Listen and consider : Make suppositions and set hypotheses

🔊 المعلّمة تقرأ لك

Are we alone in the universe? Nobody can prove it either way — so a radio astronomer who spends his days listening to space can only suppose: « I suppose there could be. … So why not believe that there might be another race of intelligent beings out there? » How do you talk about something that nobody can prove — and how do you answer someone who does?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

فهم مقابلة إذاعيّة مع عالم فلك يبحث عن ذكاء خارج الأرض، واستخراج معلومات دقيقة منها
استنتاج ما لم يُقل صراحة انطلاقا من القرائن ⁦(making inferences)⁩
التعرّف على عبارات الافتراض في المسموع ⁦(I suppose · Supposing … · Should a signal come …)⁩، والردّ بالموافقة أو المخالفة ⁦(I think so · I don't think so · I hope not)⁩
إجراء حوار افتراضيّ شفهيّ عن غزو المرّيخيّين أو الاستقرار على كوكب آخر

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الشرط من النوع الثاني ⁦(if + past simple, would + verb)⁩
الأفعال الناقصة للاحتمال ⁦may · might · could⁩
أفعال الحالة ⁦think · believe · hope · suppose⁩

Before you listen

قبل الاستماع : أجب عن الأسئلة، ثمّ اضغط زرّ الاستماع أعلى الصفحة. لا تفتح النصّ إلّا بعد أن تجيب.

1. ET is the title of a film by Steven Spielberg (1982), and it is an abbreviation. What do you think it stands for? Do you believe in ETs? 2. Suppose you saw a UFO (an unidentified flying object) landing in front of you. How would you react? 3. Do you think that if Martians existed, they would be intelligent? Justify your answer. 4. Among all the science-fiction films you have seen, which one has left the deepest impression on you? Why? 5. What do you think is the difference between science and science fiction? ⭐ On this page the recording is read aloud by the listening button, at the top. Listen once without opening anything — exactly as you would in class.

The recording

نصّ المسموع. ⛔ لا تفتحه قبل أن تستمع وتجيب.

A radio programme — Mr Graham Henshaw, a radio astronomer at the SETI laboratory, answers questions about extra-terrestrial intelligence Radio host: The questions that we will try to answer in our programme this afternoon are: are we, human beings, alone in the universe? Or are there any other intelligent beings in it? And if so, how do we get in touch with them? Our guest today is Mr Graham Henshaw, who is a radio astronomer working at the SETI laboratory. First of all, Mr Henshaw, would you like to tell our listeners what the SETI is? Mr Henshaw: Certainly. The letters S-E-T-I stand for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. What we do in our laboratory is try to detect and keep track of any signal or message that might come from outer space. Radio host: Thank you. Now Mr Henshaw, could there really be a race of intelligent beings somewhere out there in the vastness of space … beyond the solar system, perhaps even beyond the Milky Way? Mr Henshaw: I suppose there could be. You know, for many centuries we were ignorant of what we call the New World today. So why not believe that there might be another race of intelligent beings out there? Radio host: I see. And could other species of beings be asking the same questions that we are asking in this programme? I mean, could they also wonder whether they are alone or not? Perhaps they suspect we exist. So could they be trying to contact us? Mr Henshaw: We hope so. Actually, we at the SETI are listening for that kind of message with ultra-sensitive receivers linked with radio telescopes. Radio host: Does the idea of an extra-terrestrial message make you think of space invaders, flying saucers and little green men? Mr Henshaw: Not at all. The SETI's scientists are determined to distance themselves from science fiction and fantasy. Ours is a serious and sophisticated project, in what we believe is a legitimate field of research. So should a signal come from some intelligent species, we would want to be ready to respond adequately. Radio host: Supposing extra-terrestrials came into contact with us, would that change anything for us here on Earth? Mr Henshaw: Oh, the implications would be tremendous. That would shed light on the origin, the nature and the future of the universe as a whole. Adapted from The Good News

First listening — reading between the lines

الاستماع الأوّل : لا يقول المتكلّم كلّ شيء صراحة؛ ابحث في كلامه عن القرائن التي تسمح لك باستنتاج الجمل.

When we speak, we can't always give explicit information. We let the listener deduce or infer the information that does not need to be stated. It's up to the listener to make inferences from the clues — words and phrases — scattered in the speech.

Task 1 — Study the inference statements below. Then, as you listen, note down the clues that help you to infer each of them.

a. Mr Henshaw and his colleagues believe in the probable existence of intelligent beings in outer space. b. The Milky Way is a galaxy which is situated farther than the sun. c. Before 1492, people in the Old World thought that there were no human beings beyond the Atlantic Ocean. d. The SETI researchers are cool-headed.

Task 1 — the clues

القرائن التي تسمح باستنتاج كلّ جملة.

Inference	Clues in the recording
a. They believe intelligent beings probably exist.	« I suppose there could be » · « why not believe that there might be another race of intelligent beings » · « We hope so » · « should a signal come …, we would want to be ready »
b. The Milky Way is farther than the sun.	« beyond the solar system, perhaps even beyond the Milky Way »
c. Before 1492, the Old World knew nothing of the lands beyond the Atlantic.	« for many centuries we were ignorant of what we call the New World today »
d. The SETI researchers are cool-headed.	« Not at all » · « determined to distance themselves from science fiction and fantasy » · « a serious and sophisticated project »

None of these four sentences is said in the recording — yet each one is there, in its clues. An inference is never a guess: you must be able to point to the words that support it.

Second listening — suppositions and hypotheses

الاستماع الثاني : ابحث عن العبارات التي يفترض بها المتكلّمان ما لا يستطيعان إثباته.

Task 2 — Find in the interview A. the sentence in which Mr Henshaw makes a supposition; B. the host's hypothesis that begins with Supposing; C. Mr Henshaw's hypothesis that begins with Should. D. What would happen, according to him, if extra-terrestrials came into contact with us?

استخرج عبارات الافتراض من المقابلة، وما سيحدث في رأي العالم لو اتّصلت بنا كائنات من خارج الأرض.

A. « I suppose there could be. » — and he goes on: « there might be another race of intelligent beings out there ».
B. « Supposing extra-terrestrials came into contact with us, would that change anything for us here on Earth? »
C. « So should a signal come from some intelligent species, we would want to be ready to respond adequately. » — should a signal come means if a signal came.
D. « The implications would be tremendous. That would shed light on the origin, the nature and the future of the universe as a whole. »

Nothing in this interview is proved, and the speakers never pretend it is: suppose, might, could, supposing, should … would — every sentence says how far it can go.

Task 3 — Respond to what Mr Henshaw says about the importance of man's eventual contact with extra-terrestrials. Do you agree or disagree with him? Why?

أبد رأيك في ما قاله العالم عن أهمّيّة اتّصال الإنسان بكائنات من خارج الأرض.

Agreeing: I think so too. If we received a message from another species, we would learn that life is not an accident of our planet — and that would change the way we see the universe. Disagreeing: I don't think so. Even if a signal came, it would take years to understand it, and it would not change our daily life here on Earth. Both answers are acceptable: what matters is the opinion and its reason.

Speaking — agree, disagree, suppose

التعبير الشفهيّ : الموافقة والمخالفة بأفعال الحالة مع ⁦so⁩ أو ⁦not⁩، ثمّ حوار افتراضيّ.

We often use stative verbs — think, believe, hope, guess, suppose — to express agreement or disagreement with what is said to us. When we agree, we use these verbs with so: « Will man be capable of settling on the moon some day? » « I think so. » In the interview: « Could they be trying to contact us? » « We hope so. » When we disagree, we use either the negative form of the verb followed by so — with think, believe, suppose: « I don't think so. » — or the affirmative form of the verb followed by not — with hope, guess, suppose: « I hope not. » Suppose can be used either way.

Agreeing and disagreeing with so and not

Verb	Agreeing	Disagreeing
think	I think so.	I don't think so.
believe	I believe so.	I don't believe so.
hope	I hope so.	I hope not.
guess	I guess so.	I guess not.
suppose	I suppose so.	I don't suppose so. · I suppose not.

Task 4 — Respond to each question or statement with one of these verbs and so or not. A. Are we really capable of settling permanently on another planet? · B. Have people really seen all those UFOs reported in newspapers? · C. Space exploration is just a waste of money. · D. Today we are capable of diverting comets from their orbits.

ردّ على كلّ سؤال أو رأي بفعل من أفعال الجدول مع ⁦so⁩ أو ⁦not⁩.

A. I hope so — or, if you doubt it: I don't think so.
B. I guess not. — or: I don't believe so.
C. I don't think so: space exploration helps us predict catastrophes and improve telecommunications.
D. I suppose not — or: I don't suppose so.

Any opinion is right; the form is not free. Hope and guess disagree with not, never with don't … so.

Your turn — speculate with a partner. Prepare a short dialogue about one of these situations: a Martian invasion · settling on another planet. Start like this: You: Suppose (Supposing, Imagine) …; what …? Your partner: Well, if … ⭐ Alone at home? Play both parts out loud and record yourself. Listen back once and check: after suppose and if, a verb in the past; in the answer, would.

حضّر مع زميلك حوارا افتراضيّا قصيرا، أو مثّل الدورين وحدك بصوت مرتفع وسجّل نفسك.

A model dialogue

حوار نموذجيّ.

You: Suppose Martians invaded the Earth; what would you do? Your partner: Well, if Martians invaded the Earth, I would first try to talk to them. Perhaps they would be intelligent. You: And supposing they didn't understand us? Your partner: Then we would need scientists like Mr Henshaw — they are ready to respond. You: Imagine we had to settle on another planet. Would you go? Your partner: I don't think so. I would miss the blue sky and the sea too much!

The written exam plays no recording: what this lesson brings to it is the language of supposition, in reading and in writing. A reading question may ask what a sentence suggests — find the clue before you answer. Have three things ready: ① the forms of supposition — Suppose …, Supposing …, Imagine …, If … + past, then would; ② the short answers with so and not — I think so, I don't think so, I hope not; ③ the vocabulary of the topic — outer space, extra-terrestrial, UFO, signal, radio telescope, the Milky Way. The frequent mistake: ✗ « I don't hope so » → ✓ « I hope not ».

What I keep — In the interview, a SETI radio astronomer listens to space for signals from intelligent beings: he cannot prove they exist, so he supposes — « I suppose there could be ». To talk about what nobody can prove, I use Suppose …, Supposing …, Imagine …, If … with would; to answer, I use think, believe, hope, guess, suppose with so or not. And when a speaker does not say everything, I infer from the clues he leaves.

الصفحة 1/3