Sci-Fi Reading Courses
Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash / 照片出處：由Cerqueira拍攝 on Unsplash
ESL Lesson Plan: Tides of Europa (Part 2)
Objective:
Students will continue to improve their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills through the story “Tides of Europa.”
Duration:
45 minutes
ESL课程计划：木卫二的潮汐(第二部分)
学习目标：
透过本故事〈木卫二的潮汐〉，学生能够继续提升阅读理解能力、词汇量以及批判思考能力。
花费时间：
45分钟
Pre-Reading Activity (10 minutes)
Key Vocabulary:
Colonies (plural n): Settlements established by people in a new territory, often in space in this context. * "Multiple colonies on Mars competed for resources and trade."
Trench (n): A deep, narrow depression in the ground or ocean floor. * "The submersible explored the mysterious trench, hoping to discover new life forms."
Seismic (adj): Related to or caused by an earthquake or other vibration of the earth. * "Scientists monitored the seismic activity for any signs of an impending eruption."
Membrane (n): A thin, flexible layer of tissue that covers or lines an organ or structure. * "The delicate membrane of the creature's wing shimmered in the sunlight."
Ascent (n): The act of rising or climbing up. * "The rocket's ascent into space was a breathtaking sight."
Giddiness (n): A state of being lightheartedly excited or dizzy. * "A feeling of giddiness overcame the explorers as they reached the summit."
Pulses (plural n): Regular beats or throbs, often referring to rhythmic vibrations or signals. * "The Diver drones emitted pulses of sonar to map the ocean floor."
Inferno (n): A large fire that is dangerously out of control, or a place of intense heat. * "The volcanic eruption created a raging inferno, consuming everything in its path."
Radiation (n): The emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles. * "The explorers wore protective suits to shield themselves from the harmful radiation."
Rhythm (n): A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. * "The rhythmic crashing of the waves against the shore was mesmerizing."
Diver (drones) (n): A fictional drone used for deep-sea exploration. * "The Divers were deployed to investigate the strange signals coming from the trench."
閱讀前的準備 (10分鐘)
重要单词：
Colonies (plural n)：在一个新领土上(本文中指在太空)，由一群人所建立的居所。* "在火星上的各个殖民地为了资源和贸易机会竞争着。"
Trench (n)：在陆地上或海底下深而狭窄的洼地。* "潜水艇探索着神秘的海沟，希望可以发现新生命。"
Seismic (adj)：与地震或其他地球上的震动有关，或由此引起的。* "科学家监测着地震活动，以捕捉任何暗示即将发生火山爆发的迹象。"
Membrane (n)：一层薄而富有弹性的组织，包覆或由内分布在某个器官或构造上。 * "这只生物翅膀上的薄膜在阳光下闪闪发光。"
Ascent (n)：上升或往上攀爬的动作。* "火箭升空的景象令人屏息。"
Giddiness (n)：雀跃或头晕目眩的状态。* "探险家们到达山顶时感到一阵晕眩。"
Pulses (plural n)：规律的敲击或颤动，通常指带有规律节奏的震动或信号。* "无人机发出声波来绘制海底地图。"
Inferno (n)：失控的巨大火焰或一个极端高温的场所。* "火山爆发引发了熊熊烈火，吞噬了它沿途经过的一切事物。"
Radiation (n)：能量以电磁波或次原子粒子移动的形态传送。* "探险家们穿着防护服来防止他们受有害辐射的影响。"
Rhythm (n)：一个强而规律且不断重复的动作或声音。* "海浪带节奏地拍击着海岸的景象令人着迷。"
Diver (drones) (n)：一个用于深海探险的虚构无人机。* "无人机被派出调查海沟里传来的奇怪信号。"
Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash / 照片出處: Jongsun Lee on Unsplash
Reading Activity (20 minutes)
Tides of Europa (Middle Third)
It was six months until the drones were fully ready. It was December back on earth, so it was December on the colonies. The daily cycles of the climates mirrored earth, even though half of those living in Europa’s colonies weren’t born there.
Dr. Pavlov had been dreaming that she was swimming to the depths of the trench. The pressure was crushing her. Her lungs would scream. She had to reach it. Every time, she would wake with her bed drenched in sweat.
Today, they would reach it. She felt like a little girl again on her birthday. She walked into the mission room. Dr. Adams was already there. He looked pale but excited nonetheless. The whole room was. Every member of the mission was on the edge of giddiness as they watched the graphics from the descending drones.
Sending the drones to manufacturing facilities orbiting Ganymede, they used a technique to strengthen them that was only possible in the vacuum of space. The drones were showing that they were stable. They reached 600 kilometers deep.
“Target is 20 kilometers and closing,” Dr. Adams spoke.
The loudest pulse they had recorded yet was transmitted through the drones. It vibrated through the colony.
“Adjust the audio,” Dr. Adams directed. “We don’t want to disturb everyone.”
“Target depth reached.”
“Let’s get a quality visual.”
The displays had mostly been focused on the walls of the trench. Now, they looked directly below the drones. The rock seemingly ended where that smooth heat-producing membrane began. It looked like the skin of a marine creature, an octopus perhaps. There was another pulse. Even with the audio turned down, Raina felt it in her chest.
“Let’s retrieve a sample of that membrane,” Raina suggested.
“Diver C can take the sample and begin its ascent with it. We will want that here as soon as possible.
On the display for Diver C, there was a quick flash of its laser as a slender piece of skin was cut from the membrane. Seismic activity spiked, and the displays were disturbed for a moment. Then the visuals normalized and Diver C began its ascent.
The next pulse came, early. The pulse after that was earlier. They were quickening by a quarter of a second each time.
“I think we woke it up,” said one of the drone pilots.
“Funny,” Dr. Adams said. “Those lasers could take a limb off you and you would never feel it.”
“It’s heart rate is getting faster,” Raina said. “Could we leave a drone in the trench to record the changes in these rhythms?”
“I would like that information too,” said Dr. Adams. “Diver A has enough power for 24 hours. We will let it record for 12.”
Raina spent the entirety of Diver A’s 12 hours of recording in the mission room. It was the patterns that occurred two hours after the sample was taken that she kept going back to. The pulses had been coming much more quickly before then slowing down, returning to their normal regular pattern.
It was now a week after the mission had occurred and she was listening to the recording again. They had found something alive and far more complex than bacteria and algae beneath their trench in Europa’s vast ocean.
The sample was definitely skin. It was nearly identical to an octopus’s skin except for the hide of the creature beneath the trench was far heartier than any earth-born creature’s. Genetic testing had revealed quite little about the creature. They needed to go back down.
I see you.
She pushed her equipment away. Her eyes were too tired and she already knew what it all said. They would have nothing new to work with until their next mission. Her assistant walked in.
“Need anything before I go home?”
“Oh, could you help quickly put this away, I forgot that I need to rest.”
“You forget about that every day.”
“The 24 hour day… I wasn’t born on earth, I don’t feel bound by its cycles.”
“Regardless of how you may think you’ve adapted, humans still need rest. And, we are biologically programmed around a 24 hour day, born on the earth or not.”
Raina smiled at her assistant. “You’re right, I’ll get home and get some sleep.”
Sleep…
Raina took a sleeping pill once she got home then laid down and closed her eyes.
How long… how long have I slept?
Matter and energy, that was all there was. Raina was floating in an inferno of elements. It was so hot. She reached out a hand toward the dust that was everything as it slowly became something. At the center of this cloud of swirling everything, a sun was being born.
How long?!
Great terraced pyramids rose from a city of orange and red… purple and gold… stone obelisks and verdant gardens. The sun filled the sky, this wasn’t Earth. This wasn’t Mars.
Venus…
How she knew the planet to be flashed through her mind.
HOW LONG?!
She woke up to the colony shaking. An alarm was going off, then her device hummed. Someone was trying to reach her.
“Hello?”
“I guess no one slept through that.” It was Dr. Adams.
“What was that?”
“Seismic activity moved the ocean around a bit, so the ice moved with it.”
“Is everything fine?”
“Yes and no, the colonies are safe. However, I’m calling for an emergency mission into the trench. I want to confirm what I suspect to be a relation between that creature down there and what we just felt.”
阅读时间 (20 minutes)
木卫二的潮汐（中篇2/3）
过了六个月，无人机终于完全改造完成了。正好是地球的十二月，所以也是殖民地的十二月。在这里气候的昼夜循环比照地球，虽然有一半的木卫二殖民地居民并不是在地球出生。
Pavlov博士常常梦见自己正在游向海沟的深处。但海底的压力几乎将她碾碎。她的肺疼得像在尖叫。但她必须到达那里。每一次，她都汗流浃背地在床上醒来。
今天，他们将会到达那里。她觉得自己像当天生日的小女孩一样兴奋。她走进了任务室。Adams博士已经在那里了。他看起来脸色苍白但十分兴奋，整个任务室的人都一样。每一位参与任务的成员都处于激动的边缘，压抑不住内心的期待，目不转睛地看着下潜中的无人机所传来的图像。
不久前他们将无人机送往环绕于木卫三（Ganymede）的制造中心。他们使用了一种只有在太空的真空环境中才能应用的技术来加强它。现在无人机显示它运行稳定。已经达到了600公里的深度。
“目标距离我们20公里，正在接近中。”Adams博士说。
他们目前所记录到最大的声波正透过无人机传送过来。它震动了整个殖民地。
“调整音量。”Adams博士指示。“我们不想影响到任何人。”
“已经到了目标深度。”
“让我们看看更清晰的影像。”
萤幕原本正对着海沟的峭壁，现在他们直接让它看向下方。
沿着岩壁，在岩石末端能看见平滑、散发着热能的薄膜。它看起来像一种海洋生物的皮肤，也许是章鱼的皮肤。又有另一个声波袭来。即使音量已经调小，Raina仍然能在胸口感受到那股震动。（注：Raina的姓氏为Pavlov）
“我们来取一块薄膜样本吧。”Raina建议道。
“无人机C可以取样并带着样本上升，我们希望能尽快把它带回来，”有人回应。
透过无人机C的萤幕，可以看到一道雷射光一闪而过，从薄膜上切下了小小一片细长的皮肤。地震活动开始了，有一小段时间萤幕被干扰。之后影像又恢复正常了，无人机C开始爬升。
下一个声波比预期的更提前到来。接在这个声波后的声波又来得更早。每次都比前一次快四分之一秒。
“我想我们叫醒它了。”一位无人机操作员说。
“真有趣。”Adams博士说。“那些雷射可以在你感觉不到的情况下截断你的四肢。”
“它的心跳正在变快。”Raina说。“我们可以将无人机留在海沟中，记录这些声波的节奏变化吗？”
“我也想要这些资料。”Adams博士说。无人机A有足够的电力可以支撑24小时。我们会让它记录12个小时的资料。
Raina在任务室里花了整整12个小时听无人机A录下的档案。她不断倒带，回放在取样后两小时出现的那些声波模式。声波的频率先是变快很多，随后又慢下来，恢复成原本规律的模式。
任务结束一周后，她又再听了一次录音档。在木卫二浩瀚海洋的海沟下方，他们发现了某个活着的生命体，而且远远比细菌和藻类复杂得多。
这个样本肯定是皮肤。这几乎可以认定为章鱼的皮肤，只是这个海沟下生物的皮肤比地球上任何生物都更加坚韧。基因测试几乎没有提供什么线索。他们需要再次潜入海底。
我看到你了。
她推开了她的器材。她的眼睛很痠而且她已经掌握了所有已知的信息。在下一次任务前他们没有什么可做的。她的助理走进来。
“在我回家前有什么需要帮忙吗？”
“哦，你可以帮我快速收拾一下这些东西吗？我差点忘了自己需要休息。”
“你每天都忘记。”
“一天24小时……我不是在地球出生的，我不觉得自己受它的昼夜循环限制。”
“无论你感觉如何，人类还是需要休息。而且，我们的生物机制是24小时一天，不论是不是在地球上出生。”
Raina向她的助理微笑。“你说得对，我得回家小睡一下。”
睡觉……
Raina一回家马上就吃了一颗安眠药，然后躺下并且闭上眼睛。
多久……我睡了多久？
物质和能量是一切事物的本质。Raina正漂浮在一个热核反应的火焰中。它非常烫。她把手伸向渐渐形成某个物体的星尘。在这个旋转着一切的星云中央，一颗太阳正在诞生。
多久了？！
巨大的阶梯状的金字塔从一座橙红色的城市中拔地而起……紫色与金色交织……石制方尖碑和蓊郁的花园。太阳填满了天空，这里不是地球，也不是火星。
金星……
她对这颗星球的印象闪过她的脑海。
多久了？！！！
她被殖民地的震动摇醒。警报声响起，接着她的装置发出嗡嗡声。有人试图联系她。
“喂？”
“我猜没有人经历这个以后还能不被惊醒。”是Adams博士的声音。
“那是什么？”
“地震活动让海洋稍微移动了一点，所以冰层也随之移动。”
“一切都还好吗？”
“是，也不是。殖民地是安全的。不过我正准备发布紧急任务进入海沟。我想确认我所怀疑的事情，我想海底的那个生物和我们刚才感受到的震动之间绝对有某种关联。”
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash
Post-Reading Activity (15 minutes)
Comprehension Questions:
True or False:
True or False: The drones were able to reach a depth of 600 kilometers.
True or False: The membrane found at the bottom of the trench was cold to the touch.
True or False: The rhythmic pulses detected by the drones became faster after a sample was taken.
Short Response:
What did the drones discover at 600 kilometers deep?
How did the team react to the rhythmic pulses detected by the drones?
Describe the appearance of the membrane found at the bottom of the trench.
What was the significance of the sample taken from the membrane?
Discussion Questions:
What do you think the rhythmic pulses detected by the drones could indicate about the creature in the trench? Provide reasons for your answer.
How do you think the discovery of a large living organism in Europa's trench could impact future space exploration and our understanding of life in the universe?
阅读后的讨论 (15 minutes)
促进阅读理解的问题：
是非题：
True or False: 无人机能够下潜600公里深。
True or False: 在海沟底部发现的薄膜太冰了没法触碰。
True or False: 在采集样本后，无人机探测到的规律声波变得愈来愈快。
简答题：
无人机在600公里深的地方发现了什么？
当无人机探测到规律的声波，团队的反应是什么？
请描述海沟底部发现的薄膜的外观。
为什么这次采取的薄膜样本具有重大的意义？
讨论问题：
你认为无人机探测到的规律声波，可能显示了海沟中的生物有什么特征？请回答并说明理由。
你认为在木卫二的海沟中发现一个大型活体生物，可能对未来的太空探索，以及我们对于宇宙中生命的理解产生什么影响？
Answer Sheet
Comprehension Questions:
True or False:
The drones were able to reach a depth of 600 kilometers. T / F (True)
The membrane found at the bottom of the trench was cold to the touch. T / F (False)
The rhythmic pulses detected by the drones became faster after a sample was taken. T / F (True)
Short Response:
What did the drones discover at 600 kilometers deep?
The drones discovered that they were closing in on the target depth of 20 kilometers. They were also approaching a smooth, heat-producing membrane.
How did the team react to the rhythmic pulses detected by the drones?
The team was initially excited and focused on gathering data. They adjusted the audio to avoid disturbing the rest of the colony. After the sample was taken, and the pulses quickened, there was a mix of concern and scientific curiosity.
Describe the appearance of the membrane found at the bottom of the trench.
The membrane was described as smooth and heat-producing. It looked like the skin of a marine creature, perhaps an octopus, but far heartier than any earth-born creature's skin.
What was the significance of the sample taken from the membrane?
The sample confirmed that the team had found something alive and complex beneath the trench. Genetic testing revealed that it was skin, nearly identical to an octopus's skin but hardier. This discovery prompted further investigation and an emergency mission.
Discussion Questions:
What do you think the rhythmic pulses detected by the drones could indicate about the creature in the trench? Provide reasons for your answer.
Possible answers:
The pulses could be a form of communication. If the creature is intelligent, it may be using the pulses to signal to others of its kind.
The pulses could indicate the creature's bodily functions, like a heartbeat. The changing rhythm could reflect changes in its activity or emotional state.
The pulses might be a way for the creature to sense its surroundings. Like sonar, the pulses could help it map the ocean floor or detect other creatures.
The pulses could be a defense mechanism, a way to disorient or deter potential threats.
How do you think the discovery of a large living organism in Europa's trench could impact future space exploration and our understanding of life in the universe?
Possible answers:
It would revolutionize our understanding of astrobiology. Finding life on Europa would suggest that life could exist in many more places in the universe than we currently believe.
It could lead to increased funding and interest in space exploration. Discovering life would be a major event, motivating more research and missions.
It might raise ethical questions about interacting with alien life. We would need to consider how to study the creature without harming it or its environment.
It could have profound philosophical implications. Discovering that we are not alone in the universe would change our perspective on humanity's place in the cosmos.
It could spur new technologies. We might need to develop new tools and methods for studying life in extreme environments.
Credits:
Story and lesson written by… Tyler W. Golec
Translations by… Lien Ji-Cho
Art contributed by…NASA Hubble Space Telescope, Jongsun Lee, Shot by Cerqueira & NASA on Unsplash.
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