Номер 2, страница 56 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс (starlight) учебник Баранова, Дули

Reading

2 Read the title of the text and the quote. What could the problems of space colonisation be? How could these problems be solved? Read to find out.

"I don't think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years unless we spread into space."

Stephen Hawking,
English physicist & cosmologist

Check these words

spread, colonisation, leap, mankind, futuristic community, orbit, solar panel, generate, supplies, resources, construct, colony, extract, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, warm sth up, endless, exploration, overcome, final frontier, self-sufficient, survive, millennium, afford, harsh, wipe out, catastrophe, meteor, nuclear war

SPACE COLONISATION

Future or Fantasy?

Since Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon on 20th July, 1969 and declared "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", people have been dreaming about creating futuristic communities in space. Science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars have filled our minds with images of spacecraft travelling at the speed of light to colonies on other planets in other solar system. Until now, these ideas have just been fantasy, but now leading scientists such as Stephen Hawking say that colonising space is the only answer for the future survival of mankind otherwise we will die out. 1 But is space colonisation really possible?

One solution would be for us to move to space stations orbiting near Earth. After all, astronauts have already been living on NASA's International Space Station (ISS) continuously since 2000. The ISS gets its power from solar panels, it generates its own oxygen and even recycles water, but there's still a huge problem; all of its food and other supplies have to be sent from Earth.

2 So maybe colonising the Moon would be a better solution! The Moon has rich resources which could be used to construct a colony. Also, in 2009, scientists found water on the moon, which could be used to extract oxygen for breathing. 3 There is no atmosphere on the Moon and it is boiling hot during 13 days of sunlight and then freezing cold during 13 days of darkness. So any human colony there would have to live in a huge indoor biosphere*.

Mars would be another option, but the problems there would be similar to those on the moon. Scientists have suggested creating a more Earth-like atmosphere there by releasing carbon dioxide and warming it up, but this could take about 1,000 years!

Stephen Hawking believes that the best solution is to look for Earth-like planets to colonise. "If only 1% of the 1,000 or so stars within 30 light years of Earth had an Earth-sized rocky planet in just the right place for life, there would still be 10 planets for colonisation in our ‘neighbourhood’," Hawking said. However, even if we found the perfect planet, we wouldn't be able to get there at the moment! Travelling on Voyager 1, the fastest spacecraft we've ever sent into space, it would take over 700,000 years to get to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system. Hawking, though, believes that new technologies could soon help us to travel just below the speed of light, reaching the next star to Earth in only 6 years.

If we had endless amounts of money for space exploration, we would have already overcome these problems and built the first space colonies. The fact is, it costs about £6,000 to put half a kilo of anything into near-Earth orbit. 4 Just imagine – if people hadn’t given Columbus money for his voyage to America in 1492, NASA probably wouldn’t even exist today!

So, although there are many challenges to overcome, Professor Hawking still believes it will only be a matter of time before we are living in space. 5 What do you think? Is space truly ‘the final frontier’?

* an environment that supports life

Reading

2 Read the title of the text and the quote. What could the problems of space colonisation be? How could these problems be solved? Read to find out.

“I don’t think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years unless we spread into space.”

Stephen Hawking,
English physicist & cosmologist

Check these words

spread, colonisation, leap, mankind, futuristic community, orbit, solar panel, generate, supplies, resources, construct, colony, extract, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, warm sth up, endless, exploration, overcome, final frontier, self-sufficient, centuries, millennia, afford, harsh, wipe out, catastrophe, meteor, nuclear war

SPACE COLONISATION
Future or Fantasy?

Since Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon on 20th July, 1969 and declared "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", people have been dreaming about creating futuristic communities in space. Science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars have filled our minds with images of spacecraft travelling at the speed of light to colonies on other planets in the other solar system. Until now, these ideas have just been fantasy, but now leading scientists such as Stephen Hawking say that colonising space is the only answer for the future survival of mankind otherwise we will die out. 1 But is space colonisation really possible?

One solution would be for us to move to space stations orbiting near Earth. After all, astronauts have already been living on NASA's International Space Station (ISS) continuously since 2000. The ISS gets its power from solar panels, it generates its own oxygen and even recycles water, but there's still a huge problem; all of its food and other supplies have to be sent from Earth.

2 So maybe colonising the Moon would be a better solution! The Moon has rich resources which could be used to construct a colony. Also, in 2009, scientists found water on the moon, which could be used to extract oxygen for breathing. 3 There is no atmosphere on the Moon and it is boiling hot during 13 days of sunlight and then freezing cold during 13 days of darkness. So any human colony there would have to live in a huge indoor biosphere*.

Mars would be another option, but the problems there would be similar to those on the moon. Scientists have suggested creating a more Earth-like atmosphere there by releasing carbon dioxide and warming it up, but this could take about 1,000 years!

Stephen Hawking believes that the best solution is to look for Earth-like planets to colonise, if only 1% of the 1,000 or so stars within 30 light years of Earth had an Earth-sized rocky planet in just the right place for life, there would still be 10 planets for colonisation in our 'neighbourhood'," Hawking said. However, even if we found the perfect planet, we wouldn't be able to get there at the moment! Travelling on Voyager 1, the fastest spacecraft we've ever sent into space, it would take over 700,000 years to get to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system. Hawking, though, believes that new technologies could soon help us to travel just below the speed of light, reaching the next star to Earth in only 6 years.

If we had endless amounts of money for space exploration, we would have already overcome these problems and built the first space colonies. The fact is, it costs about £6,000 to put half a kilo of anything into near-Earth orbit. 4 Just imagine - if people hadn't given Columbus money for his voyage to America in 1492, NASA probably wouldn't even exist today!

So although there are many challenges to overcome, Professor Hawking still believes it will only be a matter of time before we are living in space. 5 What do you think? Is space truly 'the final frontier'?

* an environment that supports life

2 Прочитайте заголовок текста и цитату. Какие могут быть проблемы колонизации космоса? Как можно решить эти проблемы? Прочтите, чтобы узнать.

Название текста: Space Colonisation Future or Fantasy?

Цитата: "I don't think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years unless we spread into space." - Stephen Hawking, English physicist & cosmologist.

Перевод цитаты: "Я не думаю, что человеческая раса выживет в ближайшие 1000 лет, если мы не распространимся в космос." - Стивен Хокинг, английский физик и космолог.

Ответ:

The problems of space colonisation could include:

• The human race's survival is at stake if we do not spread into space, as warned by Stephen Hawking.
• Space stations orbiting Earth (like the ISS) currently require constant food and supply shipments from Earth.
• The Moon lacks an atmosphere and has extreme temperature variations (boiling hot for 13 days of sunlight, freezing cold for 13 days of darkness), necessitating huge indoor biospheres for any human colony.
• Colonising Mars would require significant time and effort, estimated around 1,000 years, to create a more Earth-like atmosphere through terraforming.
• Interstellar travel with current technology is incredibly long; for example, reaching Alpha Centauri would take over 700,000 years with Voyager 1's speed.
• Space exploration and putting mass into orbit are extremely expensive (e.g., about £6,000 to put half a kilo into near-Earth orbit).
• There is a lack of sufficient funding and resources dedicated to large-scale space colonization efforts.

These problems could be solved by:

• Developing more self-sufficient space stations that can generate their own oxygen and recycle water, reducing dependence on Earth for basic necessities.
• Utilizing resources found on other celestial bodies, such as water on the Moon, to construct colonies and extract oxygen locally, making lunar colonization more viable.
• Investing in long-term terraforming projects for planets like Mars to gradually make them more hospitable, even if they take centuries or millennia.
• Focusing research and development on new propulsion technologies that could drastically reduce interstellar travel times, potentially allowing journeys to nearby star systems in a matter of years.
• Actively exploring and identifying Earth-like planets in our "neighbourhood" within 30 light-years, as Stephen Hawking suggested, to find more suitable colonization targets.
• Significantly increasing funding for space exploration and colonization, viewing it as a crucial investment for humanity's long-term survival and future, similar to historical voyages of discovery.
• Overcoming the numerous scientific and logistical challenges through continuous innovation, international collaboration, and a unified global effort towards humanity's expansion into space.

Проблемы колонизации космоса могут включать:

• Выживание человеческой расы находится под угрозой, если мы не распространимся в космосе, как предупреждал Стивен Хокинг.
• Космические станции, вращающиеся вокруг Земли (например, МКС), в настоящее время требуют постоянных поставок еды и припасов с Земли.
• Луна лишена атмосферы и имеет экстремальные перепады температур (кипящая жара в течение 13 дней солнечного света, леденящий холод в течение 13 дней темноты), что требует создания огромных внутренних биосфер для любой человеческой колонии.
• Колонизация Марса потребует значительного времени и усилий, оцениваемых примерно в 1000 лет, для создания более земной атмосферы посредством терраформирования.
• Межзвездные путешествия с использованием современных технологий невероятно долгие; например, достижение Альфы Центавра заняло бы более 700 000 лет со скоростью Вояджера-1.
• Исследование космоса и вывод массы на орбиту чрезвычайно дороги (например, около 6 000 фунтов стерлингов, чтобы вывести полкилограмма на околоземную орбиту).
• Наблюдается недостаток достаточного финансирования и ресурсов, выделяемых на крупномасштабные усилия по колонизации космоса.

Эти проблемы могут быть решены путем:

• Разработки более самодостаточных космических станций, которые могут генерировать собственный кислород и перерабатывать воду, уменьшая зависимость от Земли в основных потребностях.
• Использования ресурсов, найденных на других небесных телах, таких как вода на Луне, для строительства колоний и добычи кислорода на месте, что сделает лунную колонизацию более осуществимой.
• Инвестирования в долгосрочные проекты терраформирования планет, таких как Марс, чтобы постепенно сделать их более гостеприимными, даже если это займет столетия или тысячелетия.
• Сосредоточения исследований и разработок на новых двигательных технологиях, которые могли бы резко сократить время межзвездных путешествий, потенциально позволяя совершать путешествия к близлежащим звездным системам за несколько лет.
• Активного изучения и идентификации землеподобных планет в нашем "соседстве" в пределах 30 световых лет, как предлагал Стивен Хокинг, для поиска более подходящих целей для колонизации.
• Значительного увеличения финансирования для исследования и колонизации космоса, рассматривая это как важнейшую инвестицию для долгосрочного выживания и будущего человечества, подобно историческим путешествиям-открытиям.
• Преодоления многочисленных научных и логистических проблем посредством непрерывных инноваций, международного сотрудничества и единых глобальных усилий по расширению человечества в космос.