STEPHEN HAWKING COULD SOON BECOME AN ASTRONAUT

Since his diagnosis with a rare form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1963 at the age of 21,
Stephen Hawking, 75, has made revolutionary discoveries in his field, including that of Hawking
radiation. At the time of his diagnosis, doctors gave him just two years to live. Now, fifty years
later, Professor Hawking again defies the limitations of his illness by showing his desires to travel
into space. The physicist has been offered a ride on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space
flights. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Hawking revealed: "I thought no-one would
take me, but Richard Branson has offered me a seat on Virgin Galactic, and I said yes immediately."

The announcement comes just weeks after the company SpaceX announced plans to send two space
tourists to the Moon and back in 2018. Unlike these two anonymous individuals, who are said to
have paid an unspecified but 'significant' amount for the journey, Hawking's ride is free of charge.
In February last year, Hawking unveiled the name of the new Space Ship Two craft - the VSS Unity
- at a launch ceremony at the Mojave Air and Space port. While he didn't attend the event, he
announced the name in a four-minute recorded video, saying: "It will help bring new meaning to
our place on Earth, and it will help us to recognise our place and our future in the cosmos — which
is where I believe our ultimate destiny lies."

EXERCISE 1 Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?

1. Professor Hawking has been seriously ill for most of his life.
2. The first space tourists will travel to the moon at no cost, as part of a commercial strategy.
3. In February, Stephen Hawking in person publically announced the name of Spaceship VSS
Unity.
4. Professor Hawking considers it very probable that humans will have to move to another
planet in the future.

EXERCISE 2 Answer the questions in your own words

1. What is SpaceX?

2. What did the doctors tell him after he'd been diagnosed with ALS?

EXERCISE 3 Find the words in the text that mean:

1. Identification of a medical condition in a patient (paragraph 1)

2. Innovative, new ( paragraph 1)
3. said or gave news publicly (paragraph 2)
4. Be present (paragraph 2)
 STONEHENGE: A MECCA FOR ROCK MUSIC

Stonehenge is a famous prehistoric monument in southern England. It consists of two circles of

large standing stones, one inside the other. Some of these stones have fallen, but some are still in
position. A place of lunar and solar worship since 3000 BC, Stonehenge became a mecca for hippies
and rock musicians in 1968. In those years Mick Jagger and Keith Richards acted the perfect hosts
for a tourist visit by American group The Byrds. Leaving a South Kensington club in the early
hours, the “stones” Jagger and Richards and the “byrds” Parsons and Hillman headed west out of
London in Richard’s Bentley, walked to the ancient standing stones and later breakfasted in a
nearby Salisbury park. As Hillman said years later, “the Stonehenge trip with Jagger and Richards
was impressive”.

By 1972, Stonehenge began to stage annual free pop festivals. Hendrix made frequent appearances
at Stonehenge festivals and attendance figures reached a peak in 1984 when 30,000 descended on
the historic site. A year later, fights between police and travellers made the news headlines in the so-
called “Battle of the Beanfield”. This battle field, a short distance from the standing stones,
prevented the summer solstice celebrations from taking place again.

There is no record of the band Spinal Tap having actually visited the ancient site. However, the
Spinal Tap’s track “Stonehenge” reflects the importance of the site for the band.

Nobody knows why Stonehenge was built, but people think it was to study the stars and planets.
Now we know that it could have been built as a mecca for hippies, newage travelers and rock
musicians. In fact, all of them usually go there for their own midsummer celebrations.

EXERCISE 1 Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?

1. Stonehenge became a mecca for hippies and rock musicians in the early sixties.
2. Jagger and Richards paid a visit to the American band The Byrds.
3. Hendrix used to perform at Stonehenge.
4. Stonehenge was an influential place for Spinal Tap.

EXERCISE 2 Answer the questions in your own words

1. Describe the monument.

2. What was the “Battle of the Beanfield”?

EXERCISE 3 Find the words in the text that mean:

1. well-known (paragraph 1)
2. veneration (paragraph 1)
3. happening (paragraph 2)
4. really (paragraph 3)