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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

LIFE ON
VENUS
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12SI-J7CC-BPLZ

1 Warm up

Look at the picture and answer the questions below:

1. What do you think this picture shows?

2. Do you think this is a real photograph? Why/not?
3. Which three of these things can you see in the picture?

• atmosphere
• clouds
• a meteorite
• volcanoes

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

LIFE ON VENUS

2 Key vocabulary

Read the sentences and match these scientific words in bold with their meanings.

1. Plastic is made from oil in a complicated process.

2. Humans are responsible for plastic pollution.
3. Plastic produces dangerous types of gas when it breaks down.
4. Plastic pollution has a negative effect on many organisms.
5. Scientists can detect tiny amounts of plastic in the food we eat.
6. We need to identify potential solutions to this problem.
7. There are alternative materials we could use instead of plastic.
8. Scientists say that some microbes can eat plastic.

a. a series of actions that you take to get a result

b. different or other
c. discover or notice something exists
d. living things
e. possible
f. something like the air, not solid or liquid
g. tiny living things
h. to be the person or thing which causes something to happen

3 Before you watch

You are going to watch a news report about if there is life on Venus. Before you watch, choose the
best answers to complete the sentences below.

1. The surface temperature of Venus is around

a. 418°C b. 480°C c. 840°C

2. Scientists may have discovered signs of life in Venus’

a. clouds b. lakes c. volcanoes

3. On Earth, the gas phosphine is made by tiny organisms that live in places with no

a. oxygen b. sunlight c. water

4. Scientists did not use telescopes in these places to examine Venus:

a. Chile b. Hawaii c. Wales

5. Scientists did not wonder if these things could be responsible for the signs of life on Venus:

a. alien civilizations b. meteorites c. volcanoes

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

LIFE ON VENUS

4 Checking understanding

Answer the questions below. Then watch the report again to check your answers.

1. What have scientists detected in Venus’ atmosphere?

2. What do they think is responsible for what they have seen?
3. How does Professor Jane Greaves feel about making the discovery?
4. Why does Greaves think a living organism might be making hydrogen on Venus?
5. What will scientists do next?

5 Vocabulary development - avoiding repetition

We often use words or phrases with similar meanings in order to avoid repetition. Why do you think
it is important to do this?

Work in pairs to find words/phrases in the word cloud which are near synonyms. There are six groups
and one group includes three items. How are the words in each group different?

6 Talking point

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you think there is life on Venus or other planets?

2. How could research into other planets help us to understand the Earth better?
3. What other types of space research are scientists working on right now?
4. Do you think it’s better for national governments or private companies to do space research?
5. Would you be interested in visiting another planet, if you could? Why/not?

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

LIFE ON VENUS

7 Extension

What do you know about Venus? Read this information.

Venus factfile

• Venus is like a twin to the Earth in its size and composition.

• Scientists believe that at one time conditions on Venus were similar to Earth, with oceans
and a cooler temperature.
• Now Venus is covered with thick clouds made of sulphuric acid.
• On Venus, a day is longer than a year.
• Venus rotates in a different direction to most planets.
• We often call Venus the morning or evening star (even though it’s a planet) because in
ancient times, people believed it was two different stars.

• Both the US and the Soviet Union have sent missions to land on Venus.

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