A Monthly Newsletter for Teachers of English

April 2008

© Pearson Education Polska 2008

PHOTOCOPIABLE

1

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth…
I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.

(Neil Armstrong)

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM - WHAT IS IN IT?

The sun

The centre of our
solar system and the
largest body in it.
The centre of the sun
has a temperature of
around 14 million
degrees centigrade.

The Planets

There are nine
planets in the solar
system. The largest
is Jupiter (below)
and the smallest is
Pluto, though there is
some debate over
whether Pluto is
really a
planet
at all

.

Moons

There are
sixty-one
moons in
our solar
system.
Six of the moons in
our solar system are
bigger than the
smallest planet,
Pluto.

Asteroids

Rocky objects of all
sizes, these are
some of the oldest
bodies in the solar
system.
Countless asteroids
lie in a belt between
Mars
and
Jupiter

.

Comets

Scientists believe
that comets are like
giant dirty snowballs
flying through space.
Some pass regularly,
like Halley’s Comet,
which passes every

76 years

Satellites

These are artificial -
man-made

– objects

orbiting the Earth. It
is estimated that
over 25,000 satellites
are orbiting the earth
at the moment, many
of them junk

Is there life
‘out there’?

Man has always dreamed of finding life
somewhere ‘out there’. But where are the
best candidates for life in our solar system?

From monsters to super-intelligent alien
civilisations, the dream (or nightmare) of
finding extra-terrestrial life has fascinated
writers and scientists alike for generations.
But how close are these dreams to reality?

What might we find?

Extra-terrestrial life, Hollywood-style, may
be friendly (as in the film ‘ET’) or
threatening (‘War of the Worlds’), but it is
almost always highly intelligent and
technologically advanced. In reality, any life
which we find in the solar system, will be
very different.

Extra-terrestrial life in our solar system will
probably be quite disappointing to look at,
compared to its Hollywood version: very
primitive microbes, invisible to the naked
eye, are all we are likely to find. Even that,
however, would be an astonishing event.

Mars has always been the favourite

planet for science-fiction writers, but

perhaps the best chance for extra-

terrestrial life in the solar system may

be rather further away.

Where to look?

The

traditional

place

to

look

for

extraterrestrial life is the Red Planet - Mars. It
is still a good candidate but hopes of finding
liquid water there are slim. Perhaps life
existed there in the past, but it seems
unlikely that we will find any there now. A
better place to look, though, might not be on
a planet at all, but on a moon. Three moons
are exciting astronomers at the moment:
Europa, Titan and Enceladus.

The candidates

Europa is Jupiter’s sixth moon and it may be
covered in ice. Under the ice may be water,
heated from below. If that is true, at least two
of the conditions for life are present.

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon. Instead of
water scientists believe there may be rivers
and seas of chemicals necessary for life.

Enceladus is Saturn’s fourteenth moon. Like
Europa, it may have liquid water under its icy
surface. This year the Cassini spacecraft has
taken new pictures of Enceladus and
scientists now believe it is the best hope for
finding life outside of the Earth.

The conditions needed for life

For life to exist there must be three things
present. First, there must be liquid (not
frozen) water. Second, there must be the
right chemicals, such as carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen and nitrogen. Third, there must
be a source of energy such as the sun or
volcanic activity. If we want to find life in
our solar system then we must look for
places which have all of these ingredients.
And, outside of the Earth, there are not
many such places around.

A C T I V I T I E S S H E E T

April 2008

© Pearson Education Polska 2008

PHOTOCOPIABLE

2

Speaking

1. What do you know about our solar system? Look at the words below and work with a partner. What do you
know about each?

the sun

the planets

comets

asteroids

moons

satellites

2. Now try to match the numbers to each item. What do the numbers mean?

countless

nine

14 million

25000

76

sixty-one

the sun

the planets

comets

asteroids

moons

satellites

First Reading

Read the first part of the text (‘Our Solar System - What is in it?’) to check your answers.

Vocabulary & Speaking

1. Here are the names of the planets in English. Can you unscramble them?

NUUARS URANUS

OLTUP _______________

UMYCRRE _______________

HETRA _______________

EVSNU _______________

PUNNTEE _______________

TNASUR _______________

SARM _______________

PTEURIJ _______________

2. Which of the planets do you think is the best place to look for extra-terrestrial life? Why? Where else could
there be life in the solar system?

Second Reading

Read the second part of the text (‘Is there life out there?’) to check your answers.

Third Reading

Read the text again and find the answers to the questions.

1. How is extra-terrestrial life usually shown in films? Is this realistic?

2. Finding tiny extra-terrestrial microbes would be nothing special. True or false?

3. Is it hard to find places where the conditions necessary for life exist?

4. Why is it unlikely that we will find life on Mars?

5. How is Titan different from Enceladus and Europa?

A C T I V I T I E S S H E E T

April 2008

© Pearson Education Polska 2008

PHOTOCOPIABLE

3

Vocabulary

The text has eight paragraphs (starting with ‘From monsters to...’). Find a word or phrase from the appropriate
paragraph to match the definitions.

1. All of the groups or things mentioned, not just one of them.

[PARAGRAPH 1]

2. Dangerous or meaning to hurt you.

[PARAGRAPH 2]

3. We use this to say that something is different from what people may think.

[PARAGRAPH 2]

4. Having a simple structure or body.

[PARAGRAPH 3]

5. Without a telescope, microscope etc.

[PARAGRAPH 3]

6. A thing, place, activity etc. that you get something from.

[PARAGRAPH 4]

7. Apart from or not including a particular person or thing.

[PARAGRAPH 4]

8. Very small in amount or number.

[PARAGRAPH 5]

Try to complete the sentences below with one of the words above.

1. Oranges are a very good ____________________ of Vitamin C.

2. Archeoptryx was a very ____________________ kind of bird.

3. I enjoy cycling, rollerblading and jogging ____________________.

4. Many people picture London as a very foggy city. ____________________, fog is quite rare there.

5. There is a very ____________________ chanc

e of my team winning the league. We’re just not very good.

6. On a clear night, you can see Mars with ____________________.

7. He spoke in a very ____________________ way. I was quite worried.

8. ____________________ a very short trip ten years ago, I’ve never been to America.

Lexis

Below are some sentences from the text. Without looking back at the text, try to complete the sentences with the
appropriate preposition.

1. But how close are these dreams _______________ reality?

[PARA 1]

2. Extra-terrestrial life in our solar system will probably be quite disappointing to look _______________...

[PARA 2]

3. ... very primitive microbes, invisible _______________ the naked eye...

[PARA 2]

4. ... we must look _______________ places...

[PARA 4]

5. A better place to look, though, might not be _______________ a planet at all…

[PARA 5]

6. Europa is Jupiter’s sixth moon and it may be covered _______________ ice.

[PARA 6]

7. Under the ice may be water, heated _______________ below.

[PARA 6]

8. Instead _______________ water scientists believe there may be rivers and seas of chemicals necessary for life.

[PARA 7]

Speaking

Work in small groups to discuss the questions below. Be ready to tell the rest of the class what conclusions you
reached.

1. Space exploration is very expensive - every flight of the space shuttle, for example, costs a minimum of $400

million. Would it be better to spend that money on other things, or is space exploration worth the cost?

2.

What would be most people’s reaction if (intelligent) life contacted us? Joy? Fear? Suspicion? What would your
reaction be?