LEVEL 3 | English Coaching

Trip to Mars

Tech billionaire Elon Musk outlined his plan to colonize Mars at Mexico’s International Astronautical Congress. He explained that SpaceX is developing a rocket and capsule to transport large numbers of people and cargo to Mars.

Although he envisions humans living in a large colony there, he added that one key issue would be getting the cost down low enough to attract willing volunteers. The very first flights would be fairly expensive, but the architecture allows for a cost per ticket of less than 200,000 dollars and maybe as little as 100,000 dollars.

SpaceX plans to fly to Mars about every 26 months when Earth and Mars are favorably aligned for flight. Musk said that he would like to land people on the planet as early as 2024. NASA’s first manned mission to Mars is expected about a decade later.

Musk said that it would be a challenge to fund the project with the rocket development costs alone estimated at 10 billion dollars over the next few years.

The nearly airless planet is typically around 225 million kilometers from Earth and landing the first humans there after a six-to-nine-month journey is an extremely ambitious goal. Musk admits that there would be no guarantee of survival for anyone signing up for the adventure.

Vocabulary

1. Colonize - to send people to live and control a new place

2. Envision - to imagine in the future

3. Estimate - guess

4. Guarantee - promise, certainty

Quiz

1. Who does Elon Musk introduce his plan to?

2. What is his issue when attracting customers?

3. How often can they fly to Mars?

4. What year does NASA expect to get to Mars?

5. What is the most expensive part of the project? How much?

Loch Ness Monster

For centuries, the legend of a prehistoric monster living in Loch Ness, which is a lake in Scotland, has captured people’s imagination.

Supposed sightings of the creature called Nessie increased over the past century with the invention of photography, and many tourists are attracted to the shores every year by the prospect of an encounter.

Now, scientists are hoping to settle the question of Nessie’s existence by analyzing 300 water samples. A professor explained that people are going to take water samples from the lake and test the DNA they find. They will then compare the DNA with other things in databases around the world.

Vocabulary

1. Prehistoric - older than 6,000 years ago

2. Capture people's imagination - to make people interested

3. Supposed - when people say something that might not be true

4. Creature - animal or monster

5. Prospect - possibility

6. Encounter - meeting

7. Settle the question - to find an answer

8. Existence - life

9. Analyze - examine or study the small parts of something

Quiz

1. What is Loch Ness?

2. Where is it?

3. What is strange about this place?

4. Why are more people saying they saw the monster than before?

5. What do tourists hope for when they visit Loch Ness?

6. Who is trying to learn if the monster is real?

7. How will they do it?

8. What do you think the tests will say?

Asteroids

An organization that listens for nuclear weapons detonations detected 26 major explosions on Earth between 2000 and 2013. Nuclear weapons caused none of them, asteroid strikes caused all of them.

B612 Foundation released a video of what it would look like if a city-destroying asteroid hit planet Earth. The chance of an asteroid striking our planet is higher than scientists previously believed.

There is already a NASA program in place which tracks asteroids larger than 1 kilometer. An object of this size would have global consequences if it struck the Earth.

Vocabulary

1. Organization - a group กลุ่ม

2. Detonation - explosion ระเบิด

3. Detect - to find or discover ค้นพบ

4. Foundation - Organization

5. Previously - before เมื่อก่อน

6. In place - already working or being used

7. Consequences - the result of something ผลลัพธ์

Quiz

1. What type of explosions does the group follow?

2. How many did they find between 2000 and 2013?

3. What was different about these explosions?

4. How were the scientists wrong about the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth?

5. Who usually tracks asteroids?

Trump Balloon

A group got permission Monday to use their fat Donald Trump baby balloon during a July 4th celebration near the location where Trump will deliver his speech celebrating the nation's birthday. The group, Code Pink, got approval from the National Park Service to use the balloon near the Washington Monument, but not to fly it very high. Trump is going to make a speech nearby at the Lincoln Memorial.

On Tuesday, the group expressed frustration with the permit, saying that it "is not in the location we requested -- within line of sight of the Lincoln Memorial where President Trump will be speaking."

The group had requested to fly the balloon "on the large, empty expanse at the base of the Washington Monument that would not have obstructed anyone's view but would have allowed the president to see the baby."

"It is wrong that here, in the 'land of the free,' the balloon is being grounded," Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin said.

The balloon gained worldwide attention when it flew during massive protests in London during one of the President's visits last year. It has since been in many political protests, most recently making a return to the London skies when Trump visited last month.

Vocabulary

1. Permission - to be allowed to do something อนุญาต

2. Express - to say or show a feeling การแสดงออก

3. Frustration - angry or upset ความไม่พอใจ

4. Obstruct - to get in the way of someone or something

5. Grounded - to be kept on the ground

6. Massive - very very big ใหญ่มากๆ

Quiz

1. When does the group want to fly their balloon?

2. Who did they need permission from?

3. Where is Trump's speech?

4. Where will they fly the balloon?

5. Why are they mad about the location?

6. Where did the balloon fly for the first time?

7. Why do you think it is important for this group to have the balloon in the "line of sight" of Trump's speech?

Digital Currency

Last Tuesday, Facebook revealed its plans for its new project, a digital currency called Libra.

A non-profit company called the Libra Association will run the digital currency, and it has the support of some big partners, including Mastercard, PayPal and Uber. The service is now being tested but when it launches in 2020, users will be able to send Libra to each other using Facebook’s services like Messenger, WhatsApp or its new digital wallet, Calibra. Other apps will also be able to integrate Libra.

Libra trades are recorded on a blockchain, which is the same technology that bitcoin uses. Facebook says that its goal is to make it easy to exchange money around the world without the fees that traditional banks have.

When it comes to changing Libra into real money, though, users may run into the same issues as other digital money – not all places accept it and not all banks want to trade it for traditional money.

When it comes to privacy, some are also concerned with Facebook’s reputation. The company stated that in most cases, users’ financial and account information will not be shared with Facebook or third parties without permission. Some American politicians want Facebook to stop the digital money project until the government has a chance to weigh in.

Vocabulary

1. Reveal - to show or announce เปิดเผย

2. Currency - a type of money, like Dollars or Baht เงินตรา

3. Integrate - to mix together or combine รวม

4. Exchange- to trade แลกเปลี่ยน/ค้า

5. Concerned - worried ห่วง

6. Reputation - what people thing about someone ชื่อเสียง

7. Permission - to be allowed to do something อนุญาต

8. Weigh in - to give an opinion แสดงความคิดเห็น

Quiz

1. What is different between the Libra and traditional currency?

2. When can people start to use it?

3. What are some of the companies that have partnered with Facebook?

4. What is the issue Libra users will face?

5. What is an advantage of the Libra over traditional banking.

6. What worries people about using Facebook for financial exchanges?

Gucci The Dog

There's a new hero in the Australian city of Sydney – Gucci, the dog who saved her owner from a house fire Monday night.

George Rutonski, Gucci's owner, had been asleep in his home in a Sydney suburb when the fire broke out.

He woke to the sound of two-year-old Gucci's barking and the smell of smoke. With the help of his neighbors, Rutonski and Gucci made it out safely as the house continued to burn.

Rutonski was taken to the hospital to check for smoke inhalation, and credits Gucci with saving his life.

"As they say, man's best friend is his dog," Rutonski said.

Fred Sukker, Rutonski's neighbor, said Rutonski had "lost everything" in the fire.

"I don't think he'd be alive if it wasn't for his dog," Sukker said.

Most of the house, which Rutonski was renting, has been destroyed, with the roof partially collapsed.

The fire may have been started by a cigarette or candle burning in the back room. Rutonski said he didn't hear his smoke alarm, which may have been because the roof collapsed, or because it simply wasn't working in the first place.

"Smoke alarms are best, but dogs are good too," a fire fighter said.

Vocabulary

Inhale - breath in หายใจเข้า
Credit - to thank or admire for something
Partial - not completely
Collapse - to fall

Quiz

Where does this story take place?
Why didn’t George hear his smoke alarm?
What woke George up?
How old is Gucci?
Who helped them get out?
Why did George have to go to the hospital?
Did George own his house?
What started the fire?