1. At 9.07 a.m. Moscow time on 12^th April, 1961, Yuri Gagarin lifted off into space aboard the Vostok 1. Approximately 12 minutes later, the first human being was in orbit around the Earth at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour. His flight lasted 108 minutes.

2. The 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut became the first person to eat and drink in weightlessness. From his window in space, Gagarin was able to view the earth in a way that no human beings had done before. The first words spoken from space were: “I see the Earth. It’s so beautiful!”

3. Before Gagarin’s historic flight, there were still enormous uncertainties. No one knew precisely what would happen to a human being in space. How would the body react to the extreme changes in temperature? How would the mind deal with the psychological tension? If there was a technical failure, Gagarin might never get back to the Earth.

4. The success of Gagarin’s flight attracted worldwide attention and made him a hero. In a telegram to Moscow, U.S. President John F. Kennedy wrote, “The people of the United States share with the people of the Soviet Union their satisfaction for the safe flight of the astronaut in man’s first venture into space. We congratulate you and the Soviet scientists and engineers who made this feat possible. ...”

5. Gagarin could have made another space flight if a tragic accident had not occurred. He died in a plane crash on a routine training flight in March 1968. After his death, his hometown of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin, and the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City, Russia, was given the name of this national hero.





   1). Động từ nguyên mẫu (THE INFINITIVE)
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   2). Danh động từ (GERUND)
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   3). Danh động từ & động từ nguyên mẫu (INFINITIVE & GERUND)
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