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ENGLISH FOR TEENAGERS · GENERAL ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

SPACE
EXPLORATION

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1 Warm up

Look at the images below. Which of these things presented are most important to you and to people
in general?

1. the computer 2. electricity 3. solar panels

4. landing on the moon 5. the Internet 6. mobile phone

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2 Vocabulary
Part A: What helps us to explore space? Use the words to complete the definitions below.

rocket rover satellite spacecraft telescope

1. helps us to see objects which are far away in space.

2. moves on the planet and explores it

3. orbits the Earth and can be used for communication or weather observation

4. flies into space with the help of a rocket and can carry people

5. flies into space using its engines and is used to carry other objects into space

Part B: Invention or discovery? Can you explain the differences between achievement, discovery,
invention, and exploration? Read the sentences, choose the correct word in the definitions, and then
give your own examples.

Galileo invented the telescope.

He discovered mountains on the moon.

Landing on the moon was a great achievement.

Two huge telescopes are exploring space now.

a. We invent/discover things which don’t exist.

b. We invent/discover things that exist but we don’t know about them.

c. We achieve/explore things when we do something that is difficult to do.

d. We achieve/explore when we go around a place and learn about it.

Complete the table with the correct noun.

verb noun
1
invent
2
discover
3
achieve
4
explore

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Now use the words in the sentences below. Change the form of the words if necessary (eg. invent –
invented, discovery – discoveries).

1. We use telescopes and spacecraft to space.

2. Some tourists explored the mountains and a small cave.

3. The Internet is a wonderful .

4. We still new kinds of animals on Earth.

5. The Chinese ice-cream.

6. Building a space station was a big, international .

3 Which did we do first?

Part A: Order the human achievements from the oldest to the newest. Guess when the events took
place. Then listen to the podcast and write down the dates.

1609 1947 1957 1961 1965 1969 1990 2008

a. : people launched the first satellite.

b. : a spacecraft landed on Mars.

c. : a human orbited Earth for the first time.

d. : NASA put the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit.

e. : a human floated outside the spacecraft.

f. : an astronomer invented the telescope and used it to look at the night sky.

g. : people walked on the moon.

h. : people sent animals into Earth’s orbit.

Part B: Listen again and say if the statements are true or false.

1. Galileo used the telescope to discover mountains on Jupiter’s moon.

2. The Hubble telescope is closer to earth than the James Webb telescope.

3. The first animals in space were mice.

4. Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth for 48 minutes.

5. Alexey Leonov floated in space for 12 minutes.

6. People landed on Mars in 2008.

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4 Focus on language
Compare the sentences in groups A and B and answer the following questions.

1. In 1947 people sent animals into Earth’s orbit.

2. An astronomer floated outside the spacecraft in 1965.
3. People walked on the moon in 1969.
4. In 2008 a spacecraft landed on Mars.

1. We have sent animals into space.

2. An astronomer has floated outside the spacecraft.
3. People have walked on the Moon.
4. A spacecraft has landed on Mars.

1. Do the sentences in both groups describe the same events?

2. Which sentences have dates?

3. Are the sentences in the same tense?

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The Present Perfect tense

The sentences in group B are in the Present Perfect tense. It is used to talk about past
events when we are interested in the results of the events, and not in the time at which
they happened. It is often used to talk about results, achievements and life experiences.

• People have landed on the Moon.

• Twelve people have travelled to the Moon so far.
• The Hubble telescope has taken thousands of photos of other galaxies.
• The longest that a person has held their breath is over 24 minutes.

We never use past time expressions such as on Monday, in January, in 2019 with the
Present Perfect tense. When we mention the time of a past event or when we talk about
people who died, we use the Past Simple.

• People landed on the Moon in 1969.

• Twelve people travelled to the Moon between 1969 and 1972.
• Galileo invented the telescope
• Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space.

The Present Perfect tense needs the helping verb HAVE (have, has) and the past
participle form of the main verb (travelled, visited, taken).

• People have sent spacecraft to many planets.

• A human has not landed on Mars.
• Has anybody visited the Moon more than once?

For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the form used in the Past Simple,
which has the ending –ed (landed, walked, played). For irregular verbs, the past participle
is formed in many different ways (taken, done, been, said). You must learn these forms by
heart. Dictionaries list three forms of irregular verbs:

be, was/were, been take, took, taken

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5 Practice
Part A: Choose the correct form of the verb.

In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked/ have walked 1 on the Moon. Since then more
people landed/ have landed 2 there. We are hoping to send people to Mars one day but so far
we only sent/ have only sent 3 spacecraft to the red planet. The first one landed/ have landed
4
on the surface of Mars in 2008.

Part B: Complete the sentences using the correct verb from the box below. Use the Present Perfect
tense.

be / float / invent / launch / orbit / take

1. People have invented stronger and stronger telescopes.

2. A human the Earth.

3. Humans a lot of satellites.

4. The Hubble telescope photographs of other galaxies.

5. Astronauts in space.

Part C: Write the present form of each verb.

1 2 3 4
been written done heard
5 6 7 8
gone won ridden said

9 10 11 12
seen slept told spoken

Part D: Complete the sentences with the Present Perfect verb from the table above.

1. She has slept only 4 hours, so she is sleepy and tired.

2. I have no idea. I (not) anything about missing children.

3. I only 5 sentences. I don’t know what else to write.

4. Why are you laughing? something silly?

5. His parents don’t know. He (not) them anything.

6. Venus or Mars in the sky?

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6 What have you done?

How many of the things listed below have you done? Make two lists in the two columns of the table.

run in race win a race sleep in a tent ride a horse

see a satellite see a shooting star write a poem speak in public

things you have done things you haven’t done

I have run in a race. I have never won a race.

Add more activities to the list. Then, tell a partner about what you have and haven’t done. Who has
done more unusual things?

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7 What did they say next?

Part A: Match the beginnings of the sentences to the correct speaker. Then listen to the recording
and check.

a. I have spoken in public ... → Speaker

b. I have run in a race ... → Speaker

c. I have seen a lot of satellites ... → Speaker

Part B: Complete the answers below with the correct verbs. Then listen again and check.

1. I have seen a lot of satellites. I three last night. One really fast.
It across the sky very quickly. And it any noise, of course. Not
like planes.

2. I have run in a race. I it when I was on a summer camp. It only

one hundred metres. And yes, most of the kids faster than me.

3. I have spoken in public. It my big sister’s wedding and my parents

it was a good idea. They the speech but I didn’t like it much. And I ,
really – I just it.

Now, look at the three texts you completed above and answer the following questions.

1. Which tense do we use to talk about our experiences and achievements?

2. Which tense do we use to add details about the events or to ask questions about them?

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8 Homework

Part A: Read the text of the recording you heard in class and complete it with one of the verbs. Use
Present Perfect or Past Simple.

be / change / experiment / land (x2) / make / take / use

People have always been interested in stars. A thousand years ago sailors used the stars to
find their way at sea. Scientists always wanted to see farther into space. Galileo Galilei, an
1
Italian scientist, built the first telescope in 1609. He it to discover mountains
on the surface of the moon. He also discovered the rings of Saturn and four of Jupiter’s
2
moons. Since then the telescope a lot. The Hubble telescope, which was
launched in 1990, is the size of a large bus. It completes 15 orbits a day. On 25 December,
2021 the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched. It has a much bigger mirror
and is farther away from Earth than the Hubble telescope.
3
People rocket engines for hundreds of years. As soon as we were able to
4
send the first rockets into space, we also sent animals. The first to go fruit
flies in 1947. They were followed by spiders, monkeys and mice. In 1957, A Soviet rocket
launched the first satellite. It orbited Earth for three months. The first human, Yuri Gagarin,
5
orbited the Earth in 1961. He one orbit in his spacecraft Vostok 1, which
took him one hour and 48 minutes. In 1965, another Russian astronaut, Alexey Leonov left
6
his spacecraft and a ‘spacewalk’. He floated in space for 12 minutes. In 1968
three Americans left Earth’s orbit and travelled around the Moon. A year later, Neil Armstrong
7
and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the Moon. Since then more people
there. We are hoping to send people to Mars one day, but so far we have only sent unmanned
8
spacecraft to the red planet. The first one on the surface of Mars in 2008.
There are six rovers on Mars now.

Part B: Answer the questions using information from the text. Write full sentences paying attention
to the tenses.

1. What did Galileo invent?

2. What did he discover on the Moon?

3. Which animals did we send into space first?

4. Have people landed on Mars?

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9 Optional homework / additional grammar practice

Part A: Write questions in the Present Perfect tense.

1. we / send / a tourist into space?

2. humans / send / spacecraft to every planet in the solar system?

3. a spacecraft / land / on a comet?

4. how many people / walk / on the Moon?

5. how many spacecrafts / visit / Jupiter?

6. any spacecraft / leave / the solar system?

Part B: Match the following answers to the questions above. Then write the verbs in brackets in Past
Simple or Present Perfect. Check the forms of the irregular verbs in a dictionary if necessary.

a. Twelve people (be) there so far. In 1969, three astronauts landed on the Moon but
only two of them, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, actually (walk) on it. The third
astronaut, Michael Collins stayed in the spaceship. There (be) more people on
the moon between 1962 and 1972. All of them were American. Some astronauts
(drive) a rover and some did experiments.

b. Yes, we have. Humans (send) spacecraft to every planet in the solar system. One
spacecraft has also visited Pluto, which is a dwarf planet. It discovered that there are volcanoes
of ice there. Perhaps there is a liquid ocean under the ice. We (visit) the asteroid
belt. Some planets have been visited many times. The first robotic spacecraft
(land) on Mars in 2008 and now there are six rovers exploring it and looking for signs of life.

c. Yes. In 2014, a lander called Rosette (visit) a comet.

d. Voyager 1 has travelled so far that it (leave) our solar system. It is still sending
information to Earth.

e. Yes. The first one was Dennis Tito in 2001. He (pay) 20 million dollars for a trip
to the International Space Station.

f. Nine spacecraft (be) there, and they have discovered a lot about the planet. The first one
was Pioneer 10. It (fly) past the planet in 1973. Voyager 1 and 2 discovered Jupiter’s rings
and several new moons in 1979.

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Transcripts

3. Which did we do first?

Speaker: People have always been interested in stars. A thousand years ago sailors used the stars
to find their way at sea. Scientists always wanted to see farther into space. Galileo Galilei,
an Italian scientist, built the first telescope in 1609. He used it to discover mountains on
the moon. He also discovered the rings of Saturn and four of Jupiter’s moons. Since then
the telescope has changed a lot. The Hubble telescope, which was launched in 1990, is
the size of a large bus. It completes 15 orbits a day. On 25 December, 2021, the James
Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched. It has a much bigger mirror and is farther
away from Earth than the Hubble telescope.

Speaker: People have used rocket engines for hundreds of years. As soon as we were able to send
the first rockets into space, we also sent animals. The first to go were fruit flies in 1947.
They were followed by spiders, monkeys and mice. In 1957, A Soviet rocket launched the
first satellite. It orbited Earth for three months. The first human, Yuri Gagarin, orbited
the Earth in 1961. He made one orbit in his spacecraft Vostok 1, which took him one hour
and 48 minutes. In 1965, another Russian astronaut, Alexey Leonov, left his spacecraft and
took a ‘spacewalk’. He floated in space for 12 minutes. In 1968 three Americans left Earth’s
orbit and travelled around the Moon. A year later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed
and walked on the Moon. Since then more people have landed there. We are hoping to
send people to Mars one day, but so far we have only sent spacecraft to the red planet.
The first one landed on Mars in 2008. There are six rovers on Mars now.

5. Practice

Speaker: In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon. Since then more people
have landed there. We are hoping to send people to Mars one day but so far we have only
sent spacecraft to the Red planet. The first one landed on the surface of Mars in 2008.

7. What did they say next?

Speaker 1: ... I saw three last night! One was really fast. It moved across the sky very quickly. And
it didn’t make any noise, of course. Not like planes.

Speaker 2: ... I did it when I was on a summer camp. It was only one hundred metres. And yes, most
of the kids were faster than me.

Speaker 3: ... It was my big sister’s wedding and my parents thought it was a good idea. They wrote
the speech but I didn’t like it much. And I didn’t speak, really – I just read it.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Check with the whole class. Try to find out what the most popular choice for the first part of the question is.
Encourage the students to support their choices with arguments, for example: My iPhone is very important to me.
I use my iPhone every day. I can find all kinds of information on the Internet.

2. Vocabulary

Part A
3 mins.
Students use the words to complete the definition. Make sure the students pronounce the words correctly.

1. telescope 2. rover
3. satellite 4. spacecraft
5. rocket
Part B
10 mins.
Help the students to discover the differences in meaning by eliciting their examples before they do the definitions.
If this proves difficult, they may be able to give their examples after you talk about the definitions.
Possible examples:
Bell invented the telephone/The fridge was a great invention; Columbus discovered America/The discovery of
bacteria improved hygiene; Getting an A in maths last year was my great achievement; I am planning to explore
the woods with my friends.
Students then choose the correct word in the definitions.

a. invent b. discover
c. achieve d. explore
Tell the students to complete the table.

1. invention 2. discovery
3. achievement 4. exploration
Finally, students use the words in the following sentences.

1. explore 2. discovered
3. invention 4. discover
5. invented 6. achievement

3. Which did we do first?

10 mins.
Part A
Pre-teach launch (start), and float (move freely and slowly in air or on water). During the first listening, the students
should focus on the dates. The second listening requires an understanding of some other details. Elicit corrections

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of the false sentences. The text of the listening is used in a homework task after the students have been introduced
to the Present Perfect tense.

a. 1957 b. 2008
c. 1961 d. 1990
e. 1965 f. 1609
g. 1969 h. 1947
Part B
Student listen to the recording again and mark the statements true or false.

1. F 2. T
3. F 4. F
5. T 6. F

4. Focus on language

5 mins.
In this section, only one use of the Present Perfect tense is presented. Other uses will be introduced later. First,
tell the students to compare the sentences in groups A and B and answer the following questions.

1. Yes.
2. Only the sentences in group A have dates.
3. No, they aren’t.

5. Practice

10 min.
Students practise building sentences in Present Perfect.
Part A
Students can listen to the recording and check their answers.

1. walked
2. have landed
3. have only sent
4. landed
Part B

1. have invented 2. has orbited

3. have launched 4. has taken
5. have floated
Part C

1. be 2. write
3. do 4. hear
5. go 6. win
7. ride 8. say
9. see 10. sleep
11. tell 12. speak
Part D

1. has slept 2. haven’t heard

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3. have written 4. Have I done

5. hasn’t told 6. Have you seen

6. What have you done?

10 mins.
Pre-teach any words the students may not know. Help with the irregular verbs. Remind the students not to use
any time expressions or any other details in the sentences they write. All the sentences must be in Present Perfect.

7. What did they say next?

5 mins.
Part A
Students match the beginnings of the sentences to the correct speaker. Then they listen to the recording and
check their answers.

a. Speaker 3 b. Speaker 2 c. Speaker 1

Part B
Tell the students to complete the sentences they heard with verbs. Play the recording again and check the answers.

1. saw ≀ was ≀ moved ≀ didn’t make

2. did ≀ was ≀ were
3. was ≀ thought ≀ wrote ≀ didn’t speak ≀ read
Students answer the final two questions. They should understand that we only use the Present Perfect to mention
the experience for the first time. All details of the experience mentioned will be given in Past Simple.

1. Present Perfect 2. Past Simple

8. Homework

Part A
For homework, tell the students to read the text of the recording they heard in class and complete it with one of
the verbs. They should use Present Perfect or Past Simple tenses.

1. used
2. has changed
3. have used
4. were
5. made
6. took
7. have landed
8. landed
Part B
Students answer the questions using information from the text. They should write full sentences paying attention
to the tenses.

1. He invented the telescope. 2. He discovered mountains.

3. We sent fruit flies. 4. People haven’t landed on Mars.

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9. Optional homework / additional grammar practice

7 - 10 mins.
This task can be done as optional homework or additional grammar practice.
The students make questions in Present Perfect. Encourage them to guess the answers before they do Part B,
in which they have to read short texts which answer the questions and provide more related information. The
matching should be done without changing the verbs in brackets.

1. Have we sent tourists into space?

2. Have humans sent spacecraft to every planet in the solar system?
3. Has a spacecraft landed on a comet?
4. How many people have walked on the Moon?
5. How many spacecrafts have visited Jupiter?
6. Have any spacecraft left the solar system?
Part B
Students find answers to the questions above.
A - question 4
B - question 2
C - question 3
D - question 6
E - question 1
F - question 5
Then they write the verbs in brackets in Past Simple or Present Perfect.

a. have been ≀ walked ≀ were ≀ drove

b. have sent ≀ have visited ≀ landed
c. visited
d. has left
e. paid
f. have been ≀ flew

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