Unit 4

Life
Out There
In this unit, I will ...
• discuss life in space.
• discuss space exploration.
• express my opinion.
• write a persuasive paragraph.

Circle the correct letter.

1. What are they looking at?
a. the clouds b. the stars
2. What time of day is it?
a. late b. the middle
afternoon of the night
3. Why are they wearing coats?
a. T hey are b. It is cold.
on the moon.

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The Milky Way

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 1 Listen and read. TR: A30

2 Listen and repeat. TR: A31

Earth is a planet that moves around the Sun. Other planets also orbit
the Sun. The Sun and planets make up our solar system. The Sun is
a star like the stars you see in the sky at night. Some stars have solar
systems with planets, too. There might be another planet out there that
has an atmosphere with oxygen to breathe.

A star and the planets that orbit around it make up

a solar system. Stars and solar systems make up a
galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way. It has about
100 billion stars. Outside our galaxy, there are more
galaxies! There are more galaxies in the universe than
there are stars in a galaxy. How many? We don’t know!
There are too many, and lots are too far away to see.

an orbit a planet

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 A comet is a cloud of rock, ice and gas that
orbits the Sun. Many earth years pass during
its journey around the Sun. Scientists keep
data on comets to know when they will appear.

space
a comet

a galaxy

Think of the many galaxies in the universe. Think

of the many stars in each galaxy. Think of the
many planets that orbit the stars. Do you think
that extraterrestrials may live on one of the
planets? Many people debate this question.

3 Work with a friend. What did

you learn? Discuss.

I don’t think there’s

life on other planets. Well, I think it’s possible.

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 4 Listen, read and sing. TR: A32

Deep in Outer Space

Let’s all go on a journey
through the atmosphere.
Beyond our solar system,
far away from here.

We might find a new planet.

We might find a new place.
We might find things we’ve never seen,
deep in outer space.

Deep in outer space,

who knows what we might find?
Deep in outer space,
deep in outer space.

Somewhere in the universe,

we might find a moon
where flowers grow.
You never know,
but I wish we’d get there soon!

CHORUS

But right here on planet Earth

life is all around.
Our world is full of colour,
texture, light and sound.

We can go on a journey
right outside our door,
and see the wonders of life on Earth
and so much more.

CHORUS

Deep in outer space.

5 Work with a friend. Talk about life

in outer space. Take turns.
• moon • solar system
• planet • universe
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Rosette Nebula

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 Gr ammar TR: A33

If a planet has an atmosphere, it may Do you think astronauts might go to

have life. the moon again?
There might be life on other planets. Yes, but it may be very simple life.

6 Read. Tick the true sentences.

1. Some stars may have planets like Earth. ✔

2. We may find extraterrestrials on a distant planet.

3. A meteor might hit Earth.

4. The Milky Way might be a galaxy.

5. Earth may have an atmosphere.

6. You may become an astronaut.

7 Complete the sentences.

are is live
may be may discover may live

1. There may be oxygen on planets in other galaxies.

2. There no oxygen on the Moon.

3. Extraterrestrials on other planets.

4. Astronauts in the space station for

some time.

5. There other solar systems in the universe.

6. One day, scientists life on other planets.

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8 What do you think? Write sentences.

1. extraterrestrial / green skin Extraterrestrials might not have green skin like they
do in films.
2. comet / lifetime

3. universe / galaxies

4. comet / our planet

5. find / life

9 Work in groups of three. Take turns. Make a sentence about life in the
universe. Your friends will add more information.

There may be another planet The planet might be too

with an atmosphere like Earth’s. hot or too cold for life.

If the planet has water,

it may have plants.

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10 Listen and repeat. Then read and write. TR: A34
an astronaut
a spacecraft

a space station

communicate

a rocket

SETI: Search for

ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence

1. A powerful rocket is needed to send anything into space.

2. People live and work in a . They perform

experiments in space.

3. Extraterrestrials probably would not speak English. It would be difficult

to with them.

4. I saw a documentary about the for life in

other galaxies.

5. One day we may land a on the moon again.

6. Someone who travels in space is an .

11 Listen and stick. Work with a friend. Take turns describing

the rocket launch. TR: A35

1 2 3 4 5
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 Gr ammar TR: A36

Did everyone see that comet? Would anyone like to be an astronaut?

Someone will go to Mars one day. No one can see all the stars in the universe.

12 Read and write. Complete the paragraph.

anyone    everyone    no one    someone

Everyone likes to debate about life on other planets.

knows for sure if there is life out there, or not. If

tells you that they know, that person really doesn’t know!

Are you who likes to debate? I will debate about life in

space with who wants to. knows the

answer, but has an opinion!

13 Work with a friend. What about you?

1. Does anyone in your family think there is life on other planets?
2. Name one thing everyone in your family does believe.
3. Name one thing no one in your family believes.
4. Name a funny habit someone in your family has.

14 Play a game. Cut out the cards on page 165. Make sentences.
Take turns.
Everyone here is Someone in this class is
a good student. wearing an orange T-shirt.

Has anyone got an

umbrella?

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15 Listen and read. TR: A37

Listening for Life

If extraterrestrials live on other planets, we can’t see them. Planets in other solar
systems are very far away. We can’t see the planets, even with our biggest telescopes. But
what if the extraterrestrials want to communicate with us? What if they are sending us
messages? This signal would travel through space. After many years, it might reach our
solar system. The signal would be very weak. It would be hidden in the noise from other
places in space. We would need special tools to hear it.
Scientists at SETI have made a tool for listening. It uses 42 satellite dishes that are
joined together. Scientists plan to have 350 dishes one day. They point all the dishes at
the same place in the sky. Then they search for any data they can hear. The dishes can
hear very weak signals. For example, they could hear a mobile phone on a planet in our
solar system. (That’s if anyone had a mobile phone on Jupiter!) The dishes pick up noise
from radios on Earth, too. Scientists must be careful to avoid this noise.
We have not heard from an extraterrestrial yet. But is it possible that they are
listening to us? If they are, most could not have heard us yet. We have used radios for
fewer than 100 years. That isn’t much time for the big distances in the
universe. In that time, our signal could only reach a small number of stars.
Extraterrestrials from nearby solar systems would not
hear us for thousands of years.

Length of Time Needed for Radio Waves to Reach Earth

4.3 light years 431 light years 27,000 light years

T W Y
Earth Nearest star, North Pole star, The centre of
Alpha Centauri Polaris the Milky Way
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16 Tick T for True and F for False.
1. Extraterrestrials have listened to our radio waves for over 100 years. T   F

2. SETI dishes listen for life by listening for radio signals. T   F

3. Scientists point the SETI dishes in lots of directions. T   F

4. Radio waves from Earth are a problem for SETI scientists. T   F

17 Should we search for life? Write why and why not.

I think it’s a good idea to search I think it’s a bad idea to search for
for life because ... life because ...

The first astronauts

18 Work with a friend. Look at the table were fruit flies. They
and discuss. Support your opinion. were launched on
20th February 1947.

I think it’s a good thing to search for life because we

can learn lots of things from extraterrestrials. But how would we
communicate with them?

2,480,000 light years 13,100,000,000 light years

Z W
The nearest As far as we
galaxy, Andromeda can see in the universe
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 Paragraphs of Persuasion
In persuasive paragraphs, you write to convince the reader of your opinion.
To persuade the reader, you use facts to support your opinion. Write strong
sentences that show you believe in what you are saying. Introduce your facts
with expressions such as research shows, according to and the facts show that.

19 Read. How is the writer persuasive? Underline the words.

Forever Searching
A long time ago, people thought that the Sun and planets orbited
Earth. We like to think that we are at the centre of things! But
scientists studied the stars carefully. Their research shows that we are
not at the centre. Copernicus was the first to say that Earth orbits
the Sun. He was right. And the Sun orbits the centre of the galaxy. The
universe has many stars that we can’t see. And according to some NASA
scientists, somewhere there may be life.
Why do we search? The facts show that
we have always been people who search.
For example, Zheng was an explorer from
China who travelled as far as Arabia and
the Horn of Africa in the 1400s. Frederick
Cook went to the North Pole in 1908. And
Roald Amundsen travelled to the South Pole
in 1911. We search on Earth and in space
because we like to find answers. And a big
question is, are we alone? We will search
until we know.

20 Write. Do you think we should search for life in space? Take a position.
Think about cost, usefulness, urgent problems on Earth and so on. Use
facts to persuade.

21 Work in a small group. Share your writing.

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Mission
Be curious. ‘and
We finally have the tools
technology to answer
• Think about things you want to know. How can you
this age-old question: Are
find answers?
we alone? Jupiter’s moon
• Work with a friend. Discuss. Do you search for answers Europa is a beautiful place
even when it’s difficult? How do you feel when you to go and explore that
finally find the answer? Write your ideas in the box. question. ’
Kevin Hand
Planetary Scientist/Astrobiologist
Emerging Explorer
I feel happy when I find the answer.

• Work in a group. Share your ideas. Are they the same

or different? Which idea does everyone like best?

Jupiter

Europa
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22 Find information and make a model of a type of
place where you think we could find life.

1. Choose a type of place you think might have life.

2. Find information.

3. Use the information you find and your imagination to

re-create the surface of the type of planet or moon you
choose. Use cardboard, paper and other materials.

4. Draw different life forms as you

imagine them.

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I think there might be
life in a place like this.

Now I can ...

discuss life in space.

discuss space exploration.

express my opinion.

write a persuasive
paragraph.

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