Unit 4 Extraterrestrials

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Unit 4 Extraterrestrials
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Extraterrestrials

• from outside the earth
• What is the image of an extraterrestrial in your
  imagination?
• Antenna
• Hair
• Face
• Body

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Brief Introduction of the Author

• Isaac Asomov (19201992) Russian-born
  American writer and scientists. He was a
  distinguished bio-chemist, but is more widely
  known as the author of many works of science
  fiction, books on science for non-scientists, and
  essays on a wide variety of subjects. Among his
  best-known science fiction are I, Robot and the
  Foundation trilogy. Building on Karel Capeks
  concept of the robot, in 1941 Asimov coined the
  term robotics.

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Cultural Notes

• Venus
• Venus is the second planet from the Sun .Also
  known as Hesperus, the evening star, or
  Phosphorus, the morning star. It is often called
  Earth's twin because it is almost the same size
  as Earth.  It is surrounded by thick clouds of
  hot poisonous gases.  It can be the brightest
  object in the sky after the Sun and Moon.
• It is hotter on Venus than it is on Mercury
  even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. 

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• The Solar System
• Our solar system has nine planets within it.
  These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

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The Solar System
God of sending messages
Goddess of beauty and love
S U N
God of war
God of agriculture
God of Universe
King of Heaven (biggest)
God of Ocean
God of Underworld
Earth
Saturn
Jupiter
Neptune
Mercury
Uranus
Venus
Pluto
Mars
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• Extraterrestrial Life life forms that may have
  evolved on other planets. There is no hard
  evidence at present that life exists other than
  on the Earth. Most UFOs have been satisfactorily
  explained as being natural or man-made, and the
  Viking missions to Mars ere inconclusive in
  testing for the existence of life on that planet.
  Nevertheless, searches have been and are being
  made for signs that life has arisen in other
  parts of the universe.
• Certain knowledge either that life is confined to
  planet Earth or has been found elsewhere would
  have the profoundest philosophical implications
  for mankind.

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• Space Exploration
• Introduction
• Soviet/Russian Space Program
• US Space Program
• Chinas First Man in Space

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• Introduction
• Space exploration was made possible by advances
  in rocket technology. It began during the cold
  war when the Soviet Union launched the first
  space satellite.

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• Soviet/Russian Space Program
• The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I in Oct. 1957.
  And the space race began. Soviet cosmonauts
  chopped up a list of firsts Yuri Gagarin, pilot
  of Vostok 1, the first human in space Valentina
  Tereshkova, the first woman in space. Through the
  1970s and 80 the goal of a manned space station
  was achieved with the Soyuz space missions. 1995
  is a historical moment as the US space shuttle
  Atlantic docked with the Russian Mir or Peace
  space station, the first of nine planned
  US-Russian linkups. It was a reminder of how the
  space race and the world have changed in 40
  years.

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• US Space Program
• Following the Soviet Sputnik I, in 1958 US sent
  into space the first artificial satellite
  Explorer I. Four years later, John Glenn became
  the first American in orbit. In 1961
• President Kennedy proposed the Apollo programme
  to achieve a manned lunar landing by 1970, and in
  1969 it came true.

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• Astronauts Neil Armsrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael
  Collins knew that their Apollo mission was one
  with a difference. Their destination was the
  moon. As millions watched, the mighty Saturn V
  Apollo 11 lifted off. On course fro the moon, the
  lunar excursion modular (???) Eagle was released.
  The world watched as the Eagle approached the
  surface of the moon. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz
  Aldrin performed those first memorable moments of
  lunar dancing, the significance of their journey
  was clear. Thats one small step for man, one
  giant leap for mankind.

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• In 1981 the USA launched a space shuttle, the
  first reusable space craft, but its commercial
  and scientific programme was interrupted for two
  years by the explosion of Challenger in 1986.
  (After an apparently perfect lift-off, the tenth
  flight of the space shuttle ends in tragedy.)

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• China's first man in space
• Chinas Long March CZ-2 F rocket, carrying the
  manned spacecraft Shenzhou V, blasts off from the
  Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the
  northwestern province of Gansu on Oct. 15, 2003.
  China became the third country after the former
  Soviet Union and the United States to put a man
  into orbit.
• Chinas first astronaut Yang Liwei, a lieutenant
  colonel of the Peoples Liberation Army, waves as
  Chinas first man in space who orbited Earth 14
  times in 21 hours aboard the Shenzhou V
  spacecraft before landing at the Gobi Desert
  landing site.

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• The Political System in the United States
• Could you please give a brief introduction about
  the 3 branches of the U.S federal government?

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• US Federal Government
• The US federal government is divided into three
  separate, but equally powerful branches the
  legislative (which writes the laws) the
  executive (which carries out the laws) and the
  judicial (which reviews the way laws are
  applied). The separation of powers also allows
  for a system of checks and balances within the
  government. Each branch is given certain control
  over the other two, which balances the power and
  keeps the potential for abuse of power in check.

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US Federal Government
executive
can force the President to follow the laws with
no appeal
enforce the law
1.
6.
can suggest and veto legislation
2.
5.
1. can override (??, ???) a veto 2. can impeach
(??) president
appoint the justices
3.
legislative
judicial
can rule laws unconstitutional (?????)
pass a new law
Interpret the law
make the law
4.
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The President is the chief executive, or chief
administrator, of the United States. His job is
to manage all of the people who work in the
executive branch and to make sure the laws
ofthe nation are enforced. He is also the
foremost representative of the nation and head of
the diplomatic corps (????).

• In addition, he has certain legislative and
  judicial powers. For example, he may suggest
  legislation to Congress that he feels will
  improve the state of the union and may also
  veto (reject) legislation that he feels should
  not become law. He nominates (??,??) Supreme
  Court justices (judges) and is also the commander
  in chief (???) of the United States Armed Forces.
  

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• The Constitution specifies that there shall be
  two separate legislative bodies -- the House of
  Representatives and the Senate. Together they are
  called the Congress. The two bodies of Congress
  work together to make the laws and regulations
  for the country. Before a new law can be made,
  both houses have to pass it, and it must then
  have the approval of the President. In a system
  of government based on a series of checks and
  balances, the two houses of Congress act as a
  check on each other, as well as together forming
  a check on the powers of the executive branch,
  especially the President.

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• The judicial branch of US federal government
  operates the system of law courts. The Supreme
  Court in Washington, D.C. is the highest court in
  the US, and is very powerful. It is made up of
  nine judges who are called justices. There are
  one chief justice and eight associate justices.
  Traditionally, they are called the nine old men,
  although there has been one woman
  justice. The Supreme Court Judges are
  appointed by the President with Senates
  approval. They may serve for life or until they
  wish to retire.

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Comprehension Questions

• 1.Why is Bart Cameron not approachable by April
  14?
• 2. How did the flying saucer land in Earth?
• 3. What did the two men from space look like?
• 4. How did the author feel at the sight of the
  extraterrestrials?
• 5. How did Bart respond to the arrival of the two
  strangers?
• 6. According to the two visitors, why did they
  choose Twin Gulch as their first contact?
• 7. What was the main purpose of the
  extraterrestrials trip?

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• 8. What was Barts response to the guests
  request?
• 9.  What did Bart threaten to do to the two
  aliens?
• 10. How did the two men from Venus interpret the
  sheriffs threat? Then what did they decide to
  do?
• 11. How did the author feel about the guests
  departure?
• 12. What was the stupid error made by Bart?

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• Keys
• 1. He is by nature a very impatient man, and
  before he finished working up his income tax,
  that is April 14, he will be more impatient and
  thus unapproachable.
• 2. It looks like a shooting star first, but then
  the track of light broadened into two things that
  looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came
  down without a sound.
• 3. They look exact like a earthling, re. para12.
• 4. The author was scared.

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• 5. He was rather reluctant to receive them and he
  appeared very impatient. re.para14
• 6. Because it is isolated and peaceful.
• 7. Let the earthlings join their organization.
• 8. At first, he thought it was funny and he was
  sardonic, later he became furious.
• 9. He claimed that he would put them in jail for
  ever.

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• 10.They thought they were very unpopular and
  should leave at once, and they intended to put a
  warning around Earth thus prevent others coming.
• 11.The author must feel very astonished and was
  extremely angry about the way the sheriff
  handling with the aliens.
• 12. He mistakenly took the aliens from Venus as
  people from Venice.

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• Text Structure

The text is arranged by time order
The narrator claims that no ET will ever land on
earth (paras13)
Before the ETs arrival(paras45)
The landing of the flying saucer.(paras611)
An account of the encounter with ETs, making it
clear that they will never return.
The meeting with the ET(paras1234)
After the ETs departure(paras3548)
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• Further Thinking

Look at the following sentences and browse the
text to find how the sheriff expressed these
ideas.
Say what you want to say quickly and briefly.
Spit it out.
I have only one close relative, my wife.
My people? All I gots a wife.
Are you foreigners?
You guys foreigners?
I want you to leave right now.
Get the hell out of here.
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• Compare the speech style of the sheriff with that
  of the two Venusians. Which is formal, which is
  informal? Whats the characteristics of formal
  and informal speech?

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• Why did the sheriff speak in an informal style?
• Did the sheriff ever speak formally? If the
  answer is yes, when and why?
• Why did the Venusians speak in a formal style?
• In this text, we will see how some E.T.s tried
  to establish relationship with the people on
  Earth, but found their friendly initiative
  rejected due to misunderstandings. What caused
  the sheriffs misunderstanding?

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• Genre
• Language is full of holes, which people try to
  fill up with their own perceptions and
  assumptions. This saying is well illustrated by
  Sheriff Cameron. Because he took the Venusians
  for Italians simply by their appearance,
  everything they said sounded Italian to him. He
  mistook Venus for Venice, a city with many
  canals.

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• When we learn another language, we must not learn
  only the forms of the language without paying due
  attention to the culture underlying it. Otherwise
  there will arise cultural misunderstanding, which
  may lead to conflict.

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• Speech Style
• Sheriff Cameron usually spoke in a casual manner.
  Perhaps his town was so small that he knew all
  the townsfolk, therefore informal speech was
  proper. His sentences were short, colloquial, and
  sometimes incomplete. He preferred phrases to
  single, learned words. He liked shortened forms
  and abbreviations, with an occasional curse.

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• The Venusians spoke formally. Their sentences
  were long and involved, their word choice
  careful. They used passive voices and if
  structures. Perhaps it was because they believed
  in the utter importance of their mission, or
  maybe it was because they had not learned to
  speak informally like a native speaker.

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• UFO's and Extraterrestrial Aliens Why Earth Has
  Never Been Visited
• by Rich Deem

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• Have alien intelligences from other parts of the
  universe visited the earth? This page is an
  attempt to rationally look at the issue of UFO's
  and extraterrestrials. Within the last few years,
  scientists have gained considerable knowledge
  about the universe so that the question of
  extraterrestrial visitations can be addressed
  from a scientific, rational perspective.
• Aliens visiting from elsewhere in the universe?

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• Have we been visited extra-terrestrial beings
  from elsewhere in the universe? First, I would
  like to eliminate the idea that we have been
  visited by beings located out-side our own
  galaxy. Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to the
  Milky Way is 2 million light years distant This
  means that if there were aliens in Andromeda it
  would take them longer than 2 million years to
  come to earth. Another problem is why they would
  want to visit our galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy is
  considerably larger than our galaxy.

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• If life were common in the universe, there should
  be many times more of it in Andromeda, then in
  our wimpy galaxy. Why would they even want to
  visit us? A third problem for potential aliens is
  detecting us We have been sending radio-waves
  for less than 100 years. It will be another 2
  million years before those signals reach our
  closest neighboring galaxy. The light (and other
  electro-magnetic signals) that they now see
  represent the way the earth looked 2 million
  years ago .

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• It will be another 2 million years before those
  signals reach our closest neighboring galaxy. The
  light (and other electro-magnetic signals) that
  they now see represent the way the earth looked 2
  million years ago .Beings in other galaxies would
  have no way of knowing that advanced life forms
  existed in our galaxy.

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• SETI - aliens in our own galaxy?
• Scientists have been actively searching for
  extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy for
  the last forty years. The search for
  extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has extended
  out to 40,000 light years from earth (in
  comparison, the galaxy is 100,000 light years
  across). To date, no signal from any
  extra-terrestrial stellar system has ever been
  detected. A most optimistic estimate for the
  number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy
  is 150.

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• This would mean that each intelligent
  civilization would be separated by an average of
  2,000 light years. Such vast distances make
  contact unlikely and finding other advanced
  civilizations improbable. If these civilizations
  exist, they will not detect our radio signals for
  another 1900 years. How will they even know we
  are here?

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• According to Frank Drake, "To send a spacecraft
  the size of a small airliner at one-tenth the
  speed of light requires as much energy as the US
  now produces in more than a hundred years." This
  does not sound practical to me! Assuming that
  fuel and propulsion problems could be eventually
  solved, there are other, more serious, problems
  to contend with. Traveling near the speed of
  light is no simple problem.

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• Running into small particles (like the size of a
  grain of sand) would punch major holes in a
  space-craft, due to the high speed of impact
  According to Frank Drake, "At relativistic
  speeds, even a collision with a particle of a few
  grams results in something close in energy to a
  nuclear bomb blast. Not good news for the space
  travelers." A major biological problem seldom
  mentioned in the press is the blue shifting of
  the light from ordinary stars when traveling near
  the speed of light.

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• The Doppler effect of traveling at such speeds
  would blue shift ordinary visible light all the
  way to the wavelength of gamma and x-rays.
  Shielding gamma rays is next to impossible (they
  can even travel through the earth). When they do
  strike matter (like space traveler's bodies), the
  results are devastating. This problem alone might
  restrict the speed of space travel to a small
  fraction of the speed of light. Other significant
  problems would be involved in trying to keep
  biological organisms alive for many years of
  space travel.

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• The idea of making a self-contained bio-habitat
  is appealing, but impractical, due to the large
  amount of space required. A recent attempt to do
  this on earth was a miserable failure, since the
  designers failed to provide enough space to
  support all members of the small crew A second
  possible solution to the food problem would be to
  put the travelers into suspended animation.
  Currently, we have no idea how to do this, and it
  does not seem possible to do so.

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• The lack of gravity would likely be fatal within
  a couple years (determined from the effects of
  prolonged weightlessness among the astronauts of
  the Space Station). Generating gravity would be
  possible through spinning, but might severely
  restrict the design of propulsion systems. In
  addition, it would be impossible to carry enough
  food and water for such a trip. Two solutions are
  possible - though not within the technology that
  we currently possess. One solution is to recycle
  all carbon and water. (does not sound appetizing,
  does it?)

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Think of as many words and phrases as possible
about Extraterrestrials (E.T.)
flying saucer
universe
UFO
flying disc
advanced
alien
E.T.
outer space
weird
Martian
abduction
galaxy
invasion
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• Possible New Words Expressions
• 1.   alien foreign, unfamiliar, strange.
• 2.   visitation(formal)official visit.
• 3.   galaxy any of the large systems of stars of
  outer space.??
• 4. devastating very destructive.
• 5.   Andromeda Andromeda is the nearest major
  galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy ???
• 6. wimpy like a weak and timid person.

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• 7.  interstellar between the stars
• 8.  matter physical substance in general
  (contrasted with mind or spirit)
• 9.   particle very small bit or piece of
  something.??,??
• 10.   harness control and use.
• 11.  propulsion driving something forward or
  being driven forward.
• 12. punch make a hole in something
• 13. next to almost

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Language Points

• 1.  on account of (fml) because of
• The house is not suitable for an old person on
  account of all those stairs.
• He failed to show up when the time is due on
  account of his illness.
• 2. deputy someone whose job is to help a sheriff
  in the U.S the second most important person in
  a particular organization.
• After serious years hard work he was promoted to
  deputy manager.

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• 3. work up spend time and effort preparing
  produce or develop gradually.
• Lets go for a walk to work up an appetite
• Our plan is to further work up custom for our
  product.
• 4.   pension an amount of money paid regularly
  to someone who can no longer earn money by
  working.
• He has been receiving pension for six months.

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• 5.   disable make a person unable to use his/her
  body properly.
• The disabled in the army deserve our genuine
  respect.
• Nowadays there is a bias against the disabled
  persons.
• 6.   veteran person with much or long
  experience, especially as a soldier.
• In 1976,many veterans gathered in America,
  many of whom caught a kind of disease named
  Legionaires disease.

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• 7.  complicated difficult to understand or deal
  with.
• The problem is too complicated to understand for
  a nine-year-old.
• The new computer is even complicated for an
  expert to handle.
• 8.  knock off (informal) stop working, usu, at
  the end of a day.
• When do you knock off for supper?
• Ill knock off early today cause I have to pick
  up my son from school.

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• 9. hit the sack (informal) go to bed.
• Guys ,time to hit the sack ,lights out!
• He was worn out today so he hit the sack right
  after supper.
• 10.curse real steady curse, swear, here real
  steady means constantly
• The tourists who were delayed by the annoying
  weather cursed it silently.

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• 11. go over examines the details of check
  study carefully.
• I hastily went over my lessons the last night and
  sat for the exam.
• Let go over the whole process of the accident in
  detail.
• 12. column a series of numbers arranged one
  after the other a tall pillar.
• Fill in the blanks in the left column and then
  line them with appropriate ones in the right
  column.
• The roof of the temple was held up by a row of
  stone columns.

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• 13. rocket a tube-like device containing
  material that burns rapidly and propels the tube
  through the air.
• American Robert H. Goddard was one of the forest
  scientists to experiment with rocket propulsion
  systems
• 14. bug cause eyes to stick out annoy
  somebody.
• The eyes of the monster can bug out when it get
  surprised.
• Dont bug me with silly questions.

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• 15. alike similar, in the same manner.
• People, natives and foreigners alike, hope to
  have a safe and secure living condition.
• The twins look extremely alike.
• 16. observation the act of watching attentively.
• The injured was put under close observation
  despite his constant protest.
• Observation is very important for a chemical
  student.

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• 17.locality a particular place ,the position of
  something.
• This is the very locality of the accident.
• 18. isolate set apart cut off from others.
• When I am angry, I find it best to isolate myself
  from others for a while.
• The persons who was suspected to have got the
  disease was isolated from others for the sake of
  prevention.

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• 19.  adopt take over and use as ones own take
  into ones family and make legal son or daughter.
• The old maid adopted a home-less boy as her son.
• Some immigrants discarded their old customs and
  adopted American ways.
• 20.  mode a manner, way or method of doing.
• Railways are still the most important mode of
  transport in many less advanced countries.
• You will have to change your mode of life when
  you immigrate to another country.

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• 21.appearancethe way that somebody or something
  looks an act of coming into sight.
• The manager gave every appearance of being a very
  dedicated employee.
• Women magazines are full of ideas on how to make
  the best of ones appearance.

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• 22.  You could see the light break in on Cameron
  You could notice Cameron was beginning to
  understood what they said.
• 23. go for be attracted by like or prefer
• Many young people go for pip music.
• What sort of novels do you go for?
• 24. blink shut and open the eyes quickly flash
  on and off.
• Staring for hours at a computer screen dries out
  the eyes as people blink less.

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• 25. regardless of without worrying about or
  taking account of
• Each state has two senators, regardless of
  population.
• Regardless of the danger ha might face, he rushed
  into the burning building to save the people
  there.
• 26. nationality the state of belonging to a
  particular nation people who belong to a nation.
• Many different nationalities went to the U.S.
• Her father in an American. Her father is an
  Italian. What nationality is she?

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• 25. regardless of without worrying about or
  taking account of
• Each state has two senators, regardless of
  population.
• Regardless of the danger ha might face, he rushed
  into the burning building to save the people
  there.
• 26. nationality the state of belonging to a
  particular nation people who belong to a nation.
• Many different nationalities went to the U.S.
• Her father in an American. Her father is an
  Italian. What nationality is she?

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• 27. at ones service willing to help somebody.
• If you need any help, let me know, I am always
  at your service.
• Would you fetch my glasses from the kitchen?
  At your service, Madam.
• 28. arrangement plan preparation (usu. pl,
  followed by about/for)
• The personnel department only called me ,but made
  no arrangements to see me .
• The president does not want any special
  arrangements for her visit.

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• 29.but I couldnt as much as fall down if
  someone had pushed the chair out from under me
  but I was so scared that I could not do anything
  ,could not even fall down if someone took my
  chair away. All I could do was sit and stare.30.
• 30. supreme greatest in power, rank or degree.
• The Supreme Court has the final say in this case.
• The king in China enjoyed supreme authority.

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• 31. go to pieces get so astonished or upset that
  he lose control of himself.
• When she heard her boyfriend was shot ,she really
  went to pieces.
• 32. come around visit someone at their house.
• Why did not you come around when you were in
  Beijing on business?
• 33. leavealone allow one to be by oneself
  allow sb. or sth, to remain untouched or
  unchanged.
• Its useless to talk to her since she is so
  upset just leave her alone.
• I told you to leave that vase alone---now youve
  broken it .

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• 34.   garbage nonsense rubbish.
• He was talking a lot of garbage about education.
• Family members hauled bags of trash out to the
  garbage can, and ,once or twice a week,
  collection crews would dump them into garbage
  truck
• 35.  heave raise or lift with great effort
• The teacher heaved Mary to her feet and took her
  to the office.
• They have to heave the piano onto the stage.

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• 36. wit (also wits) quick understanding,
  intelligence
• He lacked the wit to respond in time.
• Peter had not the wits to realize the danger.
• 37. make like (informal) act as if one were
  pretend to be (used in the patterns make like
  sb./ sth make like clause)
• The old man made like a monkey to amuse the
  children.
• Bob made like he wad a fish blowing bubbles.

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• 38. knock down cause someone to fall to the
  ground by pushing or hitting them.
• The old man died in hospital after being knocked
  down by a car.
• The driver was in serious trouble for knocking
  down a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing.
• 39.  catch sight of see for a moment.
• I happened to catch sight of John as he was going
  past our office.

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• 40.   fade out disappear gradually.
• examples My daughters interest in drawing
  has now almost completely faded out.
• As it was getting colder and colder, their
  enthusiasm for doing sports in the morning faded
  out.

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• Useful Expressions

1. on account of
??
2. a general store
???
3. a sheep ranch
???
4. insist on doing sth
??,??
5. a flying saucer
??
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6. be backed up against
???
??
7. knock off
8. hit the sack
????
9. a shooting star
??
10. bug ones eyes
????
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11. a dark complexion
????
??
12. have under observation
13. spit out
????
??
14. go for
15. regardless of
??
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