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Anthrax is the name of a deadly virus discovered in the ice.

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A collaborative platform for your conferences and your training sessions

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China launches space mission to collect first lunar rocks in 40 years

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2. The Forum (BBC Radio 4) The Moon from the Earth

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2. The Forum (BBC Radio 4) The Moon from the Earth

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3. Scientists explain how Moon mining would work 

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3. Scientists explain how Moon mining would work 

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Scientist Explains How Moon Mining Would Work | WIRED

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Can you imagine being left in a capsule orbiting the Moon all by yourself, while your team mates go walk on the surface and become the first two humans to do so in history? That's what happened to the late Michael Collins in 1969. Neil and Georgina talk about the Apollo 11 astronaut, and teach you related vocabulary.

This week's question

The first animal that went into space was a Russian dog. It was 1957. What was the dog's name?

a) Irina
b) Laika
c) Anastasia

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

pioneer
the first person to do something or go somewhere

camaraderie
friendship or trust created by being together for some time

bond
a connection or shared link

go down in history
become famous

trailblazer
someone who does something revolutionary or for the first time

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

NeilYes - and just think about being in a space module together - trapped for all those hours - it could create quite the sense of camaraderie - a friendship and trust formed by spending time together.

a) Irina
b) Laika or
c) Anastasia?

Yes, a lot of people questioned Collins afterwards regarding the solitude, about which he had this to say in the same interview with BBC programme Hard Talk:

Neil
Which is correct, well done! And you were right when you said that she sadly didn't survive the return to Earth.

NeilYes, we had camaraderie - a sense of trust and friendship after spending a long time together, and the creation of strong bonds or connections.

And if you're the first person to do something, you could be called a pioneer.

NeilOr even a trailblazer which means the same thing. And if you are the first person to do something, you could become famous and go down in history.

And finally we spoke about the solitude, or state of being alone, that Collins must have experienced.

Georgina
If you are busy, we offer English in a Minute: short videos with tips on how to improve your English.

Georgina
Don't forget we have an app too, which you can download for free from the app stores. We help you learn English on the move! Grammar, vocabulary, and interesting topics - we have them all! Visit our website! Get the app!

Georgina
Goodbye.

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / The loneliest man in history

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Can you imagine being left in a capsule orbiting the Moon all by yourself, while your team mates go walk on the surface and become the first two humans to do so in history? That's what happened to the late Michael Collins in 1969.

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Do you have what it takes to be an astronaut? Alice and Rob discuss the challenges of going to space to do a job thousands of people are keen on.

This week's question

How many people have applied to join Nasa's 2017 astronaut class? Was it...

a) 800

b) 8,000

c) 18,000 people?

You can hear the correct answer at the end of the programme.

Vocabulary

in orbit
being in space and following the path around the Earth's curvature

claustrophobia
fear of being in a small space

get on someone's nerves
to annoy someone

zero gravity
a condition where gravity is exerting no force

buoyancy
the ability to float

nosedive
fast and sudden fall

stranded
left behind

forage
to search (used especially for animals looking for food)

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Yes. There are many others like you who would like to go for this job, Rob. And that's the quiz question for you today. How many people have applied to join Nasa's 2017 astronaut class? Was it...
a) 800
b) 8,000
Or c) 18,000 people?

But zero gravity - a condition where gravity is exerting no force - can lead to wasting of the bones and muscles. Astronauts take two and a half hours of exercise per day to help prevent this.

Major Tim Peake, British astronaut with the European Space Agency
The way we practise spacewalk is in water. Water gives us the neutral buoyancy that we need. So we sink training modules into swimming pools and then practise the spacewalking on them. We wear very specific equipment, a pressurized spacesuit - very difficult to move in actually - it's hard to bend the fingers, it's hard to bend your arms - and it really gives you quite a difficult workout.

British astronaut Tim Peake says water gives us buoyancy, which is the ability to float. Floating in space is similar to floating in water, so astronauts practise their spacewalk in swimming pools.

Yes. They take to the water and to the air too. Astronauts experience the feeling of weightlessness in planes. A large plane with padded walls flies to high altitude and then goes into a nosedive - or a fast and sudden fall - which creates short periods of weightlessness.

That's right. Yes. So do you think you have what it takes to survive in a challenging environment, Rob? Let's listen to Major Tim Peake talking about his survival training.

Major Tim Peak, British astronaut with the European Space Agency
Survival training: for this year the European Space Agency sends us to Sardinia. When you land in the Soyuz capsule sometimes you might not land exactly where you expect to be. Foraging for food, for example, and your basic elements of shelter and protection, getting water... Go and live in a cave for seven days with an international crew. And it's a wonderful environment to prepare you for a mission because you are very isolated.

So astronauts may get stranded on Earth - when the space capsule lands somewhere unexpected. And they have to find food. Forage means to search.

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Could you be an astronaut?

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Do you have what it takes to be an astronaut? Alice and Rob discuss the challenges of going to space to do a job thousands of people are keen on. How many people have applied to join Nasa's 2017 astronaut class? Was it... a) 800 b) 8,000 c) 18,000 people?

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Fifty years ago, on 18 March 1965, Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov took the first space walk.

Listen to Rob and Neil describing the struggles of that groundbreaking space mission whilst explaining some related vocabulary.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast version!

This week's question

How long did the first space walk last? Was it...
a) 2 minutes?
b) 12 minutes?
c) 22 minutes?

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

stranded
left somewhere with no way of leaving

like nothing on earth
(idiom) very good/very bad

plain sailing
going without any problems

unknown territory
a place where nobody had ever visited

inflated
filled with air or gas

can't cope with something
can't manage a difficult situation

presence of mind
being able to make good decisions or act quickly in a difficult situation

in Leonov's shoes
doing what he (Leonov) did

manually
by hand

detach
to separate from something

home and dry
successfully complete something

touched down
landed

wring out
twist or squeeze something to remove water

off course
not following the right route

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Rob
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob...

Rob
Hello, Neil! I watched that space movie last night - the one where those astronauts are stranded in space.

Stranded means stuck in a place with only a small chance of leaving. Gravity, you mean?

Rob
That's the one. And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever space walk. On 18th March 1965 Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first man to drift free in space - 500km from the surface of Earth. And that's the subject of today's show!

Neil
What on earth must that have felt like?

Ah ha! Exactly. It would have felt like nothing on earth - and that's to say, very strange indeed. He was the first person to experience the colourful geography of our planet stretched out before him.

Neil
Very poetic, Rob! But moving on, how about answering today's quiz question: How long did the first space walk last? Was it...

a) 2 minutes?

b) 12 minutes?

or c) 22 minutes?

Rob
Hmm. All quite short - so I think I'll go for the one in the middle - 12 minutes.

Rob
Let's listen to Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space, talking about it.

Helen Sharman, first Briton in space
So he decreases the pressure of his suit, which means that it's a bit more able to move inside it, but it means the amount of oxygen he's got around his face is now dangerously low so he can't cope with that for very long. So if he's not able to get in quickly, he's going to die of oxygen starvation, um [...] so he had the presence of mind to get on with all of this, got back in, swivelled himself round, managed to close the airlock, and then when the pressure was equilibrated was finally able to, you know, hug his compatriot up there in space.

Now, if you can't cope with something it means you are unable to deal successfully with a difficult situation. And here the situation was having very little oxygen.

Well, they certainly weren't dry. The capsule touched down - or landed - hundreds of kilometres off course in freezing Siberia populated only by wolves and bears. Leonov had sweated so much on the space walk that his boots were filled with water up to his knees! Both cosmonauts had to wring out - or twist and squeeze - their clothes to avoid frostbite.

Neil
But what seems unfair to me is, we all know about the Apollo moon landing, but how many of us know about the first space walk?

Rob
Well, at least we do now, and of course our listeners do too!

Neil
OK, let's have the answer to the quiz question. I asked: How long did the first space walk last? Was it... a) 2 minutes b) 12 minutes or c) 22 minutes?

Rob
I said a) 12 minutes.

Neil
And you were right!

Rob
Excellent. Good! So 12 minutes eh? What an amazing short stroll that must have been but a very historic one too.

Neil
Well done. Now, can we hear today's words again please?

Rob
OK. We heard:

stranded

like nothing on earth

plain sailing

unknown territory

inflated

can't cope with something

presence of mind

in Leonov's shoes

manually

detach

home and dry

touched down

wring out

off course

Neil
Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. We thought it was out of this world - hope you thought so too! Please join us again soon.

Both
Bye.

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / The first space walk

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Fifty years ago, on 18 March 1965, Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov took the first space walk. Listen to Rob and Neil describing the struggles of that groundbreaking space mission whilst explaining some related vocabulary. Remember to subscribe to the podcast version! How long did the first space walk last?

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Neil and Sophie discuss Mars. The fourth rock from the Sun is one of our nearest neighbours in space and for centuries there has been debate about whether there is life on the red planet.

This week's question

How long is a day on Mars? Is it about ...

You can hear the right answer at the end of the programme.

Vocabulary

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Well, Mars is our closest neighbour in the solar system and the subject of today's show. And that brings me on to our usual quiz question. How long is a day on Mars? Is it about...
Or c) 45 hours?

INSERT
John Zarnecki, Professor of Space Science, The Open University
We are now seeing that in fact Mars probably does have water - not liquid water - that there is ice just below the surface and there's even just recently tantalizing evidence that perhaps water does flow periodically... Now, and also coupled with the fact that here on Earth we're finding that life in very primitive form exists in the most extreme environments, these are the so called 'extremophiles' that exist at the bottom of the oceans... So life is much, much tougher.

xtremophiles are organisms - or small creatures - that live in very extreme environments and can survive conditions that would kill most other organisms. But on Mars they would be living underground because the radiation - or light and heat - from the Sun would kill any organisms living on the surface of the planet. So why doesn't the Sun's radiation kill us then, Sophie?

INSERT
John Zarnecki, Professor of Space Science, The Open University
If we do find traces of life on Mars we don't know, do we - whether it evolved independently or was it perhaps seeded from Earth. It is possible that life forms from Earth travelled to Mars and perhaps existed there - or the other way round.

And you were ... wrong! The correct answer is b) because a day on Mars is slightly longer than here on Earth - it's 25 hours. Anyway, can we at least hear the words we learned today?

Both
Bye.

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Life on Mars

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Neil and Sophie discuss Mars. The fourth rock from the Sun is one of our nearest neighbours in space and for centuries there has been debate about whether there is life on the red planet. How long is a day on Mars? Is it about ...

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A collaborative platform for your conferences and your training sessions

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Mon, 04/28/2014 - 07:20 - Chris McCarthy

Hard
Hard (adjective)
When something is difficult to understand or do, it is hard.

These questions are too hard for me.
Learning another language is hard.
She was given a hard task.
I'm tired. I've been working hard all day.
Hard (ajective)
When something is solid, firm and difficult to break or bend.

A hard metal chair.
Wait for the concrete to go hard.
Diamonds are the hardest materials known to man.
The ground is hard after last night's cold weather.

Hardly
Hardly (adverb)
Hardly means only just, almost not possible or almost not at all.

I've got hardly any money left.
I hardly know her.
I could hardly hear what she was saying.
I could hardly speak any English when I was young.
Now complete these sentences with the correct word to complete each sentence:

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Mon, 04/28/2014 - 07:20 - Chris McCarthy Hard (adjective) When something is difficult to understand or do, it is hard. These questions are too hard for me. Learning another language is hard. She was given a hard task. I'm tired. I've been working hard all day.

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Hard or Hardly - free English online grammar exercise on the difference of hard and hardly.

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Online English Quiz

Exercise Instructions: Choose the correct answer.

Printable Worksheet

Instructions: Choose the correct answer.

Copyright © UsingEnglish.com Ltd. - All rights reserved
This quiz and printable worksheet can be used by students and teachers without any fee in the classroom; however, you must keep all copyright information and references to UsingEnglish.com in place.

View the original online at: https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/303.html

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'Hard & Hardly' Quiz - Exercise & Worksheet - UsingEnglish.com

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Exercise Instructions: Choose the correct answer. Instructions: Choose the correct answer. Copyright © UsingEnglish.com Ltd. - All rights reserved This quiz and printable worksheet can be used by students and teachers without any fee in the classroom; however, you must keep all copyright information and references to UsingEnglish.com in place.

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Sustainability, development goals TED by Michael Green  SV

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Speechling - Английский Диктант

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Для диктантов доступны тысячи предложений, от начального уровня до продвинутого. Всегда бесплатно. | Английский