KSEEB Class 9 · English (1st language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
A Question of Space
Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Karnataka Board Class 9 English.
Free online summary and notes (Karnataka Board Class 9 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.
About the author
Sunita Williams is an American astronaut of Indian-Gujarati heritage who set records for spacewalks by a woman. Her essay "A Question of Space" recounts training and life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It blends scientific fact with personal wonder at Earth seen from orbit.
Summary
Williams recalls wanting to fly and the long path through military aviation and NASA selection.
Williams recalls wanting to fly and the long path through military aviation and NASA selection.
Astronaut training tests body and mind: simulators, survival drills, language skills, and teamwork under stress.
Astronaut training tests body and mind: simulators, survival drills, language skills, and teamwork under stress.
Reaching the ISS means violent launch followed by silent orbit. Weightlessness changes every ordinary action.
Reaching the ISS means violent launch followed by silent orbit. Weightlessness changes every ordinary action.
Eating, exercising, sleeping, and working attach to walls; schedules are tight; science experiments continue daily.
Eating, exercising, sleeping, and working attach to walls; schedules are tight; science experiments continue daily.
Outside the station, Williams repairs equipment while Earth turns below - danger and beauty together.
Outside the station, Williams repairs equipment while Earth turns below - danger and beauty together.
From space, national borders disappear. The essay asks why humans fight on a planet that looks one and fragile.
From space, national borders disappear. The essay asks why humans fight on a planet that looks one and fragile.
Hard words & meanings
| orbit | the curved path a spacecraft follows around a planet |
| weightlessness | the condition of floating with no apparent weight |
| simulator | equipment that imitates real flight conditions |
| spacewalk | activity of an astronaut outside the station in a suit |
| discipline | ordered behaviour and strict practice |
| fragile | delicate; needing care - used for planet Earth |
| cooperation | joint effort toward a common goal |
| cosmos | the vast ordered system of space |
| overview effect | feeling of unity when seeing Earth from orbit |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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