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Stranded in Space for 9 Months: B1 English Reading
Level B1B1
Read the passage carefully. Then choose the best answer for each question.
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On 5 June 2024, two NASA astronauts climbed aboard a Boeing spacecraft called Starliner. Their plan was simple: spend eight days at the International Space Station and come home. Nine months later, they were still up there.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were experienced astronauts. Wilmore had already completed two previous missions. Williams held a record for the longest spacewalk ever performed by a woman. They were not beginners. But on this mission, almost everything went wrong.
The problems began before launch. Boeing's Starliner had suffered years of delays because of technical failures. When it finally reached the ISS, five of the craft's manoeuvring thrusters — the small engines that control direction in space — stopped working. Helium, a gas used to maintain pressure in the fuel system, began leaking. NASA engineers on the ground tried to fix the problems remotely. They could not.
Here is the part that surprises most people: NASA decided the safest option was to send Starliner home empty. The spacecraft that had carried the astronauts to the ISS left without them in September 2024. Wilmore and Williams watched their ride home drift away through a porthole window. They would have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to be made ready for their return.
They finally splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 18 March 2025, 286 days after their eight-day trip began. Both astronauts walked off the recovery ship without medical help — something their doctors described as remarkable for people who had spent so long in microgravity.
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▸Answer key
Reading Comprehension Questions & Answers
All B1 reading questions for “Stranded in Space for 9 Months: B1 English Reading”, each with the correct answer and a short explanation. Read the passage above, try the interactive exercises, then check your answers here.
Exercise 1: Reading Comprehension
1. Question 1
- A. To repair the International Space Station's solar panels
- B. To test a new Boeing spacecraft on a short mission ✓
- C. To replace the previous ISS crew for six months
- D. To conduct medical experiments in microgravity
Answer: To test a new Boeing spacecraft on a short mission
Correct. Paragraph 1 states their plan was to 'spend eight days at the International Space Station and come home' — a short mission to test the new Starliner vehicle. The option 'to replace the previous ISS crew' is the most tempting distractor, but the passage says nothing about crew rotation; the eight-day timeline rules out a six-month crew swap.
2. Question 2
- A. Cancelled permanently
- B. Moved to a later time ✓
- C. Made more expensive
- D. Changed to a different location
Answer: Moved to a later time
Correct. Paragraph 3 explains that an oxygen valve failed 'hours before the June launch' and 'the whole mission was postponed' — meaning delayed, not cancelled. We know it was only delayed because the text then says Starliner 'finally reached the ISS'. The distractor 'cancelled permanently' is tempting because the problems were serious, but the mission did take place.
3. Question 3
- A. The solar panels failed and the oxygen supply ran low
- B. The navigation computer crashed and the radio stopped working
- C. Five thrusters stopped working and helium began leaking ✓
- D. The docking system failed and the heat shield was damaged
Answer: Five thrusters stopped working and helium began leaking
Correct. Paragraph 3 states clearly: 'Five of the craft's manoeuvring thrusters stopped working. Helium, a gas used to maintain pressure in the fuel system, began leaking.' These two details are stated directly in the text. The other options — solar panels, computers, navigation systems — are not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
4. Question 4
- A. Because it was an extremely expensive decision for NASA
- B. Because it meant the astronauts' own spacecraft left without them ✓
- C. Because Boeing had promised the spacecraft was completely safe
- D. Because the ISS did not have enough room for two extra people
Answer: Because it meant the astronauts' own spacecraft left without them
Correct. The author signals this with the phrase 'Here is the part that surprises most people' before describing how Starliner 'left without them' — the vehicle the astronauts arrived in flew home unmanned while they watched through a window. The cost to NASA and Boeing's promises are not discussed in the text, making those distractors unsupported.
5. Question 5
- A. They needed immediate medical treatment on the recovery ship
- B. Their recovery was slower than doctors had expected
- C. They were in better physical shape than their doctors anticipated ✓
- D. They showed no signs of the effects of spending time in space
Answer: They were in better physical shape than their doctors anticipated
Correct. Paragraph 5 states they 'walked off the recovery ship without medical assistance, which their doctors described as remarkable for people who had spent so long in microgravity.' The word 'remarkable' implies the doctors were positively surprised — which means they were in better shape than expected. The option 'no signs of space effects' goes too far; the passage says they recovered well, not that microgravity had no effect.
Exercise 2: Vocabulary in Context
1. The first astronaut to walk on the moon described it as the greatest_____of his career — more important than anything he had done before.
- A. mission ✓
- B. journey
- C. event
- D. challenge
Answer: mission
Mission means an official task or journey with a specific purpose, usually in a military, space, or professional context. Unlike 'journey', which simply describes travel, 'mission' implies a goal that must be completed. Example: 'The rescue team completed their mission in under three hours.'
2. Engineers discovered that one of the rocket's_____had failed during launch, making it impossible to change direction in orbit.
- A. thrusters ✓
- B. engines
- C. panels
- D. boosters
Answer: thrusters
A thruster is a small engine used to control the direction or position of a spacecraft — not to propel it forward, but to steer it. 'Engine' and 'booster' are common distractors, but thrusters are specifically for directional control in space, as the passage explains: 'the small engines that control direction in space'. Example: 'The satellite used its thrusters to avoid a piece of space debris.'
3. The concert was_____because of heavy rain, and a new date was announced for the following week.
- A. postponed ✓
- B. cancelled
- C. avoided
- D. finished
Answer: postponed
Postponed means delayed to a later time — not cancelled. The key detail in this sentence is 'a new date was announced', which confirms the event still happened later. 'Cancelled' is the most tempting distractor because problems causing a postponement can feel permanent, but cancellation means the event does not happen at all. Example: 'The flight was postponed by two hours due to a technical fault.'
4. Doctors can now examine patients_____using video calls and digital equipment, without the patient needing to travel to a clinic.
- A. remotely ✓
- B. quickly
- C. carefully
- D. privately
Answer: remotely
Remotely means from a distance, without physical presence. It is commonly used in technology and work contexts: 'work remotely' (from home), 'controlled remotely' (by a device far away), 'monitored remotely' (without being there in person). Example: 'NASA engineers tried to fix the thruster problems remotely from their control room on Earth.'
5. After 17 days at sea, the rescue capsule_____in the Pacific Ocean, and a recovery team arrived by helicopter within minutes.
- A. splashed down ✓
- B. landed
- C. arrived
- D. touched down
Answer: splashed down
Splashed down is a specific phrasal verb used only for spacecraft or capsules that land in the ocean at the end of a mission. 'Landed' and 'touched down' are used for aircraft or spacecraft that land on solid ground. The clue in this sentence is 'in the Pacific Ocean' — only a water landing uses 'splash down'. Example: 'Apollo 11 splashed down safely on 24 July 1969.'