Unit 12: Life On Other Planets - Skills 1

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below Hi. We are from Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Our planet is named (1) ___________ the Roman god of the sea. The climate here is very unfriendly, with a temperature of around -300 degrees Celsius, and the winds are very strong. Actually, we have a lot of storms here. Everything is freezing on the (2) ___________ of Neptune, so of course we don’t have liquid water. To be able to survive here, we have to build all of our cities underground, a hundred kilometers beneath the surface. Luckily, we don’t have Neptune-quakes! Our life here is very different from your life on earth. Because it’s extremely (3) ___________ underground, we have a very good lighting system on round the clock. Every day, we need only three hours for sleep, four hours for work, and the rest of the day we (4) ___________ on our leisure activities. So life is relaxing. Most of us like traveling to other planets for new experiences. Although we are (5) ___________ than you in size, we can move very fast. In fact, we have wings, so we can fly. Thus, we don’t suffer heavy traffic like on your earth. We don’t have oxygen either, but we live on hydrogen.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to answer these following questions A new study published in the journal Science shows definitive evidence of organic matter on the surface of Mars. The data was collected by NASA's nuclear-powered rover Curiosity. It confirms earlier findings that Mars, the Red Planet once contained carbon-based compounds. These compounds – also called organic molecules – are essential ingredients for life as scientists understand it. The organic molecules were found in Mars's Gale Crater, a large area that may have been a watery lake over three billion years ago. The rover encountered traces of the molecule in rocks extracted from the area. The rocks also contain sulfur, which scientists speculate helped preserve the organics even when the rocks were exposed to the harsh radiation on the surface of the planet. Scientists are quick to state that the presence of these organic molecules is not sufficient evidence for ancient life on Mars, as the molecules could have been formed by non-living processes. But it's still one of the most astonishing discoveries, which could lead to future revelations. Especially when one considers the other startling find that Curiosity uncovered around five years ago.