Page 118 - Think 4. Teacher's Book B2

Unit 11
Shoot for the stars Reading; Train to

Culture notes SHOOT FOR THE STARS UNIT 11
Mars is much smaller than Earth, but
in many other ways is very similar. It A MISSION TO MARS
has volcanoes, valleys, deserts and
polar ice caps. One Martian day lasts Back in 2001, Dennis Tito made a name for himself by becoming the first ever space
24 hours and 37 minutes, while a tourist. Twelve years later, he launched his Mars Project with the idea of sending a couple
year is equivalent to 687 Earth days. on a flight around Mars. It never happened. The technology wasn’t ready. 2018 may have
been our best chance to get to Mars from Earth for some time, as the two planets were at
Also known as the Red Planet due their closest, meaning the 35-million-mile journey might have taken as little as 200 days.
to its reddish colour, which comes Huge advances in science over recent years have meant that interest in reaching our
closest planetary neighbour is at an all-time high, and we might not have to wait too long
mainly from iron oxide on its surface, before it becomes a reality. The next time the two planets will come closer again is in
2033. The race for Mars is on. However, any space project wishing to touch down on the
the atmosphere on Mars is thin while red planet will first have to overcome three major problems.
the surface temperatures are, on Firstly, there is the expense. Current estimates for a return journey range from $100 billion
to as much as $500 billion. Clearly this is a lot of money for any one government to find,
average, around -63 degrees Celsius. which means a mission to Mars is certain to be an international collaboration. One way
of bringing the cost down, is to work on developing reusable rockets. SpaceX, one of the
Denis Tito, born in 1940, is an companies at the forefront of space exploration, believe their Falcon 9, which has already
American engineer and entrepreneur. successfully been launched and landed, might be the answer to this.
Another problem that needs overcoming is the psychological effects of such an ambitious journey
In 2001, he made history as the on the astronauts. Medical experts are worried that the long time spent in a confined space can’t be
world’s first private citizen to fly to beneficial to the mental health of the crew. They advise that space crafts should be fitted with a wide
range of activities to keep the astronauts busy. There is also the question of how well the astronauts will
the International Space Station by cope with the desert-like Martian landscape. The Hi-Seas project aims to help prepare for this and sees
would-be astronauts spending up to eight months in isolation on the side of a Hawaiian volcano.
paying for his own flight. He was in The final problem is perhaps the most serious. A journey to Mars is bound to expose crew members to
space for seven days. extremely high levels of radiation, which is highly likely to lead to a number of illnesses. Ideas being
worked on to fight this include the development of protective covering and the possibility of faster
rockets to cut down journey time.
Although human exploration of Mars seems certain at some future date, there are those who say
there are several reasons why this might not be such a good idea. Perhaps the greatest fear is that of
6 Explain/elicit the meaning of cross-contamination: no matter how sterile the spaceships landing on Mars might be, the astronauts
flawed (describes something walking out on to the surface will bring with them millions of Earth microbes and the effect of these on
any potential Martian ecosystem may well be disastrous. Perhaps we’d be better off concentrating on
which is not perfect or doesn’t looking after the world we currently have, so that there will never be any need to find an alternative home.
work properly). Before students
match, divide the class into
groups of three and ask each 6 Read the quotations and match them with
student to read one of the Spotting flawed arguments explanations A–C.
1 I saw this scientist on TV. He says that we
three explanations A–C, then There are many different ways in which people can try to should eat more fatty foods.
summarise it for their partners. convince you that something is true without using actual 2 I really dislike politicians and never believe
anything they say.
1 C 2 B 3 A evidence. Here are three common ways. 3 A I didn’t take it. I wasn’t even there.
A The ignorance argument: Not being able to disprove
something doesn’t mean it’s true. Something is only true if B You must have taken it if you were there
7 Read through the example flawed there is evidence for it. on your own.
argument for statement 1 in the B Judging by emotions: Just because someone has strong 7 SPEAKING
SPEAKING Work in pairs. For each of the
emotions doesn’t always mean that what they say is true.
speech bubble and elicit which Think carefully before you are persuaded by their argument. statements below, create three different flawed
arguments (A, B and C) to support it.
type of argument, A–C, it is (C). C Quoting an authority: Sometimes an expert or their work 1 Spiders make good pets.
is quoted and this is used as evidence that something is true.
Elicit flawed arguments A and B But these people can make mistakes, too. They’re not always 2 Tall people are healthier.
for statement 1 from the class right. Or their work could be taken out of context. Be careful – 3 Money always brings unhappiness.
‘experts’ are often used in advertising to try to sell things to you!
before students do the rest in The man in the pet shop says I should
pairs. Ask: Which types of flawed buy a tarantula from him because
they are really easy to look after.
argument are most convincing?
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Homework
Ask students to research one of the Activity idea Extension
planets in the solar system. They can Write on the board: The world spends billions of dollars on space programmes
find a picture and write a description every year. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Ask students to discuss
in English. If students do not have in pairs and make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of space exploration.
access to the internet, they can create
their own ideas and invent a planet.
Activity idea Mixed-ability
In Exercise 7, put students into pairs roughly according to level. Ask weaker
students to focus on one statement and think of three flawed arguments to support
it. Stronger students can create three flawed arguments for all three statements.
Critical ing
Evaluating ideas and arguments Activity idea Extension
Evaluating specific information or points in an
argument. Make small groups. Ask students to more
Critical ing take turns to expand on one of the
Evaluating ideas and arguments flawed arguments they came up with Worksheets
Evaluating arguments as a whole.
in Exercise 7 and try to convince their Project Tomorrow’s world
Critical ing groups that their argument is correct. Communication Space and beyond
Understanding and analysing ideas and
arguments Get ing Why are people so fascinated
Identifying and classifying information. by space?

Unit 11 | Shoot for the stars T103