn)

Nouns

adventure          danger          discomfort          excitement          fear          loneliness

Adjectives

brave          calm          fit          hard-working          intelligent          logical          serious

1. What personal qualities do astronauts need?

2. What would the best thing about the job be?

3. What would the hardest thing about the job be?

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