Part III “Space Exploration”

Lead-In 3

Methods of finding out about the Solar System and what is beyond it are: to use telescopes both ground-based and in orbit, to send unmanned space probes, to send manned spacecrafts. In your opinion, which method is the most dangerous? the cheapest? the most effective?

Listening 3

Task 1. Questions

Do you know who Stephen Hawking is?

Do you think people will destroy the Earth one day? How will that happen?

Do you believe that people may die out just like dinosaurs?

Is it now possible for people to move to another planet?

Task 2. Listen to OR watch a video of an interview with Stephen Hawking* recorded on March 7, 2008 and answer the following questions.

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* Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. Despite being almost completely paralyzed and communicating through a speech generating device, Hawking remains one of the world's foremost theoretical physicists and has contributed greatly to our understanding of the universe.

Questions:

1. What is going to be the greatest achievement of scientists since the Theory of Relativity?

2. What does Stephen Hawking worry about?

1. about the future of the Universe because it can explode one day

2. about the life on Earth because people can destroy themselves

3. about the future of the Universe because it will continue to grow forever

4. about the life of the human race because there wouldn’t be enough resources on Earth

3. What does human survival depend on?

4. What should people do by the end of this century?

1. invent the Theory of Everything and it will make life easier

2. find another place to live beside Earth

5. What is the problem that people are not solving efficiently nowadays?

1. inventing the Theory of Everything

2. climate change

3. finding life on Mars

4. researching the Dark matter and energy

6. Does Stephen Hawking believe that people are going to survive?

Reading and Speaking 3

Task 3. Discuss in pairs

Would you like to travel in space?

Do you believe that people can inhabit other planets in the future?

Can you imagine leaving Earth forever to live on another planet?

Task 4. Before reading, match the words with their definitions.

a crew	occurring before or in preparation
preliminary	the owner or manager of a business
feasible	a vehicle used for exploring the surface of a moon, planet, etc.
a rover	the amount of goods or material that is carried by a vehicle
an entrepreneur	being good, appropriate or relevant for a specific purpose
to expose	to leave (something) without covering or protection
payload	to consist of
applicable	a group of people assigned to a particular job or type of work
to be comprised of	possible, probable