Reading

Vocabulary:

1. although, prep. - хоч, хоча

It is warm although it is November already.

2. clue, n - ключ(до розгадки чогось)

to find the clue - знайти ключ до розгадки

3. annual, adj - щорічний, річний

annual income - річний прибуток

annually, adv. - щорічно

4. craft, n - судно

aircraft - повітряне судно, літак

spacecraft - космічне судно

5. to break off - раптово припинятися, обривати(ся)

to break off communication - обірвати зв’язок

The leader didn’t know why the group had broken off communication.

6. to fall victim - стати жертвою

Who has fallen victim to the bad mood of a boss?

7. to protect from sometimes - захищати від чогось

I don’t know who’ll protect the young people from deceitful promises.

8. probe, n - зонд; дослідницька космічна ракета; автоматична науково-дослідна станція

unmanned probe - безпілотний зонд; автоматична космічна ракета

9. to launch - запускати; катапультувати

The spacecraft was launched two decades ago.

10. surface, n - поверхня

the entire surface - повна поверхня

The entire surface of the planet was mapped in detail.

11. to be covered with - бути покритим чимось.

The surface is covered with crabes.

12. to take photo - фотографувати

Many pictures/photos of Mars were taken.

13. to wane - зменшуватися; спадати

The power began to wane gradually.

14. to announce - оголошувати; проголошувати

The speaker announced the news from the station.

15. to doubt - ставити під сумнів, сумніватися

to doubt results - ставити під сумнів результати

The engineer doubted the correct data of his experiments.

No doubt, spacecraft will be launched duly.

16. to set off - запускати ракету

It was announced that the craft would be set off in 2 decades.

17. to exceed - перевищувати

As the road wavy, one shouldn’t exceed the speed of his car.

18. to reveal - показувати, проявляти

Last time the landscape revealed a rocky plain.

19. man-made, adj - зроблений людиною

I’ve never seen man-made channels. I wonder how much they differ from natural ones?

20. to seek - шукати, розшукувати

What shall we seek in the rocky mountains?

21. to obtain - отримувати

to obtain information/ results/ data

One of the task was to obtain data about the size of the new craft.

22. to drop - висаджуватися; опускатися (на землю)

Everybody didn’t doubt that the crew would drop on the planet in time.

23. previously, adv - раніш, попередньо

The data was known previously.

24. crucial, adj - критичний, вирішальний.

There was a crucial event in history of Mars.

Read the text below, then complete the tasks that follow.

It would certainly be interesting to visit Mars. Although it is smaller than Earth it is surprisingly earthlike and that holds clues about the evolution of humanity's mother planet. Its day, for example, is only half an hour longer than Earth's and unlike other extraterrestrial planets it has annual seasons. A Martian year lasts about twice as long as a terrestrial one.

Space flight is a risky venture. A complex piece of apparatus cannot easily be repaired when it is millions of miles from home. Some missions to the planet have gone kaput since the space age began. Each of these craft either did not get to Mars at all or broke off communication before it could sent back anything useful. They may have fallen victim not to broken equipment but to what scientists jokingly refer to as "Great Galactic Ghoul" that seems to protect the planet from nosy people.

Although Russians and Americans have concentrated on manned space flight, many of the most important discoveries have resulted from unmanned probes of the solar system. Most of what is known about Mars first came from the spacecraft that were launched in the direction of Mars about two decades ago. The spacecraft passed close by the Red Planet and two capsules were landed on Mars. The craft was able to map the entire surface of the planet and show that it is covered with craters. More than 50,000 photographs were taken.

The first spacecraft which visited the planet showed that there were no signs of any civilisation and enthusiasm began to wane.

Public interest in the planet Mars was rekindled when it was announced that the study of the meteorite from Mars that had been found in Antarctica suggested that Mars supported life. And even though a group of scientists have since doubted the data, the possibilities that Mars is inhabited, albeit by early bacteria, looked realistic.

A new wave of spacecraft has recently set off to explore the Red Planet almost at the same time — NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, a Russian craft with instruments from Finland, France, Germany and other countries and the second NASA probe called "Mars Pathfinder." This trio actually formed the vanguard of a possible decade-long flotilla of Mars-bound ships.

The mission exceeded the expectation.

It returned 2.3 billion bits of new data from Mars and explored more than 200 square metres of the surface. It also obtained 16 measurements of rocks and soil chemistry and successfully completed the numerous technology operations. It really captured the imagination of the public.

One of the most important goals of the mission was to look for evidence of a formerly warm, wet Mars. "The Mars Pathfinder" showed that large portions of the planet were once covered with water. There may even have been a Martian "ocean." The mosaic of the landscape revealed a rocky plain, that most probably had been deposited and shaped by catastrophic floods. The obtained images show semirounded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders similar to those deposited by terrestrial catastrophic floods. Despite some signs of slow erosion by the wind the rocks have changed little since they were deposited by the flood. One of the most striking features picked several decades ago was a set of channels. They were not the channels that people's imagination had cut into the planet's surface. But they did look that they might have been cut by running water. This time it was possible to tell that the channels actually ran downhill into the "ocean" and that they were not man-made.

The mission also fulfilled one of the main tasks: it filled in the blanks on the map of Mars.

"The Pathfinder" sought rocks which could be clues to the early climate of Mars and clues to which conditions were once conducive to the development of life. Soil samples were collected. The dog-sized Mars rover, a six wheeled cart, walked slowly from rock to rock at the speed of one centimetre a second. It analysed the chemical composition of the rock. It does so when it is bombarding the rock in question with alpha particles. Chemical elements have "finger prints" of their own and when they are hit with such particles they respond in a different and characteristic way. The confirmation of the presence of these minerals increased scientists' understanding of the role that water played in the planet.

Some information about the interior was also obtained. Large meteorite impacts had previously escavat-ed something that looked like mud and scattered it across the planet surface. This time two dart-like "penetrators" dropped on the planet from a great height and burrowed themselves up to six metres deep into the Martian soil. Their findings will help geologists understand how Mars evolved over time.

Analysis of overall results suggests that Mars was once more Earth-like than previously appreciated.

Information from other missions will help answer the crucial question about our neighbouring world. Are we alone in the Universe? Carl Sagan, an outstanding scientist, estimated that there may be as many as one million advanced civilizations in this galaxy alone. When the rovers were sending the first images of the surface of Mars, everyone was glued to the television screens. Nowadays the mysteries of the Universe are being brought right to your living room.

Exercise I. For questions 1 - 6, choose the answer (A, B or C) which you think fits best according to the text.

1. It would be interesting to visit Mars because

A) it is humanity's mother planet.

B) it is similar to Earth.

C) it has annual seasons.

2. Space flight to Mars is risky because of

A) broken equipment.

B) "Great Galactic Ghoul."

C) vast distance.

3. The spacecraft that visited Mars about two decades ago

A) took pictures of its surface.

B) covered the planet with craters.

C) supported life on Mars.

4. Russian and American spacecraft that have been launched recently showed that

A) Mars is covered with water.

B) Mars has rocky surface.

C) has no channels.

5. "The Pathfinder" studied

A) chemical elements that have "finger prints" of their own.

B) the climate of Mars.

C) chemical composition of Mars's surface.

6. Carl Sagal is the scientist who

A) claimed that we were not alone in our galaxy.

B) showed the first images of Mars's surface.

C) brought advanced civilisation right to your living room.

Exercise II. Answer the following questions.

1. What makes the "Red Planet" so appealing to future visitors?

2. Why is space flight a risky venture?

3. How many missions to the planet have gone kaput since the space age began? What might the reasons be?

4. What part did unmanned probes of solar system play in space research?

5. When was the first information about Mars obtained? What was the craft able to do?

6. Why did enthusiasm begin to wane? What data rekindled public interest in the planet Mars?

7. Which spacecraft and probes formed the vanguard of a flotilla of Mars-bound ships? Which countries participated in the project?

8. What was one of the most important goals of the mission?

9. How many metres of the surface were explored? What measurements were obtained?

10. What did the obtained images show?

11. The mission also filled another blank on the map of Mars — the origin of channels. What new hypothesis was put forward?

12. How was the chemical composition of the rock analysed?

13. What did the analysis confirm?

14. How was information about the interior obtained? In what way can it be helpful?

15. What does analysis of overall results suggest?

16. What crucial question about our neighboring world will information from other missions help answer?

Exercise III. Find in the text English equivalents for these words and word -combinations and sentences.

менша, ніж земля; триває удвічі довше; космічні польоти - річ ризикована; з початку космічної ери; “Великий Галактичний мерзотник”; космічні польоти із людьми на борту; ознаки будь - якої цивілізації; можливості, що на Марсі є життя; політ перевищив усі очікування; свідчення про теплий, вогкий Марс; там навіть був марсіанський “океан”; заповнити порожні місця на карті Марсу; були зібрані зразки ґрунту; підтвердження присутності цих матеріалів; занурилися на 6 метрів в глибину; вирішальне питання про сусідній світ; авангардні цивілізації.

Exercise IV. Quote the sentences, in which the following words and word - combination are used in the next.

That holds clues; twice as long; kaput; jokingly refer to as; two capsules were landed on Mars; albeit by early bacteria; ‘Mars Pathfinder’.

To look for evidence; shaped by catastrophic floods; have been cut by running water; a six wheeled cart; alpha particles; large meteorite impact; Mars evolved over time; one million advanced civilisation; the mysteries.

Exercise V. Make up ten questions based on the text and ask your group mate to answer them.

Exercise VI. Give a summary of the text.

Exercise VII. Complete the sentences. Use active words and word combinations.

1. Although it is smaller that Earth …

2. Some missions to the planet …

3. Most of what is known about Mars …

4. Public interest in the planet Mars …

5. This trio actually …

6. It also obtained 16 measurements …

7. The mosaic of the landscape …

8. … had cut into the planet surface .

9. … filled in the blanks on the map of Mars.

10. … with alpha particles .

11. … cross the planet surface.

12. Carl Sagan, an outstanding scientist, … .

Exercise VII. Translate into English

1. Хоча у науковців є багато даних, ключ до розгадки космічних таємниць ще не знайдено. 2. День на Марсі всього на півгодини довший, ніж на землі. 3. Вже відомо, що рік на Марсі триває удвічі довше, проте там є всі пори року. 4. Коли повідомили про те, що зв’язок із ракетою обірвався несподівано? 5. На чому зосередили свою увагу американські і російські науковці? - На польотах із людиною на борту, але більшість із найбільш важливих відкриттів було зроблено завдяки безпілотним польотам. 6. Чи міг корабель зробити карту повної поверхні планети й показати, що вона вкрита кратерами? 7. Чи були знайдені ознаки життя на Марсі? 8. Науковці довели, що великі території Марсу були покриті водою. 9. Тепер відомо, що вода по природним каналам збігала вниз до “океану”. 10. Як отримали дослідники дані про ґрунт? - Шестиколісний візок пересувався від однієї скелі до іншої із швидкістю 1 см за секунду і аналізував хімічний склад скелі. 11. Нарешті аналіз усіх результатів довів, що колись Марс був більш схожий на Землю, ніж вважали раніше. 12. Чи ми єдині у Галактиці? - Провідні вчені говорять, що раніше могло бути щонайменше один мільйон розвинутих цивілізацій у Галактиці.