Lexis: astronomy, dimensions, size and weight

🔊 The teacher reads for you

The Hubble Space Telescope is 13 m long and 4 m in diameter; it weighs more than 11 tons and was put in orbit at an altitude of 610 km. The Moon is on average 384,402 km from the Earth. Astronomy is made of words — comets, orbits, galaxies — and of numbers that need words too. How do you ask and answer questions about the size, the distance and the weight of things in space?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

استعمال مفردات الفلك والمجموعة الشمسيّة ⁦(orbit · comet · asteroid · galaxy)⁩
طرح أسئلة عن الأبعاد والحجم والوزن والمسافة بـ ⁦How + adjective⁩ ⁦(How long · How far · How heavy)⁩ والإجابة عنها
استعمال صفات القياس وأسمائها في الجملة ⁦(13 m long · a length of 13 m)⁩، ووحدات القياس المناسبة
قراءة الأعداد الكبيرة والعشريّة، ووصف جسم فلكيّ في عرض قصير

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

أسماء القياس المشتقّة من الصفات ⁦(length · width · depth · height · weight)⁩
صيغة السؤال في المضارع البسيط ⁦(How much does it weigh?)⁩
الأعداد الكبيرة ⁦(thousand · million · billion)⁩

1. The words of astronomy

مفردات الفلك : الأجرام السماويّة، ومداراتها، وما يُرى منها في السماء.

The solar system and beyond

the solar systemthe Suna stara planeta satellitea moonan asteroida cometa meteorheavenly bodiesa galaxythe Milky Wayan orbitto orbitto revolve aroundgravityouter spacea telescopean astronomeran earth station

The Solar System — extracts

If you were out in space, billions of miles away from our planet, you would see the Earth as a tiny ball moving in a wide path around a star that you might recognize as our Sun. (§1) […] Cutting this way and that, across the paths of the planets, you would see comets — starry-headed objects, sometimes with long tails streaming after them as they draw near the Sun. You might also catch a glimpse of swarms of even smaller particles — the meteors — swirling through space. (§2) […] like the rest, the Sun is an incandescent body made up of highly compressed gases. (§4) When the skies are clear, we can see the twinkling of these other stars at night. (§5) Unlike stars, which shine with their own light, the planets give off no light of their own. All we can see is the light from the Sun that they reflect back to us as if they were huge mirrors in the sky. In addition, each one of the eight planets travels in its own special path or orbit around the Sun held in place by the powerful force of the Sun's gravity, very much as if it were a ball speeding around the Sun. (§6) From the Book of Popular Science and Alan E. Nourse, The Giant Planets

Task 1 — Find in the text the words and phrases that match the definitions below.

A. very small (§1) B. identify again something that one has seen before (§1) C. moving continuously and smoothly in one direction (§2) D. have a quick, imperfect view of something (§2) E. giving out light when heated (§4) F. shining with a light that gleams unsteadily (§5) G. send, emit (§6) H. very big (§6) I. moving very quickly (§6)

Task 1 — the words of the text

الكلمات المطابقة للتعريفات.

Definition	Word or phrase
A. very small	tiny
B. identify again	recognize
C. moving continuously in one direction	streaming
D. have a quick, imperfect view of	catch a glimpse of
E. giving out light when heated	incandescent
F. shining with a light that gleams unsteadily	twinkling
G. send, emit	give off
H. very big	huge
I. moving very quickly	speeding

2. Dimensions, size and weight

للسؤال عن الأبعاد والوزن والمسافة نستعمل ⁦How⁩ + صفة، وفي الجواب تأتي الصفة بعد العدد ⁦(13 m long)⁩.

To ask about dimensions, size, distance or weight, we use how + an adjective: « How long is it? » · « How far is it from the Earth? » · « How much does it weigh? » To ask about a shape, we use what: « What is its shape? » — « It is cylindrical. » In the answer, the adjective comes after the measure: « It is 13 m long and 4 m in diameter. » Or we use the noun, with of: « It has a length of 13 m. » · « Sputnik II had a weight of 500 kg. »

Asking and answering about measurements

To ask about …	Question	Answer
length	How long is it?	It is 13 m long. · Its length is 13 m.
width, diameter	How wide is it? · What is its diameter?	It is 4 m in diameter.
height	How high is it? · How tall is he?	It is 3 m high. · Its height is 3 m.
weight	How heavy is it? · How much does it weigh?	It weighs more than 11 tons.
distance	How far is it from the Earth?	The Moon is 384,402 km from the Earth.
speed	How fast does it travel?	Light travels at 300,000 km per second.
time	How long does it take to …?	Venus takes 0.615 Earth years to go round the Sun.

In big numbers, a comma separates the thousands (384,402); a point marks the decimals (0.615).

The Hubble Space Telescope — from a radio programme

Apart from sending TV pictures, what are satellites used for? Well, satellites are used for sending computer data and helping ships find their way. They are also used to survey the earth, to make weather forecasts. Satellites can carry telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope, which was put in orbit at an altitude of 610 km. This telescope is roughly cylindrical in shape. It is 13 m long and 4 m in diameter. It is very heavy. It weighs more than 11 tons. By having a large telescope above Earth's atmosphere, astronomers are able to look at the universe with more clarity than ever before. From Modern English International, p. 32

Task 2 — A. How far is the Hubble Telescope from the Earth? · B. What is its shape? · C. How long is it? · D. How much does it weigh?

أجب عن الأسئلة الأربعة بمعلومات النصّ.

A. It was put in orbit at an altitude of 610 km.
B. It is roughly cylindrical in shape.
C. It is 13 m long — and 4 m in diameter.
D. It weighs more than 11 tons.

Task 3 — Ask questions to get the information in bold. Start your questions with How or What.

A. Sputnik I weighed 84 kg whereas Sputnik II had a weight of 500 kg. B. The average distance to the Moon from the Earth is 384,402 km. C. Our planet takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds to make one rotation round its axis. D. Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km per second.

Task 3 — the questions

الأسئلة : ⁦How⁩ + صفة، أو ⁦What⁩ + اسم القياس.

A. How much did Sputnik I weigh? · What was the weight of Sputnik II?
B. How far is the Moon from the Earth? · What is the average distance to the Moon from the Earth?
C. How long does our planet take to make one rotation round its axis?
D. How fast does light travel? · What is the speed of light?

Two ways each time: how + the adjective (How far …?), or what + the noun (What is the distance …?).

3. Units and scales

لكلّ قياس وحداته : الحرارة، والمسافة، والمساحة، والحجم، وقامة الإنسان.

Task 4 — Match the words on the left with their associated words on the right.

1. Temperature 2. Distance 3. Area 4. Volume 5. Measurements, size (humans) A. miles · kilometres · nautical miles B. hot · heat · high · low · cold · warm · the Celsius scale · the Fahrenheit scale C. square foot · square metre · square kilometre · acre D. feet · inches · metres · centimetres · tall · short E. litres · centilitres · millilitres · cubic metres

Task 4 — the answers

الإجابات، مع جمل توضيحيّة.

1 — B. The temperature at the centre of the Sun may be as high as 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
2 — A. The Moon is on average 384,402 kilometres from the Earth.
3 — C. A classroom may cover about fifty square metres.
4 — E. A bottle of water contains one and a half litres.
5 — D. My brother is tall: he is one metre eighty.

Do this alone, in writing. Prepare a short class presentation about the Moon, using the notes in this fact file: Earth satellite · diameter: 3,476 km · mass: 0.012 (approximately one-eightieth) that of the Earth · surface gravity: only 0.16 (one-sixth) that of the Earth · average distance from the Earth: 384,402 km · orbit: west-to-east direction, every 27.32 days · no atmosphere · temperatures: +110°C on the sunlit side, −170°C during lunar nights · composition: rocky · age: about 4.6 billion years Before you read it to the class, check: are the structures for measurement, size, distance and age varied — « It has a diameter of … », « Its diameter is … »? Are the link words right — As to …, In connection with …, As far as … is concerned, Concerning …?

حضّر وحدك عرضا قصيرا عن القمر بمعطيات البطاقة، ونوّع فيه صيغ القياس وأدوات الربط.

A model presentation

عرض نموذجيّ : أدوات الربط بالخطّ الغليظ.

Good morning, everybody. Today I would like to present the Moon, the Earth's satellite. As far as its size is concerned, the Moon has a diameter of 3,476 km. Its mass is only 0.012 that of the Earth — approximately one-eightieth — and its surface gravity is only one-sixth that of our planet. Concerning its distance, the Moon is on average 384,402 km from the Earth. It orbits in a west-to-east direction every 27.32 days. As to its surface, the Moon has no atmosphere. It is rocky, and its temperatures are extreme: +110°C on the sunlit side, −170°C during lunar nights. In connection with its age, the Moon is about 4.6 billion years old. Thank you for listening.

In the exam, the vocabulary of the text is tested in the text exploration — words that match definitions, synonyms, opposites — and figures must be read and written correctly. Have three things ready: ① how + adjective for measurements — How long, How far, How heavy, How fast; ② the adjective after the measure (13 m long), or the noun with of (a length of 13 m); ③ big numbers — a comma for thousands (384,402), a point for decimals (4.6). The frequent mistake: ✗ « How much is it long? » → ✓ « How long is it? »

What I keep — The words of astronomy: the solar system, planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, meteors, orbits, gravity, galaxies. To ask about measurements, I use how + an adjective — how long, how wide, how high, how far, how fast, how much does it weigh — or what + a noun — what is its diameter? In the answer, the adjective follows the measure (13 m long, 4 m in diameter), or the noun takes of (a length of 13 m).

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