NASA: Saturn’s rings may vanish

admin 2023年7月17日

Beginner

science & technology, science & technology - beginner

Pre-reading questions:

I will read each question. Then, please answer them.

講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。

Are you familiar with the planet Saturn?
Can you imagine Saturn without its rings?

Vocabulary:

I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.

単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。

mostly /MOHST-lee/

[ADVERB] – mainly
The weather in this region is mostly sunny throughout the year, making it a popular tourist destination.

appear /uh-PEER/

[verb] – to start to be seen or to be present
The sun began to set, and the stars started to appear in the darkening sky.

dust /duhst/

[noun] – dry dirt in the form of powder that covers surfaces inside a building, or very small dry pieces of soil, sand, or other substances
The old house was filled with cobwebs and layers of dust, untouched for years.

possibility /pos-uh-BIL-i-tee/

[noun] – a chance that something may happen or be true
With hard work and determination, there is a possibility of achieving your goals.

universe /YOO-nuh-vurs/

[noun] – everything that exists, especially all physical matter, including all the stars, planets, galaxies, etc. in space
The universe is vast and filled with countless stars, galaxies, and planets.

Article reading:

Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。

Future skygazers may not see Saturn’s icy rings anymore, according to new research from NASA’s Cassini mission. Data collected from 2004 to 2017 suggests that the rings formed long after Saturn was formed, making them relatively young, possibly just a few hundred million years old. Composed mostly of ice, the rings appear surprisingly clean, indicating that they haven’t been around long enough to gather cosmic dust. The rings are also losing mass rapidly due to meteoroid impacts, suggesting a limited existence of a few hundred million more years. Scientists guess that the rings may have come from the gravitational instability that destroyed some of Saturn’s icy moons.

This discovery raises the possibility that the rings around other ice and gas bodies in our solar system, like Uranus and Neptune, may have once been larger and more vibrant. Understanding the formation and fate of Saturn’s rings could provide insights into the search for the building blocks of life in the universe.

True or False:

Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.

文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。

Saturn’s icy rings are relatively young, possibly just a few hundred million years old.
The rings are composed mostly of dust.
The rings appear dusty, indicating that they have been around for a very long time.
The rings are losing mass rapidly due to meteoroid impacts.
The rings may have originated from the gravitational instability that destroyed some of Saturn’s icy moons.

Fill in the blanks:

Choose the correct word from the table then fill in the blanks.

適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。

mostly

appear

dust

possibility

universe

The park is _______________ empty during the weekdays but gets crowded on weekends.
I need to clean the shelves because they’re covered in _______________.
Despite the challenges, there is always a _______________ of success if we work hard and stay positive.
Scientists continue to explore the vast mysteries of the _______________ in search of answers about its origin and composition.
The magician made a rabbit _______________ out of thin air during the magic show.