Module 7

Vocabulary
 Unexplained mysteries

A Match the words to form collocations.

1 extraterrestrial a occurrences
2 ancient b disappearances
3 international c release
4 ocean d spacecraft
5 press e force
6 supernatural f headlines
7 strange g floor
8 unexplained h city

 Mysteries & Civilisations

B Complete the sentences with words from the list.

 civilisation  concrete  carvings  fake  powers  remote  temples  unsolved

1 It was believed that witch doctors had 5 Archaeologists found prehistoric

special magic ............................................. . rock ................................ in a cave in the
2 The man was arrested for trying to south of France.
sell ............................... artefacts. 6 The ancient temple was discovered near
3 The Bermuda Triangle remains one of the a ................................ village in the
most famous ............................... mysteries Amazon.
in the world. 7 There is no ............................... evidence
4 Mesopotamia was home to an that extraterrestrial life exists.
early ............................. that developed one 8 The ancient Greeks built
of the first forms of writing. beautiful ................................. for their
gods.

C Replace the words/phrases in bold in the sentences with words from the
list in the correct form.

 conquer  decline  expand  flourish  extend  worship

1 The Ottoman Empire stretched over the 4 The British Empire grew very rapidly in
Balkans and a large part of the the Victorian era. ..............................
Mediterranean. .............................. 5 The Ancient Greeks prayed to a large
2 The Roman Empire became weak and fell number of deities. ..............................
apart after the 3rd century AD. ..................... 6 The Ancient Egyptian civilisation
3 Alexander the Great took control of vast prospered for several centuries and
territories of Europe and Asia. produced great things. ............................
..............................

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 Module 7
 Space & UFOs

D Fill in land, launch, orbit, travel in the correct form.

Columbia was the first of NASA’s space shuttles. It was first 1) ......................... into space
on 12th April 1981, twenty years after the first ever human spaceflight, Vostok 1. Its mission
was to perform a safe ascent into space, to check the space shuttle system and return to
Earth safely. The vessel 2) ........................ the Earth 36 times and 3) ................... a
distance of over 1.7 million kilometres before 4) .......................... safely two days later at
an airbase in California. Columbia would carry out 27 more missions into space before
being destroyed during re-entry in 2003.

E Match the words to form collocations.

1 alien a system
2 close b sightings
3 shooting c exploration
4 solar d star
5 space e abduction
6 UFO f encounter

F Choose the correct word.

1 UFO sightings were at their summit/peak 4 Do you know who discovered/invented
in the 1960s. the wheel?
2 Ancient Roman aqueducts were built to a 5 How high is the top/point of Kilimanjaro?
very clever design/pattern. 6 Have they recovered/uncovered the
3 Many people are waiting for a symbol/ ancient ruins yet?
sign that there is alien life.

G Fill in: bull, dark, doors, truth.

1 The whole meeting was held behind 3 Don’t listen to that! It’s a cock
closed ........................ and everything was and ........................ story.
kept secret. 4 We are all in the ........................ about
2 You shouldn’t tell lies because what really happened.
the ........................ will come out one day.

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 Module 7
 Word formation

H Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in bold.

1 There are high ........................................... from medical research on marine EXPECT

plants.
2 There is simply no ........................................... for the disappearance of the EXPLAIN
ship.
3 Some people don’t think we should spend money on space ........................ . EXPLORE
4 The government set up an ........................................... into the UFO INVESTIGATE
sightings.
5 How many ........................................... are there in the study? PARTICIPATE
6 Did you know that Denis is a ........................................... architect? QUALIFY
7 Jane would like to become a medical ........................................... . RESEARCH
8 Dr Norton keeps coming up with ........................................... theories about INTRIGUE
UFOs.

 Phrasal verbs

I Replace the word/phrase in bold with a suitable phrasal verb from the list
in the correct form.

 cover up  calm down  put forward  come across  pass out

1 Dr Heath presented an interesting theory 4 If I ever saw an extraterrestrial, I think I
on the subject. .............................. would collapse. ..............................
2 Many people believe that the government 5 The fisherman found an ancient tomb
is hiding the real cause of the explosion. while fishing off rocks. ..............................
..............................
3 Dan was sure he saw a UFO and Ken had
to make him relax. ..............................

 Prepositions

J Choose the correct preposition.

1 The soldiers prohibited the people of/from 4 The archaeologist explored the forest in
approaching the UFO crash site. search for/of the ancient ruins.
2 There is a certain amount of controversy 5 There are people constantly trying to
over/with research into artificial intelligence. communicate with/to extraterrestrials
3 A spacecraft is said to have fallen out of the through the airwaves.
sky and crashed onto/into a field.

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 Module 7
Grammar
 Comparisons

A Put the adjectives in brackets into the correct form, adding any necessary
words.

1 The Mothman is by far ................................. 4 Do you know what .....................................

(intriguing) urban myth. (fast) aircraft is?
2 The Odyssey is ............................................ 5 I think medical research
(fascinating) any other poem I have read. is ....................... ................. (important)
3 The Corpus Museum in Amsterdam space exploration.
is ................................... (amazing) 6 Notre Dame is considered one of ..............
Science museum I’ve ever been to. ................... (great) gothic structures in
Europe.

B Put the adverbs in brackets into the correct form, adding any necessary words.

1 Jeff is very bright and 4 His plays are ............................ (widely)

learns ............................ (quickly) anyone I performed in the USA.
know. 5 Simon tries ................................... (hard)
2 The temple was found in one he can to study properly.
of .............................. (remotely) located 6 James tells a tale ......................
areas in the country. (vividly) any of the other kids.
3 Why didn’t you tell him about it ....................
(early)?

C Put the adjectives/adverbs in brackets into the correct form, adding any
necessary words.

1 A: Sorry! Could you tell me where the 5 A: Shall we leave soon?

Science museum is? B: Sure! The ...................................
B: Oh, yes! It’s ................................... (far) (early) we leave,
down the street towards the river. the ................................... (good).
2 A: Wow! Did you see that? 6 A: Let’s take a taxi.
B: Yep! That was ................................... B: No, the underground will cost
(strange) thing I’ve ever seen. us ................................... (little).
3 A: He really believes in aliens, doesn’t he? 7 A: Does anyone know what happened?
B: Yeah, no one believes in B: No, it’s just .........................................
them ................................... (mysterious) as all the other
(passionately) than Thomas. disappearances.
4 A: Lenny knows a lot about ancient 8 A: So everyone agrees then?
civilisations, doesn’t he? B: Yes, it is ........................................
B: Yes, he is by far ................................... (widely) accepted theory in the world.

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 Module 7
(knowledgeable) person I know.

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 Module 7
D Choose the correct item.

1 Maths is more/most difficult than English. 7 Space shuttle technology is becoming

2 Stories about Bigfoot go back as farther/ the more/more and more advanced.
far as the 1950s. 8 The Inca empire expanded more
3 The article I read about Atlantis was rapidly/rapid than any other empire at
less/least interesting than I had expected. that time.
4 The Pyramids are much old/older than the 9 I am not impressed by alien stories as
Parthenon. easy/easily as you are.
5 Bicycles aren’t as fast than/as cars. 10 The longer/longest we stay, the more
6 Helen’s project on ancient civilisations was time we can spend visiting the ancient
the best of/in class. ruins.

E Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first.

1 That disappearance is more mysterious 4 That book was the cheapest in the shop.
than any other. It was .....................................................
It is .................................................... of all. expensive book in the shop.
2 He tells stories in a more convincing way 5 He is among the top scientists in the world.
than anyone else. He is one ...............................................
He tells stories ........................................... scientists in the world.
anyone else. 6 Archaeologists around the world
3 The documentary was not as interesting as appreciate that type of artefact more than
the previous ones. any other.
The documentary was ............................... That type of artefact is ...........................
.......................................the previous ones. ........................................................of all.

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 Module 7
 Inversion

F Rewrite the sentences as inversions.

1 I rarely hear about any UFO sightings 5 He was so frightened that his legs were
around here. shaking.
Rarely ....................................................... So ...........................................................
................................................................. . .............................................................. .
2 If I had had a camera with me, I would 6 If the sky is clear tonight we will see a
have photographed the UFO. partial eclipse of the moon.
Had ........................................................... Should ....................................................
................................................................. . .............................................................. .
3 We had just arrived at the spot when we 7 They didn’t believe the man until they
saw strange creatures. saw it themselves.
Hardly........................................................ Only after ................................................
................................................................. . .............................................................. .
4 He believes in UFOs and also thinks that 8 If I were you, I would write a book about
governments know about them. the abduction.
Not only...................................................... Were ......................................................
................................................................. . .............................................................. .

 Clauses

G Join the sentences using the words in brackets.

1 A number of people claim to have seen 5 He bought a telescope. He wanted to

UFOs. There is no proof of extraterrestrial observe the stars at night. (so as to)
life. (although) ................................................................
.................................................................. ................................................................
.................................................................. 6 The launch of the shuttle was postponed.
2 They collected the pieces of the wreckage. The weather was bad. (due to)
They wanted to study it. (in order to) ................................................................
.................................................................. ................................................................
.................................................................. 7 The Antikythera Mechanism is a complex
3 He leaves the radio on all the time. He mystery. No one really knows what it was
wants to listen out for alien transmissions. used for. (such a ... that)
(so that) ................................................................
.................................................................. ................................................................
.................................................................. 8 Stephen talks. He thinks he was really
4 There is no proof of the existence of Atlantis. abducted by aliens. (as if)
Dr Byrne still believes in it. (despite the fact ................................................................
that) ......................................................... ................................................................
..................................................................

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 Module 7
Reading
Read the text and choose the best answer, A, B, C or D.

Newgrange: a 5,000-year-old mystery

Newgrange is a mysterious prehistoric monument located in County Meath in Ireland. It
was built during the Neolithic period sometime around 3,200 BC making it older than the more
famous great pyramids of Egypt or Stonehenge in England. Newgrange is part of a complex of
35 monuments built along a bend of the River Boyne known collectively as Brú na Bóinne and
is surrounded by a circle of huge standing stones. The building is a kidney-shaped structure
76m across and 12m high comprising of a large mound of alternating layers of earth and stones
with grass growing on top. On the south-eastern side of the mound is an entrance leading to a
chambered passage made from slabs of stone, some of which are decorated. The passage
stretches for 18.95 metres and leads to a large central chamber and three smaller chambers.
The structure contains a variety of abstract Neolithic rock art carvings, one of the most
important being a triskele, found on the entrance stone. This is a Celtic symbol consisting of line
three spirals and is considered one of the most famous stone carvings of all megalithic art. 11
How such a huge building was constructed without machinery remains a mystery. The
stones used for the main structure are local but weigh a total of 200,000 tonnes and would have
been difficult to transport uphill to the site. Others come from a beach around 20 km away. It is
thought they were brought up the river tied to the underside of boats. The true mystery of
Newgrange lies in its astronomical character, though. Once a year, at the winter solstice on 21st
December, the sun shines directly through a specially designed opening known as a roof-box
and illuminates the central chamber for about 17 minutes. Although solar alignments are not
uncommon among passage graves, Newgrange is one of only a few to contain a roof-box
feature and its alignment is very precise compared to that of other similar structures. These
days, the first rays of light enter the chamber about four minutes after sunrise, but calculations
show that 5,000 years ago, first light would have entered exactly at sunrise.
People do not all agree on why the building was built and what it was used for. During
the medieval period, Newgrange and the wider Brú na Bóinne Neolithic complex were often
associated with figures of Irish mythology and some people believed them to be inhabited by
supernatural spirits. More recently, archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb
where the bones of the dead were possibly originally deposited. Some claim that it was an
ancient temple of spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance designed for a ritualistic
capturing of the sun on the shortest day of the year for a people for whom the sun was an
important form of worship. Others claim it was a centre of astronomy, geometry and mythology.
Today, Newgrange is widely recognised as one of the most important megalithic
structures in Europe and is consequently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has also become a
popular tourist site and visitors can experience an artificial reproduction of the astronomical
phenomenon any time of year. An annual lottery is also held for a few lucky people to be
allowed into the tomb on the winter solstice to view the actual event.

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 Module 7
1 According to the text, Newgrange was built before
A any other Neolithic monument.
B the other buildings in the complex.
C the ancient Egyptian pyramids.
D any other building in Ireland.

2 In line 11, what does ‘This’ refer to?

A the building and the complex
B the building’s entrance stone
C a carving in the central chambers
D a design on the entrance stone

3 Newgrange is unique because of

A the way the building was constructed.
B how long the central chamber is lit up.
C the decorations in the central chamber.
D how exact the solar alignment is.

4 Newgrange and its surroundings were

A once thought to be haunted.
B used to re-enact ancient Irish history.
C only discovered in medieval times.
D used throughout the year to worship the sun.

5 Tourists who visit the site

A are not allowed inside Newgrange.
B can see what happens on the winter solstice.
C have to enter an annual lottery.
D must have permission from UNESCO.

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 Module 7
Listening

Listen to a talk about the Bermuda Triangle and for questions 1-5 choose the
correct answer, A, B or C.

1 The speaker is
A an airline pilot.
B an engineer.
C a researcher.

2 The craft disappeared

A in fine weather.
B after sending out warnings.
C as soon as they got into the triangle.

3 The name ‘Bermuda Triangle’ was chosen because

A the island was in the centre of the triangle.
B Bermuda was the largest island nearby.
C Bermuda already had an appropriate nickname.

4 Some explanations say a plane could explode due to

A electronic fog.
B methane gas.
C malfunctioning instruments.

5 To fly from London to Bermuda was hazardous because

A of weather conditions.
B planes were badly designed.
C planes of the time didn’t carry as much fuel as today.

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