B) Read the following paying attention to the pronunciation of letter combinations with U. State their meaning. Consult the dictionary if necessary
| [ju:] fusion circular nuclear universe eventually | [u:] luminous include rule true | [Ù] sun lump puzzle substance until | [u] pull push put full bush | [e:] turn burn surface further occur | [au] outside outer countless thousand around |
| [juә] Europe pure cure | [ә] figure neighbour helium |
Ex. 2. Use your dictionary and complete the following table.
| Verb | Noun | Adjective |
| revolve | ||
| invention | ||
| system | ||
| rotate | ||
| circle | ||
| represent | ||
| orbit | ||
| attractive |
Ex. 3. Match English phrases and their Russian equivalents.
| 1) celestial body 2) telescopic improvements 3) the set of eight spheres 4) nuclear fusion 5) rotation rate 6) the law of universal gravity 7) rocky planets 8) outer reaches 9) head back 10) crescent 11) approach the sun | a) закон всемирного тяготения b) слияние ядер c) возвращаться d) твердые планеты e) небесное тело f) приближаться к солнцу g) полумесяц h) скорость вращения i) группа из восьми планет j) отдаленные районы k) модернизация телескопов |
Ex. 4. Identity the meaning of the underlined words as they occur in the sentences below.
1. The mean density of the earth 5.5. means that a cubic foot of average earth – substance weighs about 5.5. times as much as a cubic foot of water.
2. Most minerals can be quickly identified by means of the petrographic microscope.
3. A wide range of sophisticated instruments – from giant radio dishes and powerful telescopes to flying observatories and robot spacecraft – has been used as a means of investigating the Universe.
4. Artificial earth-orbiting satellites are new means to make people’s lives easier – by forecasting the weather, assisting planes and ships with navigation, or locating deposits of oil and other minerals.
5. What do you mean by a solar cycle?
6. The meaning of the abbreviation UFO is well known to everyone.
7. By means of nuclear fusion the sun generates energy which makes it luminous.
8. The meteorological satellite may be equipped with sensitive photometric devices which measure by optical means the brightness of the earth’s surface.
Ex. 5. Add nouns to the following adjectives to form noun phrases.
| Adjectives: | unimaginable, central, minor, opposite, solar, slow, circular, outer, celestial, universal, rocky, dirty, mean, impressive, luminous, rapid. |
| Nouns: | gravity, reaches, body, planet, snowball, spectacle, orbit, figure, direction, distances, system, wind, star, rotation rate, temperature. |
Ex. 6. Pair the verbs in column A with a suitable phrase in column B. You must find a match for every word but there is not necessarily only one correct solution!
| A | B |
| revolve provide generate rotate approach reflect divide orbit | the energy into two groups the sunlight on their own axes around Saturn the planets with heat and light the sun the outer reaches of the solar system |
Ex. 7. Write out the equivalents in pairs:
| decrease eventually path sphere outer consist of rocky celestial rate mean approximately rapid luminous orbit | heavenly remote circle fast about orbit planet be composed of speed finally average shining decline stony |
Ex. 8. Match the verbs with their appropriate explanations.
| 1) to approach 2) to divide (into) 3) to rotate 4) to head back 5) to evaporate 6) to attract 7) to reflect 8) to revolve 9) to pull away | a) to change into steam and disappear b) to throw back light, f.e. that of the sun c) to turn round a fixed point d) to start to move away from another moving object e) to come near or nearer in space f) to move around a central point g) to separate into two or more parts or groups h) to move in an opposite direction i) to draw or pull towards oneself, cause to come near |
Ex. 9. Find words and phrases in the text that correspond to the definitions given below.
1. All space and everything that exists in it.
2. Any of the large group of stars held together by the mutual gravitational attractions of one star for another.
3. A non-luminous body in space gravitationally bound to the sun or a star and rotating in orbit in counterclockwise direction.
4. An object in space that circles the sun in a long elliptical path and has a very bright head and a long tail.
5. A body in space that moves round a larger one, esp. a planet.
6. One of many rocky small planets between Mars and Jupiter.
7. The natural force by which objects are attracted to each other, esp. that by which a large mass pulls a smaller one to it.
8. The path followed by the earth in its annual movement around the sun.