SUMMARY OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Unit 9: Life on other planets
1. Vocabulary
Learnt vocabulary Aspect of vocabulary learnt Reference
(main focus only)
Explicit: Spoken form Unit 9 - p. 90, p.
● Planets in the solar system: Written form 93, p. 94, p.95
Earth, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Meaning
Uranus, Neptune Collocation
● The solar system:
Aliens, galaxy, Milky Way, orbit, solar system,
universe
Implicit:
● Reading:
Life on the Moon: Lunar Module, spaceship,
craters, gather, sign, humans
● Grammar:
bored with, serious about, interested in,
hopeless at, different from, similar to, silly of,
familiar with, worried about, ready for
● Listening:
space mission, scape telescope, space shuttle,
habitable planet
2. Pronunciation
Learnt pronunciation Reference
Intonation in exclamatory sentences: Exclamatory sentences in English have a Unit 4 - p.98
falling intonation.
3. Grammar
Learnt grammatical structures Aspect of grammar learnt Reference
(main focus only)
1. Articles: a / an / the / zero article Form, Meaning, Use Unit 9 - p.92, p.
- We use a and an before nouns when we are 94
not referring to any specific one.
Eg: A planet is a large object that orbits a star.
- We use the before nouns when we refer to a
specific one, but we don't use it for names.
Eg: The fourth planet from the Sun is Mars.
- We use the zero article (which is no article)
before some specific nouns, such as:
+ names (John);
+ planets (Jupiter);
+ places (Hong Kong);
+ streets (Oxford) Street);
+ languages (German);
+ school subjects (history); and
+ times (Sunday, winter, October).
Eg: Mars is covered with a mineral water called
iron oxide.
2. Prepositions after adjectives:
Prepositions commonly follow adjectives. The
most common prepositions that follow
adjectives are: about, at, by, for, from, in, of,
to, and with.
● Adjectives + of: scared of, thoughtful of,
proud of, tired of;
● Adjectives + to: accustomed to, similar
to, devoted to, married to;
● Adjectives + about: excited about, mad
about, furious about, upset about;
● Adjectives + with: bored with, angry
with, pleased with;
● Adjectives + at: angry at, bad at, good at,
slow at.
4. Reading
Learnt reading skills Genre/ topic/ condition Reference
Identify specific information in a - Genre: Report Unit 9 - p. 93
report about life on the Moon and - Topic: Life on the Moon
guess the meanings of new words in - Condition: straightforward, factual,
context. 150-180 words
5. Listening
Learnt listening skills Genre/ topic Reference
Identify main points and specific - Genre: Announcement Unit 9 - p. 95
information in an announcement - Topic: Life on a new planet
about life on a new planet. - Condition: Straightforward, factual,
140-160 words
6. Writing/English in Use
Learnt writing skills Language Reference
Write a paragraph to describe a film Outline: Unit 9 - p. 97
about life on the other planets.
● Title of the film
● Main character(s)
● Where the film takes place
● What happens in the film
● The ending of the film
● Your feelings about the film
Unit 9: Life on other planets
TEST
Note: Each correct answer earns 0.2 points.
I. PRONUNCIATION (1 point)
A. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently.
1. A. adjective B. preposition C. Mercury D. Neptune
2. A. excited B. crater C. space D. place
3. A. orbit B. bored C. or D. hopeless
B. Choose the word that has a different stressed syllable from the rest.
4. A. Mercury B. familiar C. Jupiter D. galaxy
5. A. report B. Venus C. alien D. solar
II. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (4 points)
A. Choose the best answer for each question.
6. The space __________ is a space vehicle used by humans to travel into space from Earth.
A. mission B. shuttle C. plane D. telescope
7. __________ Mars, the fourth planet of __________ solar system, has two moons: Phobos and
Deimos.
A. zero article - the B. The - a
C. zero article - zero article D. The - the
8. In the context of outer space, an __________ is a being who is not from Earth.
A. galaxy B. alien C. sign D. creature
9. The moon orbits the Earth on a path that is __________ to an ellipse..
A. alike B. familiar C. similar D. same
10. The word "__________ " refers to all of space and everything within it. It includes everything
we can observe with a __________, including galaxies, stars, planets, and more.
A. alien - camera B. space - telescope
C. planet - camera D. universe - telescope
11. The rings of Saturn have millions of small pieces of icy material and dust that __________ the
planet.
A. orbit B. gather C. walk D. make
12. Each planet in our solar system is __________ from the other in size, shape, and temperature.
A. far B. different C. scary D. strange
13. Yesterday I went to the cinema to watch __________ comedic sci-fi film. __________ main
character found out that his boss was __________ alien from another planet.
A. a - zero article - an B. a - the - an
C. the - the - an D. a - the - zero article
14. The surface of the moon has many __________, which are the result of meteorite impacts over
billions of years.
A. flags B. rocks C. spaceships D. craters
15. Without __________ sun, __________ Earth would be a frozen, uninhabitable planet.
A. the - the B. the - zero article
C. zero article - the D. zero article - zero article
B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box.
at to with about in
I was bored 16__________ life on Earth, so I was interested 17__________ learning about space.
However, as I was trying to find out more about the universe, I felt hopeless 18 __________
understanding the complexity of the Milky Way galaxy. Therefore, I wrote letters to space experts
and asked for their help. Luckily, some experts agreed to help me, and I was so excited
19__________ my new learning opportunities. With their help, I discovered the similarities and
differences between different planets, and I became even more devoted 20__________ finding out
more about space.
C. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the words.
21. __________ predict that NASA will find alien life in the next 25 years. (SCIENCE)
22. It has been found that Mercury is not a __________ planet. (HABIT)
23. After two weeks, she has now become much more __________ with the local area. (FAMILY)
24. Sherlock Holmes is a popular __________ character. (FICTION)
25. Phong is a very __________ boy. He always imagines himself as an astronaut who is exploring
space. (IMAGINATION)
III. LISTENING (1 point)
Listen to a podcast and:
A. Answer the questions.
26. According to the passage, where can these aliens live?
_____________________________________________.
27. How can they come to visit our planet?
_____________________________________________.
28. Are there a lot of people that have seen UFOs?
_____________________________________________.
29. According to the witnesses, what did the aliens wish to do on Earth?
_____________________________________________.
B. Choose A, B, C, or D.
30. What is NOT talked about in the podcast?
A. What aliens may look like.
B. How aliens can travel to our planet.
C. Stories about aliens kidnapping humans.
D. The wish of aliens who come to Earth.
IV. READING (2 points)
A. Read the passage and choose A, B, C, or D.
Space is an area. From our point of view, as Earthlings, it starts about 100 kilometres above our
planet Earth. Up there, beyond our atmosphere, there is no air to breathe or to allow light to pass
through. In that area, blue becomes black because there are not enough oxygen molecules to make
the sky blue.
We measure long distances in space in "light years." A light year represents the distance it takes for
light to travel in a year and that is about 9.3 trillion kilometres. From light that is visible in our
telescopes, we have charted galaxies reaching almost as far back as the Big Bang, which is thought
to have started our universe 13.7 billion years ago.
However, astronomers are not sure if our universe is the only universe that exists. There may be
more universes! This means that space could be a lot bigger than it appears to us and certainly,
bigger than we can imagine.
31. What is the most suitable title for this passage?
A. New discoveries in space.
B. What is space?
C. The Big Bang.
D. How many universes are there in space?
32. According to the passage, what is NOT true about space?
A. light cannot pass through because there is no air
B. the lack of blue oxygen molecules makes blue become black
C. space can be a lot bigger than we think
D. our universe is the only universe that exists in space
33. What does the word Earthlings in the first paragraph refer to?
A. human beings B. every creature on Earth
C. aliens D. planets that are near the Earth
34. According to the second paragraph, a light year __________.
A. can be seen by using telescopes
B. is measured with charts
C. is thought to have started our universe
D. represents the distance it takes for light to travel in a year
35. The verb charted in the passage is closest in meaning to __________.
A. measured B. sketched C. mapped out D. drew up
B. Read the passage and answer the questions.
People used to think that there were six planets moving in a circle around the Sun. Mercury was the
nearest to the Sun and Saturn was the farthest away. Most scientists knew that the Earth was the
third nearest planet to the Sun, between Venus and Mars, and that Jupiter was between Mars and
Saturn.
We have now discovered that there are three more planets - Uranus, Pluto and Neptune. These
others are farther from the Sun, and Pluto is the farthest one. From its time of discovery in 1930,
Pluto was considered to be the ninth planet in the solar system. In 2006 the IAU International
Astronomical Union changed the definition of 'planet', so that Pluto is not a planet, but the second
largest dwarf planet in the solar system.
Therefore, there are eight planets. This sentence will help you learn the order of the planets:
My very educated mother just served us noodles.
36. What is the third nearest planet to the Sun?
_____________________________________________.
37. When was Pluto discovered?
_____________________________________________.
38. What kind of a planet is Pluto nowadays?
_____________________________________________.
39. How many years was Pluto considered a planet?
_____________________________________________.
40. Name the planets in the correct order.
_____________________________________________.
V. WRITING (2 points)
OPTION 1
A. Reorder the words and write the meaningful sentences to make a movie summary.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
41. boy / his / a / the movie, / In / name / is / main / is / and / character / the / Elliott.
→ _____________________________________________.
42. backyard / an alien / Elliott / him. / finds / decides / in / One night, / his / and / to / help
→ _____________________________________________.
43. Elliott / evil / the alien / hide / the / has / to / from / scientists.
→ _____________________________________________.
44. a radio / helped / His siblings / build / contact / the alien / to / his planet.
→ _____________________________________________.
45. The alien / goodbye / to / his planet. / to / Elliott / as / says / returns / he
→ _____________________________________________.
B. Use the given words or phrases to make complete sentences.
46. Astronauts / go / space missions / Venus / learn / its extreme temperature.
→ _____________________________________________.
47. Jupiter / largest planet / solar system / and / known / strong winds / intense storms.
→ _____________________________________________.
48. Nasa's Apollo 11 mission / to / Moon / was / most / significant / memorable / space mission /
history.
→ _____________________________________________.
49. There / stories / UFOs and aliens / but / scientists / not provided / proof / existence.
→ _____________________________________________.
50. solar system / is / collection / eight / planets / and / various / moons / all of which / orbit / Sun.
→ _____________________________________________.
OPTION 2
Write a paragraph (80-100 words) to describe a science fiction movie about aliens that you love.
Include the following ideas in your writing:
● Title of the film
● Main character(s)
● Where the film takes place
● What happens in the film
● The ending of the film
● Your feelings about the film
***End – Of – Test***
Unit 9: Life on other planets
KEY
Note: Each correct answer earns 0.2 points.
I. PRONUNCIATION (1 point)
A. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently.
1. C 2. B 3. D
B. Choose the word that has a different stressed syllable from the rest.
4. B 5. A
II. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (4 points)
A. Choose the best answer for each question.
6. B 7. A 8. B 9. C 10. D
11. A 12. B 13. B 14. D 15. A
B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box.
16. with 17. in 18. at 19. about 20. to
C. Fill in the blank with the correct form of the words.
21. Scientists 22. habitable 23. familiar 24. fictional 25. imaginative
III. LISTENING (1 point)
Listen to a podcast and:
A. Answer the questions.
26. Planets or stars. / They can live on all kinds of planets or stars.
27. In their spacecraft. / They will travel in their spacecraft.
28. Yes, there are.
29. They wished to learn more about humans’ ways of living.
B. Choose A, B, C, or D.
30. C
Audio script: (New script)
Many people believe that there can be many ways of life existence on the other side of the Sun. By
using telescopes, they can see all kinds of planets or stars where those lives can take place.
As for the physical appearance, these aliens could be tall and thin, with very big eyes and little or no
hair at all. On the other hand, they could also be short and fat, with green skin, two antennas, and
two long arms. If they ever come to visit our planet, they will travel in their spacecraft which has
advanced technology and sparkling red lights.
There are a lot of people who claim to have witnessed a UFO, been kidnapped by aliens, or have
spoken to creatures with weird skin colors and strange languages. According to these individuals,
these aliens said they came in peace and wanted to avoid wars because they only wished to learn
more about humans’ ways of living.
(Adapted from: islCollective - The other side of the Sun)
IV. READING (2 points)
A. Read the passage and choose A, B, C, or D.
31. B 32. D 33. A 34. D 35. C
(Adapted from: islCollective - What is Space?)
B. Read the passage and answer the questions.
36. The Earth is the third nearest planet to the Sun.
37. Pluto was discovered in 1930.
38. Pluto is a dwarf planet.
39. Pluto was considered a planet for 76 years.
40. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
(Adapted from: islCollective - Planets)
V. WRITING (2 points)
A. Reorder the words and write the meaningful sentences to make a movie summary.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
41. In the movie, the main character is a boy and his name is Elliott.
42. One night, Elliott finds an alien in his backyard and decides to help him.
43. Elliott has to hide the alien from the evil scientists.
44. His siblings helped the alien build a radio to contact his planet.
45. The alien says goodbye to Elliott as he returns to his planet.
B. Use the prompts to write an email to ask for advice from a columnist about bullying.
46. Astronauts go on space missions to Venus to learn about its extreme temperature.
47. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is known for its strong winds and intense
storms.
48. Nasa's Apollo 11 mission to the Moon was the most significant and memorable space mission in
history.
49. There are stories about UFOs and aliens, but scientists have not provided proof of their
existence.
50. The solar system is a collection of eight planets and various moons, all of which orbit the Sun.
***End – Of – Test***
