9.2
SURVIVAL ENGINEERING
88
VOCABULARY
HAZARDS AND GLOBAL THREATS
1
a
Match the words in the box with
their meanings.
asteroid meteor meteorite extinction
collide deflect probe hazardous
1
a small piece of rock or metal that is
burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere
2
a piece of rock or metal that has come
from space and landed on Earth
3
a very large piece of rock that is
moving through space
4
a spacecraft without people, sent into
space to gather information
5
dangerous
6
make something move in a different
direction
7
crash violently into something
8
when animals or plants stop existing
1
b
Complete the text using some of the
words from Exercise 1a.
A massive
1
might
2
with the
Earth in the year 2040 causing mass
3
. Scientists have been discussing
how to
4
potentially
5
asteroids to prevent them hitting the Earth.
One possibility is to send a
6
to land
on the asteroid and monitor its progress.
READING
2
Read the title of the article. How
much do you know about the threat
of asteroids? Work in small groups and
share your information.
3
a
Read the article quickly and put the
topics below into the order they appear
in the text.
F
2005 YU55
F
Yucatan Peninsula
F
Methods to avoid collisions with
asteroids
F
2012 TC4
3
b
Read the article again and make
notes about the four topics.
3
c
Now work in pairs. Take it in turns to
tell your partner about each of the topics
without looking at the text.
4
Identifying facts
Read the article again
and find two known facts and two things
that are speculation.
5
Can you think of any other ways of
preventing asteroids hitting the Earth?
Olga Shevchenko, Science Correspondent
M
ost scientists agree
that the threat of
a large asteroid or
meteor hitting the Earth is real,
5
although they cannot predict
when such an event will occur.
However, a recent event in
Russia reminded everyone of
the danger of meteors and
10
asteroids. In the Urals region, on
15 February, a meteor flashed
across the sky and broke up
over the city of Chelyabinsk. The
huge explosion followed by
15
shock waves smashed windows,
destroyed roofs and injured
around 1,200 people. The meteor
weighed 10 tonnes and was
travelling at an estimated speed
20
of 50,000–60,000 km/h before
it disintegrated. According to
residents, it was a terrifying
experience.
The Earth has been struck
25
many times in the past by large
objects. A meteorite, estimated
to be about twelve kilometres in
diameter, collided with the Earth
in the region of the Yucatan
30
Penisula (now Mexico) 65
million years ago. Many
scientists and historians believe
that the extinction of the
dinosaurs and other animals
was a result of
35
this collision.
Just recently, an asteroid as big
as an aircraft carrier passed
within the Moon’s orbit. It was
the largest object to approach
40
the Earth in more than thirty
years. The rock, 2005 YU55, as its
name suggests, was first seen in
December 2005 and came within
325,000 kilometres of the Earth.
45
NASA, the US space agency,
tracked the asteroid as it
approached, using high-powered
instruments and its massive radio
telescope in Puerto Rico.
50
The space agency classified
the asteroid as ‘potentially
hazardous’ but there was no
danger of it colliding with the
Earth. However, if the asteroid
55
had crashed into the Earth,
it could have caused a huge
earthquake. If it had fallen
into the ocean, it could have
produced a 20-metre tsunami.
ASTEROIDS
A MAJOR THREAT FROM OUTER SPACE
