In 2013, the United Kingdom announced plans to spend more than $90 million developing the Skylon, a super-fast plane that could travel at five times the speed of sound and break out of the Earth's orbit to travel in outer space. It would be able to take off from any runway in the world, and could bring 300 passengers from London to Sydney in four hours. Or it could be used to drop off a load of up to 15,000 kilograms in outer space - at the International Space Station, for example.
Development has only just begun, and there are some big problems to overcome. John Hansman, the head of MIT's International Center for Air Transportation, says, "It looks great from a science fiction standpoint, but it’s really, really tough to do." Additionally, the $90-million figure is just the beginning - final costs could amount to more than a billion dollars. -
However, many scientists and science journalists are optimistic about the project. And if everything goes according to plan, a prototype (the first design of the Skylon) will be ready by 2017, with the real deal following just a couple of years later. After that? "Access to space, access to anywhere in the world within four hours is on the cards,” says Alan Bond, the founder of Reaction Engines, the company behind the Skylon's propulsion system.
a. 2013: the year when the K announced plans to develop the Skylon
b. 2017 ______________________________________________________________
c. 90,000,000: _______________________________________________________________
d. 300: _______________________________________________________________
e. 1,000,000,000 _______________________________________________________________
f. 15 tons: _______________________________________________________________
g. 4 hours: _______________________________________________________________
Read the passage again and complete the following sentences.
1. A ______________________is the plane that can travel extremely fast.
2. The Skylon could take off _________________________.
3. John Hansman is ______________________________.
4. Many scientists feel _________________________ the project.
5. The Skylon could travel at ______________________________.
6. Alan Bond founded ___________________________________.
7. The plans to develop the Skylon was announced by ___________________in ____________.
8. There are _________________ problems ___________________.
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