2015-05-14 - 6 min - The first space walk.pdf

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BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
6 Minute English
The first space walk
NB: This is not a word-for-word transcript
Rob
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob…
Neil
… and I'm Neil. Hello.
Rob
Hello, Neil! I watched that space movie last night – the one where those astronauts are
stranded in space.
Neil
Stranded
means stuck in a place with only a small chance of leaving.
Gravity,
you mean?
Rob
That's the one. And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever space walk. On
18th March 1965 Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first man to drift free in space
– 500km from the surface of Earth. And that's the subject of today's show!
Neil
What on earth must that have felt like?
Rob
Ah ha! Exactly. It would have felt
like nothing on earth
– and that's to say, very strange
indeed. He was the first person to experience the colourful geography of our planet
stretched out before him.
Neil
Very poetic, Rob! But moving on, how about answering today's quiz question: How long did
the first space walk last? Was it…
a) 2 minutes?
b) 12 minutes?
or c) 22 minutes?
6 Minute English
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© British Broadcasting Corporation 2015
Page 1 of 5
Rob
Hmm. All quite short – so I think I'll go for the one in the middle – 12 minutes.
Neil
We'll find out if you're right or wrong later on. Now, ‘cosmonaut' literally means ‘sailor of
the universe'. But Leonov's mission wasn't
plain sailing
– in other words, it wasn't easy or
straightforward.
Rob
That's right. No one had ever gone out into space before – it was unknown territory –
unknown territory
means a place or activity that people do not know anything about or
have not experienced before. And as it happens, there were big problems.
Neil
When Leonov left the capsule his spacesuit
inflated
– or swelled up – like a balloon
because the pressure inside the suit was greater than outside. This made it impossible for
Leonov to get back through the door of the spacecraft, putting him in a life-threatening
situation.
Rob
Let's listen to Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space, talking about it.
INSERT
Helen Sharman, first Briton in space
So he decreases the pressure of his suit, which means that it's a bit more able to move
inside it, but it means the amount of oxygen he's got around his face is now dangerously
low so he can't cope with that for very long. So if he's not able to get in quickly, he's going
to die of oxygen starvation, um … so he had the presence of mind to get on with all of this,
got back in, swivelled himself round, managed to close the airlock, and then when the
pressure was equilibrated was finally able to, you know, hug his compatriot up there in
space.
Neil
Now, if you
can't cope with something
it means you are unable to deal successfully with
a difficult situation. And here the situation was having very little oxygen.
Rob
But Leonov had the presence of mind to find a solution.
Presence of mind
means being
able to react quickly and stay calm in a difficult or dangerous situation.
Neil
And if I was
in Leonov's shoes
– meaning if I was in his situation – I would have panicked
big time!
6 Minute English
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© British Broadcasting Corporation 2015
Page 2 of 5
Rob
And there was plenty more to panic about before the mission was over. The spacecraft's
automatic re-entry system failed so the cosmonauts had to fire the rockets
manually
–
meaning controlled by hand – which they had never done before.
Neil
And that's not all. Their capsule failed to
detach
– or separate – from the spacecraft's
equipment module, and this sent them tumbling through space towards Earth.
Rob
But the capsule did finally detach. And then you would think they'd have been home and dry,
wouldn't you?
Home and dry
means being close to achieving a goal.
Neil
Well, they certainly weren't dry. The capsule
touched down
– or landed – hundreds of
kilometres off course in freezing Siberia populated only by wolves and bears. Leonov had
sweated so much on the space walk that his boots were filled with water up to his knees!
Both cosmonauts had to
wring out
– or twist and squeeze – their clothes to avoid
frostbite.
Rob
And
off course,
by the way, means not following the right route. Those men must have
been overjoyed when they were finally airlifted to safety two days later!
Neil
But what seems unfair to me is, we all know about the Apollo moon landing, but how many
of us know about the first space walk?
Rob
Well, at least we do now, and of course our listeners do too!
Neil
OK, let's have the answer to the quiz question. I asked: How long did the first space walk
last? Was it… a) 2 minutes b) 12 minutes or c) 22 minutes?
Rob
I said a) 12 minutes.
Neil
And you were right! Well done.
Rob
Excellent. Good! So 12 minutes eh? What an amazing short stroll that must have been but a
very historic one too.
6 Minute English
bbclearningenglish.com
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2015
Page 3 of 5
Neil
Now, can we hear today's words again please?
Rob
OK. We heard:
stranded
like nothing on earth
plain sailing
unknown territory
inflated
can't cope with something
presence of mind
in Leonov's shoes
manually
detach
home and dry
touched down
wring out
off course
Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. We thought it was out of this world – hope
you thought so too! Please join us again soon.
Both
Bye.
6 Minute English
bbclearningenglish.com
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2015
Page 4 of 5
Vocabulary
stranded
left somewhere with no way of leaving
like nothing on earth
(idiom) very good/very bad
plain sailing
going without any problems
unknown territory
a place where nobody had ever visited
inflated
filled with air or gas
can't cope with something
can't manage a difficult situation
presence of mind
being able to make good decisions or act quickly in a difficult situation
in Leonov's shoes
doing what he (Leonov) did
manually
by hand
detach
to separate from something
home and dry
successfully complete something
touched down
landed
wring out
twist or squeeze something to remove water
off course
not following the right route
6 Minute English
bbclearningenglish.com
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2015
Page 5 of 5

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