What Was the Apollo Program?

Which quotation from the passage “What Was the Apollo Program?” describes one duty of the Apollo Program?

• A. “The first four flights tested the equipment used in the Apollo Program.” (paragraph 2)

• B. “Once the spacecraft reached the moon, the two modules separated from each other.” (paragraph 6)

• C. “On the last three missions, astronauts drove on the moon with the lunar rover.” (paragraph 7)

• D. “These missions made it possible to explore more distant worlds further in the future.” (paragraph 9)

Read the sentence from paragraph 9 of “What Was the Apollo Program?”

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade.

What does the word challenged mean as it is used in the sentence?

• A. told to do something

• B. dared to do something

• C. made it harder to do something

• D. questioned about doing something

In the passage “What Was the Apollo Program?”, how does the information in paragraph 9 support the idea that space travel is important?

• A. It explains how the Apollo Program happened in stages.

• B. It explains how scientific research on the moon is important.

• C. It explains how space travel to other planets became possible.

• D. It explains how astronauts drove special vehicles to explore the moon.

Read the sentence from paragraph 4 of “What Was the Apollo Program?”

The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 8.

What is the meaning of the word mission as it is used in the sentence?

• A. astronaut

• B. exploration

• C. orbit

• D. rover

Part A Read the sentence from paragraph 1 of Reaching for the Moon .

Neil climbed out first and descended Eagle’s ladder to the Moon’s surface. What is the meaning of the word descended as it is used in the sentence?

• A. to raise

• B. to fall off

• C. to lower

• D. to extend out

Which quotation from the passage helps the reader understand the meaning of descended as it is used in Part A?

• A. “put on our space suits” (paragraph 1)

• B. “climbed down the ladder” (paragraph 2)

• C. “stretched in all directions” (paragraph 2)

• D. “in the sky overhead” (paragraph 3)

What does Buzz mean by the observation “Magnificent desolation” as it is used in paragraph 2 of Reaching for the Moon

• A. He saw a complete lack of color as he descended the ladder.

• B. He saw so little color in space that he compared it to velvet.

• C. He saw a complete lack of color on Earth and its continents.

• D. He saw so little color in space that he compared it to the rocks and craters.

Which sentence summarizes the passage Reaching for the Moon ?

• A. The passage describes what Earth looked like.

• B. The passage describes the landscape of the moon.

• C. The passage describes the astronauts putting on their space suits.

• D.The passage describes the astronauts’ first moments on the moon.

Read the sentence from paragraph 2 of Reaching for the Moon.

The shadows and the sky above were as black as the blackest velvet I had ever seen.

Why is the sky described as being “as black as the blackest velvet”?

• A. to illustrate that the moon was bright

• B. to elaborate on the openness of space

• C. to emphasize how truly dark the sky was

• D. to show that the sky was a beautiful sight to see

How is the information in Reaching for the Moon different from the information in “What Was the Apollo Program?”

• A. “What Was the Apollo Program?” gives a description of how Earth looked from the moon, and Reaching for the Moon does not.

• B. Reaching for the Moon tells about the personal experience of Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, and “What Was the Apollo Program?” does not.

• C. “What Was the Apollo Program?” gives us the sequence in which the astronauts got off the Eagle spacecraft, and Reaching for the Moon does not.

• D. Reaching for the Moon tells the date that the astronauts landed on the moon, and “What Was the Apollo Program?” does not.