Read this excerpt from "The Race to Space: Countdown
to Liftoff."
Chapter 2: Failure to Launch, 1942
The rocket performed perfectly, except for landing on
the wrong planet."
-Wernher von Braun
Around the 1920s, German engineers entered
the scene, testing and developing their own
rockets. They were intent on becoming the first in space.
In 1927, three Germans-Johanne
Winkler, Max Valier, and Willy Ley-founded
the Spaceflight Society, an organization that
would go on to foster many of the brilliant minds who
eventually made spaceflight a reality. One of those
brilliant minds belonged to Wernher von Braun, the man
who would ultimately chart the conquest of space.
What is the purpose of the quotation at the beginning of
the chapter?
to provide answers to topic questions and essays
O to help readers better understand the purpose of
the passage
O to summarize all of the information in the paragraphs
after it
O to capture readers' attention with a witty and funny
introduction