English with Jo

Here is today's English lesson. It is a news story about an Ice Volcano found on Saturn's Moon.  The answers to the exercises will be uploaded on my blog tomorrow.

'Ice volcano' found on Saturn's moon

Source: BBC World Service, 17^th December 2010

Vocabulary

complex-(adj)              - Complicated; difficult to understand or explain.
confidence-(n)             - Trust in someone or something.
material-(n)                  - What something is made of.
speculate-(v)                - To imagine and guess.
dubbed-(v)                  - Name; call one by a special title.
erupt-(v)                      - Explode; a sudden release of energy.
suspected-(v)               - To think something is true.
discovered-(v)             - To be the first to see or learn about and report on something.

Reading Text

'Ice volcano' found on Saturn's moon

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is made up mainly of water, ice and mountains. Now scientists think they've found a mountain that spews lava made not of molten rock, but ice. The observation was announced at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.Titan is a mysterious world. Because it is shrouded in a thick, oily haze, it is extremely hard to identify anything at the moon with confidence. But with temperatures that plunge to minus 180 Celsius at the surface, researchers had suspected it might have ice volcanoes.

And now the Cassini probe has spotted a 1,500m-high mountain with a deep pit in it, and what looks like a flow of material nearby.

Scientists can only speculate what sort of material a cryo-volcano might erupt, but the complex chemistry at Titan suggests it could be a slushy water-ice containing ammonia.

If there are a lot of carbon molecules present, the lava could even look like softened asphalt, candle wax or even polyethylene.

The team which discovered the mountain have dubbed it "the Rose".

Jonathan Amos, BBC News

Comprehension Questions

 
1. What is Titan made up of?

_________________________________________________

2. How high is the mountain that has been discovered on Titan?

_________________________________________________

3. What name has the team given the mountain?

________________________________________________

Vocabulary

Test your understanding of the vocabulary in this article by filling in the blanks below using the new words you have learned.

(complex, confidence, material, speculate, dubbed, erupt, suspected, discovered)

1. The queen _______________________ him Sir Robert.
2. People _______________________ that the old cow was stolen by UFO's.
3. Columbus _______________________ America
4. The police _______________________ he robbed the bank.
5. The volcano might _______________________ at any time.
6. The _______________________ of her dress scratched her skin.
7. He has _______________________ in his doctor.
8. Tom tried to fix the computer but the problem was too _______________________. 

Grammar

Adjectives tell us about people, "Maria is a smart", places "Paris is beautiful", or things "The food is good". 

Can you find the adjectives in the sentences below?

1. Now scientists think they've found a mountain that spews lava made not of molten rock, but ice.
2. If there are a lot of carbon molecules present, the lava could even look like softened asphalt, candle wax or even polyethylene.
3. Because it is shrouded in a thick, oily haze, it is extremely hard to identify anything at the moon with confidence.
4. The complex chemistry at Titan suggests it could be a slushy water-ice containing ammonia.