1a. What, according to the author, would be the ‘special reason to look forward to October 2007’ for the reader? [1]

• It would be the fact that the reader could be one of the four people traveling to Mars that month. [1] ( Para 1 line 1-2)

1b. Why would October 2007 be a good time to make the journey from Earth to Mars? [2]

• At that point of time, Earth and Mars would be aligned/ come into alignment (with each other) [1]

• This would make the travel (between Earth and Mars) possible in less than eight months/ allow the journey to be less that eight months long [1]

1c. In your own words, explain why Mars would be an ‘inhospitable’ environment to live in. [3]

• Inhospitable meaning providing no sustanance

– Implies that life cannot be sustained

• The temperature on Mars can be cold enough to kill.[1] (murderous -140 deg) (just ‘cold = no mark…the link must be made)

– OR Drastic temperature change (unsuitable for human life) [1]

– OR very/ extremely cold [1]

• There isn’t enough oxygen on Mars for breathing [1] (thin)

• The air on Mars is poisonous [1] (toxic)

2a. “…mankind’s first tiny settlement may be taking hold.” What does this statement tell you about the human settlement on Mars by 2017? [1]

• To take hold of something means to establish something.

• Therefore, to be taking hold refers to the process in which something is becoming established

• The settlement is becoming more and more established/ becoming more defined/ slowly developed and built up [1]

• Mentioning population and/or buildings in answers is generally acceptable but the idea of gradual establishment is important.

3a. From the passage, what evidence is there to show that humans are ‘a supposedly spacefaring
people’? [1]

• human astronauts were routinely [0.5] bunny-hopping on the nearby moon [0.5]

– ‘Routinely’ can be substituted with: regularly/ constantly/ often/ frequently/ consistently

– ‘Bunny-hopping on the nearby moon’ can be substituted with: exploring/ wandering about/ moving about/ leaping about

3b. In what way would the phrase ‘…Mars seemed like an obvious next goal’ be deemed untrue? [3]

• “however” (para 3 line 4)

• humans have only been able to send a few unmanned Martian probes/ no one has been able to reach Mars [1]

• the two most recent ones sent to Mars have been flamed out/ destroyed [1]

• a scathing report blamed NASA’s mismanagement for the failures/ NASA has allegedly been mismanaging the probes [1]

4a. “Scientists at NASA and in the private sector have been quietly scribbling out flight plans and
sketching out vehicles” (paragraph 4, line 24) What does this statement tell us about the way the planning is being carried out? [1]

• “quietly scribbling…sketching”

• the planning is done secretly/ with great secrecy/ with no attention drawn to itself/ behind closed doors/ surreptitiously/ kept on a low profile/ confidentially [1]

4b. What two factors need to be considered in order to make the landings on Mars possible and
economically viable? [2]

• the hardware being used/ advancement of technology (and) [1]

• the funds available/ the cost. [1]

5a. “The space agency came back with an elephantine 30-year plan… and carried a jaw-dropping price tag of $450 billion.” Explain, in your own words, the kind of plan the space agency had come up with. [2]

• the plan was massive/ huge/ incredibly large scale/ very big/ colossal/ titanic [1]

– ‘Elephantine’ à like an elephant (very big animal)

• Incredibly/ shockingly/ appallingly/ astoundingly expensive [1]

– Under what circumstances would your jaw ‘drop’?

5b. “The space agency came back with an elephantine 30-year plan… and carried a jaw-dropping price tag of $450 billion.” (paragraph 5, line 35) Using the above quotation, write the sentence that reveals the irony of this paragraph. [1]

• Irony à

– the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

– incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result

• “The key to reaching Mars is doing it smart and doing it cheap.” [1] (no marks otherwise)

6a. Explain fully what accounts for the ‘cost of the project’. [2]

• the size of the aircraft [1]

• the fuel and other consumables the aircraft needed to cart for such a long trip [1]

– ‘for such a long trip’ is important as it explains the large amount of fuel and other consumables required for the trip (in this context).

6b. “That alone makes all the difference.” What does the word ‘alone’ imply? [3]

• It implies that Mars having an atmosphere is [1]

• enough reason to try and send people there to live [1]

• despite it being a thousand times as distant from the moon (which has no atmosphere) [1]

7. What are the engineers at Martin Marietta Astronautics responsible for? [2]

• they are responsible for developing a mission scenario known as the Mars Direct Plan [1]

• which calls not merely for visiting the Red Planet but also for living off it [1]

8. Explain in what way do Methane, Oxygen and Hydrogen have a similar function? [2]

• they can all be used as fuels [1]

– This statement states the similar function

• Methane and Oxygen can be used as rocket fuel and Oxygen and water are used as human fuel [1]

– This explanation supports the statement above

9a. How would the crew be able to get back to earth from Mars? [2]

• they will abandon the arrival craft/spacecraft they came in initially, [1]

• board the other robot craft/ ship that was left there and blast off for home/ fly back to earth [1]

9b. Using your own words, explain why the astronauts would want to ‘fly several of these missions’? [2]

• they would be able to leave behind several robot ships on Mars [1]

• that can be used to start a small settlement. [1]

• “…and you leave the surface scattered with a series of warming huts that serve as the beginnings of a base.”

9c. Deduce what would happen if the spacecraft was not initially ‘devoid of crew’. (Paragraph 8 line 53) [2]

• The previous question was provided to hint at the answer for this question.

• there will be no robot ships left behind [1]

• It would be impossible to set up the small settlement. [1]

10a. What is the difference between ‘swimming across the Atlantic and swimming across the
Potomac’? [2]

• Make the comparison that you can swim across one but not the other.

• you can actually swim across the Potomac [1]

• to cross the Atlantic, you will need a boat or an aircraft/ It is impossible to swim across the Atlantic. [1]

10b. Use one word to describe the writer’s view regarding traveling to the stars. [1]

• pessimistic/ glum/ negative/ cynical/ insuperable/ doubtful/ any other word with the same meaning [1]

11a. What does the writer suggest could be used to power the spacecraft? [2]

• energy from the sun/ solar energy [1]

– Sunlight not acceptable

• energy from a nuclear reactor/ nuclear energy [1]

– Just saying ‘nuclear reactor’ does not answer the question

11b. What are the problems faced when building a nuclear-power jet as opposed to building a solar-
power jet? [2]

• it will take a large amount of money (to build a nuclear-power jet) [1]

• there will be political objection against (building a nuclear-power jet)[1]

12a. Why are both manned spaceships and unmanned space probes never going to reach the stars? [2]

• both require an engine that is small and powerful [1]

• such an engine cannot keep itself cool [1]

• “Need an engine to cool itself” is not accepted

12b. “…the unmanned probe still needs an engine delivering one megawatt per pound.”
(paragraph 4, line 37) Why does the writer use the word ‘still’ in referring to an unmanned probe? Relate your answer to question 12a. [2]

• this does not solve the problem [1]

• of cooling the engine [1]

13. In what way is the information in the two paragraphs similar? [2]

• both paragraphs discuss travel in space [1]

• both discuss the difficulties faced relating to space travel [1]

• both paragraphs mention that we have the technology for (some degree of) space travel [1]

• both mention that cost/ funding is a major consideration [1]

14. For each of the following words, give one word or phrase (of not more than seven words) which
has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.

From Passage A:

a. inhospitable (paragraph 2 line 11)

– hostile/ intimidating/ unwelcoming/ harsh/ uninviting/ difficult to stay or survive in/ unbearable/ not accomodating [1]

b. project (paragraph 4 line 30)

– forsee/ predict/ forecast/ envisage/ envision [1]

– Planned is the actual meaning of the word, but based on the context, it is not acceptable

From Passage B:

c. scoot (paragraph 2 line 10)

– move swiftly/ travel quickly/ jet/ fly in a high speed/ zip/ zoom [1]

d. objections (paragraph 2 line 16)

– opposition/ resistance/ protests/ disagreement [1]

e. insuperable (paragraph 3 line 32)

– impossible/ overwhelming/ insurmountable/ unsolvable/ [1]

– difficult/ not easy/ unsolved [no marks]

-CHAIRMAN.