Listening Basics part 2 (2) / New Listening Basics part 2

4. The Tungus Explosion

A. Words

Make sure you know the following words from the dialog: Names: Tungus

a storage hut to melt

a hypothesis an explosion

B. Listen to the passage on the Tungus explosion and answer the

questions:

1.Where did the explosion occur?

2.When did the explosion occur?

3.How did the trees fall around the center of explosion?

4.Where was the farmer sitting when the explosion occurred?

C. Listen to the four explanations of the Tungus explosion. Which explanations make sense to you? Why?

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5. The War of the Worlds

A. Words

Make sure you know the following words and names from the dialog: Names: H.G. Wells, Professor Pierson, New Jersey, Carl Philips, Mr. Wilmuth

a cylinder hissing greenish wriggling a tentacle

B. Listen to a part of a radio play based on H.G. Wells‘s novel The War of the Worlds. First listen to some background information to help you understand the dialog. As you listen, answer the following questions.

1.When was the radio play performed?

2.What was it about?

3.What made many listeners believe it?

4.How wide was the object?

5.Why did Mr. Wilmuth mention the Fourth of July?

6.How did Mr. Wilmuth feel after that strange experience?

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6. A Space Map

A. Listen to the description and fill in the missing information.

The picture is a large 1__________ showing the 2__________

The small, central circle marks the 3 ___________________

В. You are going to hear part of an interview with Stuart Millar, who is talking about the picture. Read through questions 1-5 carefully, then listen and choose the correct answer.

1Stuart thinks that the picture above looks like

a.a new, undiscovered continent.

b.a scientific diagram.

c.a map of the human mind.

d.a 3D puzzle.

2How many years would it take for a light to travel from one side of the map to the other?

a.10 million

b.50 million

c.100 million

d.500 million

3The map-makers claim they have been able to prove that in the future the universe will

a.survive for a while yet.

b.gradually lose its power.

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c.keep on getting bigger.

d.become more complex.

4Stuart says that the real achievement of the map is that it

a.affects the future of the universe.

b.helps to predict the weather.

c.provides answers to cosmic problems.

d.expands existing maps.

5Stuart claims that this map

a.is just as unreliable as many great historical maps.

b.is reasonably accurate.

c.is one of many similar maps now being produced.

d.will probably be improved upon in the future.

7. An Astronaut

You are going to hear an extract from an interview with Jack Armstrong, a NASA astronaut. Read through questions 1-4 carefully, then listen to the tape and choose the correct answer.

1How many times has Jack Armstrong traveled on the space shuttle?

a.28 times.

b.10 times.

c.3 times. e. 12 times.

2How do astronauts prevent muscle wastage while they are in space?

a.They play physical games.

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b.They receive special training.

c.They exercise on a special machine.

d.They exercise at specific times.

3Why is eating in space a problem?

a.Because the food often floats away.

b.Because you can only eat certain types of food.

c.Because the food is too salty or spicy.

d.Because you lose interest in eating.

4According to Jack, what is the most thrilling thing about space travel?

a.Taking off in the space shuttle.

b.The experience of weightlessness.

c.Traveling into the unknown.

d.Working on the space station.

8. The Red Planet

A.Do you know anything about the red planet? What is another name for this planet?

B.Listen to the speaker. Did you learn anything new? Complete the information about the following:

1.topography: ___________________________________________

________________________________________________________

2.mysterious caves: _______________________________________

________________________________________________________

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3.potential underground habitants: ___________________________

________________________________________________________

4.signs of life: ___________________________________________

________________________________________________________

9.NASA space program

A. Can NASA compete?

Listen to the information about a space race.

What countries were mentioned by the speaker while talking about a space race? To what extend did they make progress?

B. Long Duration Flight

Looking into the future of the long duration flights, scientists and European Space Agency are considering hibernation as an option for astronauts. Listen and get some detailed information of what the term

―hibernation‖ means.

C. Orbital Test Vehicle

Listen to the radio report about developing orbital test vehicle. Try to picture it. What functions will it have? Then listen to the speaker and see whether your description was close to the original one.

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D. Sparkling Imagination

Are you interested in space exploration? What could be done to restore the kids‘ interest and inspire them to become more curious about it?

Share your ideas with your group mates. Then listen to what NASA suggested about this issue. Do you find their ideas reasonable?

Part V. Speaking

1. Role-play

Three volunteers from the group act as astronauts applying for a job. The rest of the group act as NASA members and interview the applicants one by one. The other applicants wait in the hallway. When all three interviews are finished NASA decide whom they take as an astronaut and explain the reasons.

2. Vocabulary Quiz

These questions use the vocabulary from this section. Answer the questions with a partner and see how much you know.

1. Which of the following bodies has the strongest force of gravity?

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2.In the United States, which of the following people has the highest annual salary?

4.What is the English name of a childhood disease in which the skin is covered with red spots?

5. Which of the following is a natural satellite of the earth?

6.Which of the following countries was once a colony of Great Britain (England)?

a. Tokyo, Japan c. Frankfurt, Germany

b. Los Angeles, California, USA d. Mexico City, Mexico

9. If you can use solar energy to make your food, you are probably a _____.

3. The Moon Crash

A. Words

Make sure you know the following words and phrases from the dialog: a crew

a spaceship to crash-land

dehydrated milk oxygen

a constellation a life raft injection

a box of matches

a receiver-transmitter solar-powered

B. Imagine you are a member of a space crew. Your spaceship has crashlanded on the lighted side of the moon. Another spaceship will pick you up about two hundred miles away. Because you will have to walk there, you

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can take only a limited number of items with you. Below there are fifteen items your crew will have to choose from. Read the items, work in pairs and decide which items are the most important and which are the least important. Place number 1 by the most important item, number 2 by the second most important, and so on.

__________ dried food

__________ fifty feet of nylon rope

__________ parachute silk

__________ portable heating unit

__________ two pistols

__________ one case of dehydrated milk

__________ two one-hundred-pound tanks of oxygen

__________ map of the moon‘s constellations

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