Упражнение в чтении

[ɪ]: sit, ship, little, build, building, still, differ

[ɪ:]: feet, meet, sleep, bean, reach, reason ['ri:zn], increase [ɪn'kri:s]

[ɪ] и [i:]: ship, sheep; fit, feet; slip, sleep; rich, reach; bin, bean

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A Flightto Mars possible?

(By Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press)

The Russian space program¹ is recovering from its post-Soviet financial meltdown², but government spending is still just a fraction of what is needed to revive the program to its former glory, top space experts³ said Monday.

Some critics have assailed the Kremlin for allowing Russia to lose its edge⁴ in space exploration — an edge exemplified by the launch of Sputnik, the world's first satellite.

"It's outrageous that we have lost all our great achievements in space," said Valery Polyakov, a cosmonaut who holds the world record for the longest space mission ⁵— 438 days in 1994-95.

Polyakov and other members of the Russian Academy of Space⁶, a nongovernmental research association, warned that Russia would soon fall behind China in space research if authorities fail to markedly increase allocation⁷.

During the late 1980s, the Soviet government spent the equivalent ofsome $7 billion per year on space research. By 2000, however, government spending had dropped precipitously, shrinking by 15 to 20 times⁸, said Space Academy president Vladimir Senkevich.

Despite a moderate increase in funding in recent years, space industries are still struggling to stay afloat⁹, he said.

The bulk of spending on space research is now spent on building rockets,and spacecraft for the U.S.-led international space station¹⁰.

Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships have provided the only link with the 16-nation space station since the United States grounded its shuttle fleet¹¹ after Columbia broke apart over Texas on Feb. l, 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Cosmonauts and space officials are still pondering the possibility ofa future mission to Mars — an idea revived after U.S. President George W. Вush called early this year for a return to the moon by 2020 in preparation for manned missions to Mars¹².

Polyakov said that his record-making space flight was intended to last roughly the time needed for a round trip to Mars¹³ and was part of studies researching such a mission.

"We would be able to fly to Mars even in 2014, but we lack funding," Polyakov said.

Last October, China became the third country in the world to send a man into space¹⁴ on its space program. The country is set to launch a second cosmonaut next year, and has ambitious plans for a space station and a lunar base.

The Associated Press, 2004