LISTENING – Worksheet 3

Reaching for the skies: Space, the planets

Space

1.1. Answer these questions.

1. Would you like to travel into space? (Why / Why not?)

2. What do you imagine it would be like?
3. What problems do you think you would experience in space?

1.2. Complete the text below with suitable words from the box.

astronauts atmosphere commercial explorers

launch outer simulator weightlessness

If you have ever dreamed of travelling in space, then our (1) ……………… space travel
programme will make that dream a reality. Of course, passengers will need to prepare for this
experience. However, unlike the months of training that (2) ……………… undergo, our
passengers will be ready for (3) ……………… within two days. To prepare for a truly out-of-
this-world experience, passengers will spend two days in our special training facility. There,
the passengers will be able to experience zero gravity in a special (4) ………………; this will
allow the passengers to acclimatize. During the flight itself, a rocket will propel the spacecraft
into suborbital space in excess of 100,000 m above the Earth’s (5) ……………… . This will
allow the passengers to experience (6) ……………… . Our space (7) ……………… will be
able to float around the cabin and view the Earth and (8) ……………… space for
approximately ten minutes prior to re-entry and landing.

1.3. Read the text again and find words that match these definitions.

1. an actual event ……………..

2. go through an experience ……………..
3. the force or pull from the Earth ……………..
4. get used to a change in conditions ……………..
5. drive something forwards ……………..
6. more than ……………..
7. stay up in the air or in water ……………..
8. entering the Earth's atmosphere again ……………..

1.4. Complete the sentences with words from the text. You will need to change the form
of the words.

1. Some people believe that space e……………….. is a waste of money.

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2. Climbing extremely high mountains is made all the more difficult because of the drop in
a……………….. pressure.
3. Spacecrafts need to reach extremely high speeds in order to escape the g……………….. pull
of the Earth.
4. Last year the astronauts u……………….. a series of mental and physical tests in order to
qualify for the mission.
5. This computer program s……………….. extremes of weather so that pilots can experience
difficult flying conditions.

The planets

2.1. Listen to someone talking about the problems of forming colonies on other planets.
Complete the table with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the talk.

Planet Physical features Disadvantages

Venus • some size as 1 …………………. • has no 2 ………………….
• Covered in 3 ………………….
• constant 4 ………………….
Mercury • smaller than all other planets • has greatest range of temperatures
except 5 …………………. of any planet in the 6
………………….
Saturn • has many 7 …………………. and • much too hot
8 ………………….

Error warning

Earth is the name of our planet and has a capital letter, but the sun does not. We say the
Earth but not our earth: The Earth moves around the sun. We must take care of our planet.
NOT We must take care of our earth.

2.2. Listen again and complete the sentences below.

1. Venus is unusual because it ………………….. in the opposite direction to other planets.

2. The ………………….. of Venus has many craters caused by asteroids.
3. Mercury has no substantial ………………….. .
4. Mercury does not have any water so cannot ………………….. life.
5. The Voyager space ………………….. has provided us with pictures of Saturn’s moons.
6. The ………………….. of Saturn is mainly gas.

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2.3. WORD BUILDING Complete the table.

Noun Adjective
atmosphere
cosmic
galactic
gravitational
horizon
lunar
meteoric
sun
stellar
terrestrial
universe

Vocabulary note
The suffix -ic tells us that a word is an adjective. How many adjectives in 2.3 end in -ic?
Other common examples are: economic, scenic, tragic.

2.4. Complete the sentences with suitable words from the table in 2.3.

1. The moon appears much bigger when it is close to the ………………. .

2. The North Star is the brightest star in our ………………. .
3. Many scientists believe that dinosaurs became extinct when a ………………. hit the Earth.
4. A ………………. eclipse occurs when the moon is hidden by the sun.
5. Many people wonder if there is intelligent life elsewhere in the ………………. .
6. The teacher told us to draw a ………………. line across the page.
7. The most successful products in the world are those that have a ………………. appeal.
8. ………………. energy is becoming more common nowadays.

3. Read the news report and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
Give a reason for each answer using one of the underlined words in the text. Then check
the meaning of any of the underlined words you don’t know and write them in your
notebook.

In May 1973, the USA launched its first manned space station. The station, called Skylab,
managed to carry three different crews of astronauts over a nine-month period, in spite of the
fact that it lost a meteor shield on launch. In February 1974, the final crew returned to Earth
and, for the next five and a half years, the Skylab continued to orbit the Earth, unmanned and
unused. Its low orbit gradually pulled the 77-tonne Skylab down towards the Earth making a
crash landing inevitable and causing a great deal of concern around the world. On 11 July 1979
the Skylab eventually crashed into the southern ocean off Esperance, Australia. Fortunately,
the debris fell in mostly uninhabited areas and locals scrambled to collect a souvenir. A 17-

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year-old from Esperance flew to America to claim a $10,000 reward for being the first to
deliver a piece of the station to a newspaper. The local council of Esperance issued the USA
with a $400 fine for littering. It has never been paid. There are currently approximately 8,000
pieces of space junk floating above our heads thanks to the satellites, space shuttles, and space
stations out there. One example is a screwdriver lost during a space shuttle mission in 1985
which has never been recovered.

Statements True/False Reason

1. In late 1974, there were people on board the It was ……………….…
space station. …………………………
2. The Skylab may have floated in space forever. A crash was …...………
…………………………
3. Very few people lived in the area where it The area was ……….…
landed. …………………….…..

4. Complete the text using suitable words from this unit.

‘Space belongs to whoever gets there first.’ Do you agree with this statement?
Most of (1) p…………… Earth has already been mapped and explored, so it is not surprising
that explorers should turn their attention to other parts of the (2) u……………. The planets in
our (3) s…………… s…………… have become the next frontier to be conquered.

We all remember the so-called (4) s…………… race of the 1960s when the US and USSR
were each determined to be the first to (5) l…………… on the moon. However, I do not believe
that planting a flag on the moon gives anyone the right to claim it as theirs.

With the increasing use of (6) s…………… to monitor activities here on Earth, as well as the
very real prospect of space tourism, now is a good time to ask who owns or, more importantly,
who governs the vast area of space above us? In the relatively short time that man has been
travelling in space we have already left sufficient (7) d…………… behind to show that we are
as careless in our space travels as on Earth. The broken shuttle parts have simply been left to
(8) f…………… in the atmosphere and cause a very real threat to everyone here on Earth.

Clearly space belongs to all of us. Although there is an international (9) s……………
s……………, this is currently only involved in research. I think we need to act quickly to
establish a set of international laws that govern (10) o…………… space.

5. PRONUNCIATION Each of the following words has a weak sound (ə) or schwa, e.g.
about. Underline the schwa in each word, then listen and check your answers. Practise
saying the words. There may be more than one schwa in each word or phrase.

astronaut atmosphere commercial explorer exploration

galaxy horizon horizontal outer satellite
solar system sustain universal

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TEST PRACTICE

Test Tip

Read through all of the information on the question paper before you start to listen. Circle
or underline the most important words. Use the questions to help you follow the
conversation.

LISTENING Section 3

Questions 1-4
Choose the correct answer A, B or C.

1. According to John, what is the main advantage of space exploration?

A. To supply resources for use on Earth.
B. To find out more about the origins of our planet.
C. To establish a colony for humans if Earth becomes uninhabitable.

2. According to the speakers, why can’t robots be sent into space instead of humans?
A. They cannot operate for long enough.
B. They are too expensive to build.
C. They are too reliant on humans.

3. What are we told about the space technology currently used?

A. It can be unreliable.
B. It is based on old technology.
C. It is becoming cheaper to produce.

4. What is the biggest problem in sending robots to Mars?

A. The distance
B. The atmosphere
C. The extreme temperatures

Questions 5-10
Who expresses the following opinions?
A John
B Susan
C Both John and Susan

[Link] should plan a trip to Mars even though it may not happen soon. ………..
6. We may eventually colonize Mars. ………..
7. The soil on Mars is highly toxic. ………..
8. The soil on Mars contains materials we could use. ………..
9. Spaceships cannot be totally protected from radiation. ………..
10. It is possible that humans could form a base on Mars. ………..