If you could send a

message to an
extraterrestrial civilization,
what would you say? This is
not just some scenario (=unreal
situation) I made up, now you can
really make suggestions to SETI, a
scientific institute looking for aliens,
about what to say to the aliens in case
we discover (=find) them. The new
project is called "Earth Speaks," and
messages can be submitted (=sent)
online, from people all over the world.
It's really easy, just go to “Earth
Speaks” at http://earthspeaks.seti.org
and type in your message.

QUESTION 1 (EXAMPLE)

Task 1. Here’s all the questions that were submitted to Human: Did aliens really land
SETI by internet users. Imagine you are an alien who in Roswell?
these questions found. Work with a human partner.
Choose five of them that you want to answer and have 1-
Alien: Yes, that was a very
minute conversations about them with the human (See sad event, indeed.
example on the right). When you’re done answering all My cousin was on
the questions, swap roles with him/her.
that mission.
Human: Sorry about that.
1. How are you! Do you speak English? And what’s your name? Alien: Yeah, thanks.
2. Where are you from? What is your home planet like? Human: Did you know that
3. What do you eat?
4. Why are you naked?
the US government
5. Can I have 1 million more questions? tried to cover it all
6. How long have you been observing (=watching) us? up and that they
7. How many other intelligent races (=species) do you know of? experimented with
8. Why did you come to Earth? Are you going to kill us? the crew?
9. Did aliens really land in Roswell?
Alien: Yes, sadly I know
10. Can I hang out (=spend time) with you for a while? about that. But we
11. major (=big) problem does
What is your society like? What
your society need to solve?
are a peaceful
12. Can you give me access to (=a way to reach) the 97% of
nation, so
my brain that I’m not using by some type of new alien we didn’t
technology? punish your
13. Can I have a picture taken of us that I can give my Mom?
people.
14. How do you reproduce (=make children)? Is your species
male or female, or are you a hermaphrodite (=both
sexes at the same time)?
15. Do you know what love is? Do you have families?
16. What have you discovered about the Earth and its peoples
(=nationalities)?
17. Do you have wars between your own kind or between your
species (=kind) and others?
18. Do you have some gadget (=machine) I can patent
(=protect legally) and make a ton of money?
19. Can you show me a picture of your biology? I’d love to Task 2. If you were asked by an alien,
understand your internal (=inside) structure. how would you show what it means to
20. What time did your momma say you had to be home? be a human?
21. Ok, what is it aboutcrop circles (=circles in wheat fields)
that you find so fascinating (=amazing)? Here’s a few examples to get you
22. Nice spaceship you got there....sellin' it?
started:
23. How do I drive this thing?
24. Do you believe in (a) God? e.g. I would take them to school with me.
25. What happens to us when we die? We would go partying together.
26. What is the meaning of life? I would take them to a family reunion.
27. Care for a Coke?! We would watch my favorite movie with them.
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1. How long have you been observing us? a. No problem, just touch my nose and that will
2. How many other intelligent races do you know of? make my flesh glow (=to be light) so you can
see my bones.
3. Can I hang out with you for a while? b. Sorry to disappoint you but these geometric
4. What is your society like? What major problem objects are totally man-made. But still, I’m a big
does your society need to solve? fan of them since they’re really beautiful.
5. Can you give me access to the 97% of my brain c. Sure, I’d love to talk to you more.
that I’m not using by some type of new alien d. The most surprising thing was to see how
technology? violent your people are.
6. How do you reproduce? Is your species male or e. The most urgent issue (=important
female, or are you a hermaphrodite? problem) is that we have polluted
7. What have you discovered about the Earth and its (=poisoned) our environment to the
peoples? extent that (=so much that) we have to
8. Do you have wars between your own kind or move planets.
between your species and others? f. There are three sexes (=man, woman and a
9. Do you have some gadget I can patent and third one) who all touch their tentacles
make a ton of money? (=like the arms of octopuses). The three start
10. Can you show me a picture of your biology? I’d love spinning around (=turning around) to
to understand your internal structure. music, and finally an egg drops out from the
11. Ok, what is it about crop that you find so touching point of the tentacles.
fascinating? g. This concept (=idea) is absolutely unknown
on our planet. We live in peace with each other.
h. We have been watching you since the time of
the Egyptian pharaohs (=kings).
i. We have discovered (=found) about a
dozen intelligent species during our travels.
j. Well, I could open up your mind through my
mental energy, but only for a few minutes.
k. You can keep my ray gun if you want.

1. observe 1. a group, especially of people, considered as belonging to the

same type
2. race
2. A large geometric pattern formed in crop (e.g. wheat) fields
3. hang out with sy 3. a plant, animal or person with both male and female sex
4. major organs
5. access to 4. a set of animals or plants in which the members can produce
young
6. reproduce 5. a small device or machine
7. hermaphrodite 6. all the men, women and children who live in a particular
8. people, peoples country, a society
9. species 7. approaching a place or person, or the right to use something
8. extremely interesting
10. gadget 9. happening inside a person, object, etc.
11. patent 10. more important, bigger or more serious than others
12. internal 11. the official legal right to make or sell an invention for a
13. crop circles particular number of years
12. to spend a lot of time in a place or with someone
14. fascinating
13. to watch carefully the way something happens
14. When living things reproduce, they produce young

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observe, race, hang out with sy, major, access to, reproduce, hermaphrodite, people,
peoples, species, gadget, patent, internal, crop circles, fascinating

1. A …………………………………… is a plant, animal or person with both male and female sex organs
(=body parts).

2. An increasing (=growing) number of people in the country are of mixed ……………………………

(= with parents of different colors).

3. Children learn by ………………………………ing adults.

4. Customs similar to this one are found among many ……………………………………… of the world.

5. Have you seen this handy (=useful, practical) little ………………………………… - it's for separating
egg yolks from whites.

6. He spent a year in the jungle, ……………………………ing how deforestation (=the cutting of

forests) is affecting (=having an effect on) local tribes.

7. I found the whole film ………………………………. (=very enjoyable).

8. In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell was granted (=got) a ………………………………. on a device for
signalling and communicating called a Photophone.

9. I've been ……………………………… backstage with the band.

10. Mountain gorillas are an endangered (=dying out) ………………………………………

11. Some plants are better at surviving and ……………………………………… themselves than others.

12. Sugar is a …………………………… cause of tooth decay (=bad teeth).

13. The bank did its own …………………………………………. investigation into the robbery.

14. The French are known as a snail-loving …………………………………

15. The only ……………………………… to the village is by boat.

16. The tax inspector got complete ……………………………… to the company files.

17. The United States is a ……………………………… influence (=power) in the United Nations.

18. While some …………………………………………………. are man-made, others are the product of alien
spacecraft or supernatural powers.

19. Women film directors in Hollywood are a rare ……………………………………………

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 Here’s some information about the SETI program. Match the
phrases in the text with their meanings below.

studies, that can use the Internet, outside Earth, has its base,
so far, information, notice, seen, short form, messages

SETI is an (1) acronym for the Search for (2) Extra-

Terrestrial Intelligence. It has been started in 1999 to (3)
detect intelligent life outside Earth. The project (4) is
headquartered in the US and. The participants in the project
are looking for radio (5) signals from aliens. Anybody with a
computer (6) with Internet access can participate in
SETI@home by running a free program that downloads and (7)
analyzes radio telescope (8) data. There are over 5.2 million
participants (9) worldwide. However, no such signals have
been observed (10) to date. (Source: www.Wikipedia.org)

SOLUTIONS TO THE TEXT ON SETI

(1) acronym - short form

(2) Extra-Terrestrial - outside Earth
(3) detect - notice
(4) is headquartered in - has its base in (the US)
(5) signals - messages
(6) with Internet access - that can use the Internet
(7) analyzes - studies
(8) data - Information
(9) observed - seen
(10) to date - so far

SETI is an (1) acronym for the Search for (2) Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. It has been started in
1999 to (3) detect intelligent life outside Earth. The project (4) is headquartered in the US and. The
participants in the project are looking for radio (5) signals from aliens. Anybody with a computer (6)
with Internet access can participate in SETI@home by running a free program that downloads and
(7) analyzes radio telescope (8) data. There are over 5.2 million participants worldwide. However, no
such signals have been (9) observed (10) to date.
(Source: www.Wikipedia.org)

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 SOLUTIONS

12. How long have you been observing us? l. We have been watching you since the time of the
13. How many other intelligent races do you know of? Egyptian pharaohs (=kings).
14. Can I hang out with you for a while? m. We have discovered (=found) about a
dozen intelligent species during our travels.
15. What is your society like? What major problem n. Sure, I’d love to talk to you more.
does your society need to solve?
o. The most urgent issue (=important
16. Can you give me access to the 97% of my brain
that I’m not using by some type of new alien problem) is that we have polluted
technology? (=poisoned) our environment to the
17. How do you reproduce? Is your species male or extent that (=so much that) we have to
female, or are you a hermaphrodite? move planets.
18. What have you discovered about the Earth and its p. Well, I could open up your mind through my
mental energy, but only for a few minutes.
peoples?
19. Do you have wars between your own kind or q. There are three sexes (=man, woman and a

between your species and others? third one) who all touch their tentacles
(=like the arms of octopuses). The three start
20. Do you have some gadget I can patent and
make a ton of money? spinning around (=turning around) to
21. Can you show me a picture of your biology? I’d love music, and finally an egg drops out from the
touching point of the tentacles.
to understand your internal structure. r. The most surprising thing was to see how violent
22. Ok, what is it about crop that you find so your people are.
fascinating? s. This concept (=idea) is absolutely unknown
on our planet. We live in peace with each other.
t. You can keep my ray gun if you want.
u. No problem, just touch my nose and that will
make my flesh glow (=to be light) so you can
see my bones.
v. Sorry to disappoint you but these geometric
objects are totally man-made. But still, I’m a big
fan of them since they’re really beautiful.

15. observe 15. to watch carefully the way something happens

16. race 16. a group, especially of people, considered as belonging to the
same type
17. hang out with sy 17. to spend a lot of time in a place or with someone
18. major 18. more important, bigger or more serious than others
19. access to 19. approaching a place or person, or the right to use something
20. reproduce 20. When living things reproduce, they produce young
21. a plant, animal or person with both male and female sex
21. hermaphrodite organs
22. people, peoples 22. all the men, women and children who live in a particular
23. species country, a society
24. gadget 23. a set of animals or plants in which the members can produce
young
25. patent 24. a small device or machine
26. internal 25. the official legal right to make or sell an invention for a
27. crop circles particular number of years
26. happening inside a person, object, etc.
28. fascinating
27. A large geometric pattern formed in crop (e.g. wheat) fields
28. extremely interesting

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observe, race, hang out with sy, major, access to, reproduce, hermaphrodite, people,
peoples, species, gadget, patent, internal, crop circles, fascinating

1. A HERMAPHRODITE is a plant, animal or person with both male and female sex organs (=body
parts).

2. An increasing (=growing) number of people in the country are of mixed RACES (= with
parents of different colors).

3. Children learn by OBSERVing adults.

4. Customs similar to this one are found among many RACES of the world.

5. Have you seen this handy (=useful, practical) little GADGET - it's for separating egg yolks from
whites.

6. He spent a year in the jungle, OBSERVing how deforestation (=the cutting of forests) is
affecting (=having an effect on) local tribes.

7. I found the whole film FASCINATING (=very enjoyable).

8. In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell was granted (=got) a PATENT on a device for signalling and
communicating called a Photophone.

9. I've been HANGING OUT backstage with the band.

10. Mountain gorillas are an endangered (=dying out) SPECIES.

11. Some plants are better at surviving and REPRODUCING themselves than others.

12. Sugar is a CAUSE cause of tooth decay (=bad teeth).

13. The bank did its own INTERNAL investigation into the robbery.

14. The French are known as a snail-loving PEOPLE.

15. The only ACCESS to the village is by boat.

16. The tax inspector got complete ACCESS to the company files.

17. The United States is a MAJOR influence (=power) in the United Nations.

18. While some CROP CIRCLES are man-made, others are the product of alien spacecraft or
supernatural powers.

19. Women film directors in Hollywood are a rare SPECIES.

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VOCABULARY LIST
observe
to watch carefully the way something happens:
The role of scientists is to observe and describe the world, not to try to control it.
[+ question word] He spent a year in the jungle, observing how deforestation is affecting local tribes.
Children learn by observing adults.

race
a group, especially of people, considered as belonging to the same type:
People of many different races were living side by side.
Discrimination on grounds of race will not be tolerated.
An increasing number of people in the country are of mixed race (= with parents of different races).

hang out with sy

to spend a lot of time in a place or with someone:
You still hang out at the pool hall?
I've been hanging out backstage with the band.

major
more important, bigger or more serious than others:
All of her major plays have been translated into English.
Sugar is a major cause of tooth decay.
There are two problems with this situation, one major, one minor.
Citrus fruits are a major source of vitamin C.
There has been a major change in attitudes recently.
The United States is a major influence in the United Nations.

access to
approaching a place or person, or the right to use something:
The only access to the village is by boat.
The main access to (= entrance to) the building is at the side.
The tax inspector had/gained complete access to the company files.

reproduce
When living things reproduce, they produce young:
These plants can reproduce sexually and asexually.
[R] Some creatures were better at surviving and reproducing themselves than others.

hermaphrodite
a plant, animal or person with both male and female sex organs

people, peoples
all the men, women and children who live in a particular country, a society:
The French are known as a food-loving people.
Customs similar to this one are found among many peoples of the world.

species
a set of animals or plants in which the members can produce young:
Mountain gorillas are an endangered species.
Over a hundred species of insect are found in this area.
FIGURATIVE HUMOROUS Women film directors in Hollywood are a rare species.

gadget
a small device or machine:
kitchen gadgets
Have you seen this handy little gadget - it's for separating egg yolks from whites.

patent
the official legal right to make or sell an invention for a particular number of years:
In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent on an apparatus for signalling and
communicating called a Photophone.

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The company took out/filed a patent on a genetically engineered tomato that remains firm longer than
untreated tomatoes.

internal
happening inside a person, object, etc.:
He sustained injuries to his arms, legs and several internal organs.
The bank conducted its own internal investigation into the robbery.
The government warned its neighbours not to interfere in its internal affairs.

crop circles
A large geometric pattern formed in crop (e.g. wheat) fields:
While some crop circles are man-made, others are the product of alien spacecraft or supernatural
processes.

fascinating
extremely interesting:
The book offers a fascinating glimpse of the lives of the rich and famous.
I found the whole film fascinating.

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