Unit 4 Astronomy: the science of the stars

Unit 4

Astronomy: the science of the stars

Warming up

What are the names of the eight planets that circle our sun?

土星 Saturn

天王星Uranus

金星Venus

地球Earth

火星Mars

木星Jupiter

海王星Neptune

水星Mercury

The sun

Do you know any questions that astronomers are interested in?

●How did the universe begin?● How did life begin?● Is there life on other planets?● Are there other life forms in the

universe?● What happened to all the matter after

the “Big Bang”?● What are “black holes”?

1. The origin of life on earth is a question that interests astronomers. What do you know about it?

● How old is the universe? (several billion years ago)

● How old is the Earth? (between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago)

● Which were the first creatures or plants on Earth? (extremely small plants)…

Pre-reading

2. Each religion and culture has its own

ideas about how life began on earth.

What do you know?

In China, we all know that Pangu

separates the sky from the earth and

Nvwa made humans.

Pangu separates the sky from the earth.

中国神话传说中有盘古开天地的说法。巨人盘古用一把利斧劈开混沌 , 将天地分开。死后 , 他的气息化成风和云 , 声音变成轰轰的雷声 , 左眼化为太阳 , 右眼化为月亮 , 手足与四肢变成大地的四极与五方的名山 , 血液化成江河 , 筋脉铺成道路 , 肌肉形成田地 , 须发成为星星 , 牙齿和骨骼化为金属、珍珠、玉石 , 汗水成为滋润万物生长的甘霖和雨露。

Nvwa made humans.

Other legends about the beginning of

universe.

The Biblical Account

Day 1: God spoke and separated light from

darkness creating Day and Night.

Day 2: God spoke and separated the water

creating sky and ocean.

Day 3: God spoke and created dry land.

Day 4: God spoke and created the sun, moon and stars.

Day 5: God spoke and created living creatures in the air and sea.

Day 6: God spoke and created the land animals and man.

Day 7: God rested and blessed this day calling it Holy.

How life began on the earth

“Big Bang”

other bodies________ stars

Earth: a cloud of _____

atoms

dust

Summary

a solid _____

the earth’s _____________

other 4. _____

Water: ____________ to the development of life

water vapour nitrogen carbon

extremely small _______ on the surface of the water

globe

gases

atmosphere

fundamental

plants

early _________ and all sorts of fish

green plants on land

land animals insectsamphibians

___________

huge animals (dinosaurs) the rise of __________

human beings

shellfish

reptiles

mammals

Comprehending

1. Read the passage carefully and

analyse its structure. Write the

main idea for each paragraph.

Para. 1 The formation ( 形成 ) of the earth.Para. 2 The importance of water for life.Para. 3 A widely accepted theory about the formation of the universe.Para. 4 The arrival of humans and their impact on the earth. Para. 5 The development of plants and animals on the earth.

The order of development of lifeThe universe began with a “Big Bang”. The earth was a cloud of dust.

The earth became a solid ball.

Water appeared on the earth.

Small plants grew on the water.

Shellfish and other fish appeared.

Plants began to grow on dry land.

Insects and amphibians appeared.

Reptiles appeared.

Dinosaurs appeared.

Mammals appeared.

Clever animals with hands and feet appeared.

Think about what you have read and discuss these questions in pair.

1. Why was the earth different from other planets?

The water remained on the earth.2. Why did the plants grow before the

animals came? Because plants provide oxygen for

animals to breathe.

3. Why is it wrong in films and stories

to show dinosaurs and people

together?

Because dinosaurs died out long

before human beings developed on

the earth.

4. There used to be nine planets in the solar

system. Recently scientists have decided

that one of them can no longer be

considered a planet. Do you know the name

of that planet? Do you know why they

removed it?

Pluto. Scientists now think it is too small to

be called a planet.

5. What problem is caused by human beings?

Human beings caused global warming.

Read the passage again and underline all the discourse markers and sentence connectors.

Discourse markers: however, next, after that, later, finally, thus, as a result of this

Sentence connectors or conjunctions: and, but, because

The other puzzles hidden the passage are:

How did the earth’s atmosphere develop?

Why did water stay on the earth but not on the other planets?

How did life forms develop?

Why did some life forms disappear?

Language points

1. system n. 系统；体系；制度 They have a warning system in the

house.

The legal system are quite different in these countries.

solar system 太阳系 systematic adj. 有系统的；系统化的

2. However, according to a widely accepted theory, the universe began with a “Big Bang” that threw matter in all directions.

begin with=start with ：“以……开始” .to begin with=to start with 以…为起点 ; 开始 (

做 )这两个词组都可以单独使用 , 表示“首先 ; 第

一 ; 起初 ; 最初”。 在句中作时间状语。e.g. To begin/start with, I couldn’t like him at

all.

3. They were in time to produce carbon,…, which were to make important is

in time: 及时 ; 最终 in time (for sth. /to do sth.): 及时；不迟我迟早会遇见他 .

I’ll see him________.她会及时回来准备晚餐 . She will be back ________ to prepare dinner. 你认为我们能及时赶上火车吗 ?Do you think we can get there _________the train?in time for

in time

in time

与 time 相关的短语 : in no time 立刻 , 马上 at times 有时 at a time 每次 ; 依次 once upon a time 从前 on time 按时 ; 准时 at one time 从前 for the time being 暂时 from time to time 不时地

4. What it was to become was uncertain until between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago when the dust settled into a solid globe. What is even more important is that as the earth cooled down, water began to appear on its surface. [ 考点 ] 以上两句均为 what 引导的主语从句。

1. ________________________ （使大家吃惊的是） is that he didn’t come to the meeting.

What surprised everybody

2. ________________ （他所做的） added to our difficulty.

What he did

5. …as the earth cooled down, water began to appear on its surface.

随着地球的冷却 , 地球的表面就开始出现了水。

1) cool down 变凉 , 冷却 , 平息 , 冷静晒了一天的太阳之后 , 他喜欢在海水中凉快一下。After a day in the sun, he liked to__________ in the sea.他的话平息了她的怒气。His words _____________ her anger.

cool down

cooled down

2) appear “ 出现 , 似乎”是不及物动词当表示 “似乎 , 好像”时是系动词 ,

该词无被动语态。 Our teacher appeared on TV this

morning.

The man who came yesterday

appeared / seemed / looked an honest

man.

6. It was not immediately obvious that water

was to be fundamental to the development of

life.

水会对于生命的发展起关键作用 , 这一点在当时并不太明显。

用 It 做形式主语是因为 that 引导的从句较长 , 如果按照正常语序来安排的话就显得头重脚轻了。如 :

It is no wonder that he has passed the exam. It is quite necessary for us to learn English

well.

7. This produced a chain reaction, which made it possible for life to develop.

1) Chain reaction 连锁反应2) Make it possible for life to develop. 使生命的发展成为可能 make it + adj./n. for sb. /sth. to do sth.老师让他们容易地明白那个问题。The teacher

________________________________________________.

made it easy for them to understand

the question

8. They produced young generally by laying eggs.

lay-laid-laid-laying 放 , 把 ......放在 ......; 产卵

He laid his books on the desk.注意 : lay (laid; laid; laying) 放置 ;产卵 lie (lay; lain; lying) 躺 ;位于 lie (lied; lied; lying) 说谎

The naughty boy ___ to me that the hen

that ___ there just now had ___ two eggs

the day before.

A. laid; laid; laid B. laid; lay; lain

C. lied; laid; lain D. lied; lay; laidD

9. … they gave birth to young baby animals 1) 生（孩子） She’s just given birth to a healthy baby girl. 她刚刚生了个健康的女婴。 2) 产生 The extraordinary experience gave birth to

his latest novel. 这段奇特的经历促成了他的最新的一部小说的诞生。

10. They are putting too much carbon dioxide

into the atmosphere, which prevents heat

from escaping from the earth into space.

他们把太多的二氧化碳释放到大气层中 , 这就是使得热量不能从地球上散发到太空中去。

There was nothing to prevent her from doing so.

We must prevent the water from being polluted.

[归纳 ] prevent ... from 的意思是____________________________ 。 [拓展 ] 近义短语有 : stop ... from 阻止……干某事 ; keep ... from 阻止……干某事。注意 : prevent 和stop 后的 from 都可以省略 , 而keep ... from 中的 from则不能省略，如果省略了 , 其意义将发生改变。

制止、阻止、使……不做某事

11….millions of years to come will depend on whether …depend on sb. 依靠 , 相信某人depend on sth. 取决于某物

我们都靠你来做决定了．We’ll all _______________to make a decision.明天是否能开校运会取决与天气．Whether to hold the sports meeting or not will _______________________.

depend on you

depend on the weather

12.in one’s turn 轮到某人；接着 When it is in my turn, I am too excited to

speak.

in turn 依次；轮流 by turns 轮流

13. Unlike John, Tom dislikes playing football.

14. He didn’t work hard; thus he was fired.

I. 根据下列各句句意及所给单词的首字母或汉语提示，写出该单词的正确形式。

1. This _____ (理论 ) helps to explain how animals communicate with each other.

2. The final cost could be as much as one b_____ dollars.

3. 31 people have been injured in ______ (暴力的 ) incidents throughout the day.

练习坊练习坊

theory

billionviolent

4. Across the g_____, sea level varies by

hundreds of feet.

5. A(n) _____ (原子 ) is so small that we

can not see it.

6. Smoking is h______ to health, but some

people cannot get rid of it.

7. The best way to get that _____________

(二氧化碳 ) into the atmosphere is to

warm the entire planet.

globe

atom

harmful

carbon dioxide

8. The new owners have tried to give the

restaurant a more family-friendly

__________ ( 气氛 ).

9. O_____ is a kind of gas that is

necessary for most animals and

plants to live.

10. I was surprised by the _________

( 出席 ) of so many people at the

meeting.

atmosphere

Oxygen

presence

II. 用括号中所给单词的适当形式填空。1. The ship rocked _________ (violent)

from side to side, causing many

passengers to feel seasick.

2. There is a ___________ (fundament)

difference in attitude between these

two politicians.

3. It is generally accepted that smoking is

_______ (harm) to our health.

violently

fundamental

harmful

4. Our problems have _________

(multiply) since last year.

5. Scientists want to know whether life

______ (exist) on other planets.

6. She listened with a _______ (puzzle)

expression on her face.

multiplied

exists

puzzled

Answer key for exercise 1:

-ence un-

present certain

violent fair

confident paid

different like

patient kind

presence

violence

confidencedifference

patience

uncertain

unfair

unpaid

unlike

unkind

-al -ist

culture art

globe physics

universe chemistry

agriculture biology

mathematics science

cultural

global

universal

agricultural

mathematical

artist

physicist

chemistbiologist

scientist

C A C B

Answer key for exercise 2:

Answer key for exercise 3:

fundamental, astronomy, gave birth to,

existed, As a result, atoms, prevents … from,

puzzle

emotional words calm words

Answer key for exercise 4:

violent angry rude shocked excited crazy

patient gentle relaxing kind easy-going calm

Subject Clauses 主语从句

1． 引导主语从句的连接词有三类：

(1)     连词 that 、 whether :( 从属连词）在从句中不作任何成分Whether we go by train or by boat makes no difference.

Whether he’ll come here isn’t clear.  

That price will go up is certain.

主语从句在复合句中作主句的主语 .

What she did is not yet known.

Who will write the poem has not been decided yet.Whatever he did is right.Whoever breaks the rule should be punished. Who will go makes no difference. Whom she loves is clear enough . 她爱的是谁已经够清楚了。Whose wallet was stolen must be made clear.谁的钱包被偷了必须被搞清楚。

(2)    连接代词 what, who, whom, whose,   which, whoever, whatever, whichever 等 .连接代词在从句中充当主语，宾语 , 表语或定语，不能省略。

3)     连接副词 when, where, why, how, whenever, wherever, however等。它们在句中充当状语，不能省略。此类主语从句也可以用带有形式主语 it 的句子转换。How this happened is not clear to anyone. 

When he will be back depends on the

weather.

How the pyramids were built is still a mystery.

主语从句后置 ! 为了避免主语冗长 , 句子头重脚轻 ,经常用 it 作形式主语 , 主语从句放在后面作真正的主语 . 例 :That we shall be late is certain.

-- It’s certain that we shall be late.

1. That the earth is round is known to all.

--

2. That you missed the chance is a pity.

--

It is a pity that you missed the chance.

It’s known to all that the earth is round.

It + be + 形容词 ＋ that 从句

It is certain that she will do well in her exam. It + be + -ed 分词 ＋ that 从句It is said that Mr. Green has arrived in 

Beijing. 

用 it 形式主语的 that 从句有以下四种不同的搭配：

It + be + 名词 ＋ that 从句It’s no wonder that you have achieved so much success. It’s a pity that you didn’t attend the lecture yesterday.

It + 不及物动词 ＋ that 从句It seems that you are against the plan. It happened to me that I had been away when you called.It doesn’t matter whether she will come or not. 

1.Where shall we spend the holiday isn’t decided.

2.You have made a mistake is a fact.

3.That is certain that we can win.

4.No matter who leaves the room last ought to turn off the lights.

5.If the policemen will come is not certain.

we shall

That you have

It is

Whoever

Whether

改错练习

Listening

Pre-listening

Isaac Newton 1642 ～ 1727 英国物理学家

经典物理学理论体系的建立者。 1665年创立微分； 1666年开始研究积分。

1666 年 , 开始想到研究重力 (gravity)问题，苹果落地的传说，也是在此时发生的轶事。其一生的重大科学思想是在这两年期间（ 22

至 23岁）岁形成的。 1669年，把《自然哲学的数学原理》，《宇宙体系》等手稿送到剑桥大学图书馆收藏。晚年研究宗教。

Albert Einstein （ 1879 ～ 1955）

质量 (m) 和能量 (E) 的相当性： E ＝mc2

爱因斯坦在量子论、分子运动论、相对论 (Theory of Relativity)等物理学的三个不同领域取得了历史性成就，特别是狭义相对论的建立和光量子论的提出，推动了物理学理论的革命，他对社会进步事业也有重要贡献。

霍金 born in 1942

斯蒂芬 ·藿金是当今科学界的一位传奇性人物。这不仅仅因为他是一位被誉为继爱因斯坦后最著名的科学思想家和最杰出的理论物理学家，还在于他是在常人无法想象的身体状况下进行研究和创造性工作的。

black hole 黑洞

黑洞并非只是吞噬物质。除了会在星系形成的过程中扮演重要角色外，在经过一段相当漫长的时间后，黑洞也会把一些曾被它吸入的物质信息向外界释放出来。

Listening

• Summary B is correct because it gives a clear idea of what the listening passage is about.

• Summary A is not true. The three scientists wanted to explain how the universe worked and not how it began.

• Summary C is too general and does not give enough detail about what the listening passage is about.

Choose the best summary.

Listen to Part 1 again and fill in the

first column of the chart.

Isaac Newton

Albert Einstein

Stephen Hawking

Idea

Large bodies have a force which pulls things towards them

In space large objects make space and time bend; the larger the object, the further space and time bends

Black holes have a very large mass and pull things towards them towards their edge.

Isaac Newton

Albert Einstein

Stephen Hawking

Development

The bigger the object the stronger the gravity.

Time goes slower in very strong gravity.

If you go over the edge, you cannot get out; but if you do not, you may be able to escape.

A VISIT TO THE MOONA VISIT TO THE MOONA VISIT TO THE MOONA VISIT TO THE MOON

spacewalk

Look at the pictures!

Read and then describe the three ways in which gravity changed for Li Yanping and how his weight changed.

1. The pull of gravity became very strong as she left the earth’s atmosphere. His weight is normal.

2. It disappeared when he was in space. He is weightless.

3. It was very light when he was on the moon. He weighs less than on earth.

1. Last month I was lucky enough to

have a chance to make a trip into space

with my friend Li Yanping, an

astronomer.

上个月我有幸得到一个机会同我的朋友，一位宇航员李彦平一道去太空旅行。

Language points

enough 的用法 :

1 ）用作代词：作主语或宾语。 You have done more than enough.

你已做得够多了。 I have had enough. Thank you.

我吃的已经够多的了，谢谢。

2 ）形容词作定语： enough 用在名词前、后都可以。

I have enough time to do the work.

/ I have time enough to do the work.

我有足够的时间做此项工作。 3 ）用作副词修饰形容词或副词表示程度 :

enough 一般放在形容词或副词的后边。

long enough, easy enough, fast enough,

quickly enough等。 但一般不说： enough

long, enough easy, enough fast, enough

quickly.

The boy is old enough to go to school.

这孩子到上学的年龄了。

He couldn’t run quickly enough to catch

up with the cat.

他跑的速度太慢，追不上猫。 4 ）用作副词修饰动词时也需放在动词之后

。 The meat is not cooked enough.

肉炖得不够熟。

2. Then we were off.

随后我们就启程了。 be off = set off 出发；动身 I am off today.

我今天不用上班。 We are off today.

今天我们不上班 /今天我们不开张。

see...off 送行 kick off 踢球 jump off 跳下 give off 散发 show off 炫耀

shut off 关闭get off 下车take off 脱下turn off 关闭pay off 付清；还清

与 off 相关的短语 :

3. When we get closer to the moon, we

shall feel its gravity pulling us, but it will

not be as strong a pull as the earth’s. 当我们更接近月球时 , 就会感到月球的引力在拉我们。但是 , 月球的引力不像地球的引力那么大。

get close to 靠近，接近，指动态变化 be close to 距 ......近，指状态 The school is close to the post office.

1). “A + be + 倍数 + as + 形容词原级 + as + B”. This tree is three times as tall as that one. His father is twice as old as he.2). “A + be + 倍数 + 形容词比较级 + than + B ”

4. But when I tried to step forward, I found I was carried twice as far as on the earth and fell over.

The Yangtze River is almost twice

longer than the Pearl River.

长江差不多比珠江长两倍。 The number of students in our

school is three times larger than that

in theirs.

　 我们学校的学生数量比他们学校的多三倍。

3). “A + be + 倍数 + the + 名词 (size,

length, amount) + of + B”

The newly broadened square is four

times the size of the previous one.

新扩建的广场是未扩建时的四倍大。

5. ... “walking does need a bit of

practice now that gravity has

changed.”

......既然引力改变了，走路也的确需要练一练了。

now that 同 since 相似，语气较弱，强调人们已知的事实。

Translation:

1. 既然你忙 , 就让我给你做吧。Now that you are busy, let me do it for

you.

2. 既然人都齐了 , 咱们开始干吧。Now that everyone is here, let’s start

work．

6. We watched, amazed as fire broke

out on the outside of the spaceship as

the earth’s gravity increased.

break out

它与 happen, take place, come out

等词的用法一样，是不及物动词，不能带宾语，不能用于被动语态。

1) 战争爆发　　 The American Civil War broke

out in 1861.

美国内战爆发于 1861年。 2) 发生争吵　　 A quarrel broke out between them.

他们之间发生了争吵。

3) ( 火灾 ) 发生　 A fire broke out in his house last night. 昨晚他家里失火了。

[ 考点 ] break out 通常指战争、疾病、灾害等的爆发。不及物动词短语，不能用于被动语态。

7.get the hang of sth.

查看某物运作了解… .. 的意义

我一直想知道这部新的打字机的用法 .

I’ve been trying to ______________ this new typewriter.

我不十分了解你的论据的意义 .

I don’t quite __________________ your argument.

get the hang of

get the hang of

There are five spacemen in the spaceship. 宇宙飞船里有五个飞行员。The tractor pulls well. 这台拖拉机拉力大。

The tides depend on the pull of the moon. 潮汐是月亮引力作用的结果。Try and cheer up a bit; life isn't that bad! 想办法高兴点儿 , 生活并不是那么糟！There is not enough water to float the ship.没有足够的水使船漂浮起来。He has put on weight since I last saw him. 自从我上次见到他以来，他又长胖了。

SpeakingSpeaking

What do you need if you

travel to the moon?

Speaking on page 31

Sample dialogue: S1: Let’s think about what we would need

to protect our skin if we visited the

Moon.

S2: I’d take some skin cream. That works

very well when we go to the sea.

S3: Yes, but it’s going to be much too hot

to put cream on your skin on the Moon.

S4: What’s more, you get direct heat

from the sun. There are no clouds on

the Moon to protect you.

S3: Oh dear, and I also have to carry

oxygen around with me

everywhere because there’s no oxygen

on the Moon.

S2: Why don’t we carry the oxygen on

our backs in a tank?

S1: Good idea, but won’t that hurt our

skin?

S4: I think it will. Why don’t we wear a

spacesuit which has the possibility of

protecting your skin and helping you

carry the oxygen very easily?

S1: A very good idea. We also need

some sunglasses as the sun will be as

bad for our eyes as for our skin.

S3: That’s right. The helmet of the suit

can have sunglasses you can use.

S2: How will the suit protect our skin?

S4: It’s so hot there so I suggest we

design suit that can supply cold

water so the wearer feels cool and

hot water to warm us if we feel cold.

S2: Great! So I won’t need sun cream

after all. That’s good!

WritingWriting

Sample article If I visited the moon, here is a problem I might

have: how to stop my food floating away.

I would have to take all my food with me if I went to the moon. In the spaceship there is no gravity so the food would float around if it was solid. So I would make sure that it is specially made as liquid space food.

It could be put in a tube and then I would be able to eat it more easily. Perhaps I would use a straw to eat it. It would solve the problem.

Reading for fun

The Sun Travels

太阳在运转罗伯特 · 路易斯 · 斯蒂文森

夜里我抱枕眠，太阳不在我床边。它在绕着地球转，

一天又一天。

阳光普照我家园，我们嬉戏在花园。此时此刻在印度，妈妈吻着宝宝到床沿。

大洋彼岸天刚晓，我们喝完午茶起身了。此时此刻在西方，

孩子们起床梳妆打扮了。