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Photo by Planet Volumes on Unsplash
ESL Lesson Plan: Tides of Europa (Part 1)
Objective:
Students will 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(第一部分)
学习目标：
透过本故事〈木卫二的潮汐〉，提升学生的阅读理解能力、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:
Colony (n): A community of people living in a new territory. * "The Martian colony struggled to survive in the harsh environment."
Europa (proper n): One of Jupiter’s moons, known for its icy surface and subsurface ocean. * "Scientists believe Europa may harbor life in its vast ocean."
Drone (n): An unmanned vehicle used for exploration. * "The drone captured stunning aerial footage of the volcanic eruption."
Trench (n): A deep, narrow depression in the ocean floor. * "The Mariana Trench is the deepest known part of the Earth's oceans."
Rhythmic (adj): Having a regular repeated pattern of sounds or movements. * "The rhythmic beating of the drums filled the air."
Thermal Vents (plural n): Openings in the planet’s surface that emit heat. * "Strange creatures thrive near the thermal vents on the ocean floor."
Seismic Activity (n): Movements in the Earth’s crust that cause earthquakes. * "Increased seismic activity near the volcano indicated an impending eruption."
Membrane (n): A thin layer of tissue covering a surface. * "The cell membrane protects the cell from its surroundings."
Neural Link (n): A connection between the brain and a computer system. * "The neural link allowed the paralyzed man to control a robotic arm with his thoughts."
Sacrifice (v): Giving up something valuable for the sake of something else. * "The firefighter made the ultimate sacrifice to save the trapped child."
阅读前的准备 (10分钟)
重要单词：
Colony (n): 定居在新领土上的居民社群。* “火星殖民地的居民在恶劣的环境中艰难地求生。”
Europa (proper n): 木星的卫星之一，以冰封的表面和地下海洋闻名。 * “科学家相信木卫二的广阔海洋中可能孕育着生命。”
Drone (n): 用于探勘的无人操作设备。 * “无人机捕捉到了火山喷发时震撼的航拍画面。”
Trench (n): 海底下深而狭窄的洼地。* “马里亚纳海沟是目前已知地球海洋中最深的部分。”
Rhythmic (adj): 形容当声音或动作的模式规律地重复。 * “带有节奏的鼓声在空气中回响。”
Thermal Vents (plural n): 星球表面上释放热源的开口。 * “奇异的生物通常在海底热泉的周围繁衍。”
Seismic Activity (n): 因地壳运动所引发的地震。 * “当火山附近的地震活动增加，预示着火山即将爆发。”
Membrane (n): 一层覆盖某个表面的薄膜。 * “细胞膜保护细胞不受外界影响。”
Neural Link (n): 大脑和电脑系统之间的链接。 * “脑机接口让瘫痪的男子能够用思想控制机械手臂。”
Sacrifice (v): 为了其他事而放弃某个有价值的事物。* “消防员为了救出被困的孩子做出了最后的牺牲。”
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope - Unsplash
Reading Activity (20 minutes)
Tides of Europa (Beginning Third)
23 Spatio Annus (SA)
The glass was cold. Despite the comfortable climate of the colony, Raina could feel the chill of Europa’s oceans. It reminded her of the cold when she crossed from Mars.
Frozen on the surface, Europa’s oceans were covered with 15 to 25 kilometers of ice. Their colony had drilled through 17 kilometers as the colony grew until they eventually reached the ocean.
That had been five years ago. Just after she and her team had arrived from the long journey from Mars. The resources that were discovered within the ocean and ice of Europa, those uncovered by the Ganymede colonies and the potential of mining Iroh gave Jupiter’s lunar colonies the potential to build and grow on their own without the entirety of their resources coming in from Mars and Earth.
“Doctor!” Raina turned to see her assistant. “We are launching the drones, you are invited to observe… We would like you to observe.”
She smiled. “Of course.”
They had been sending drones deeper and deeper into the oceans. They had estimated that the oceans were 60 to 150 kilometers deep before landing on the moon. 150 kilometers was now known to be shallow.
“We are going back to the trench.” The brief for the mission began when the lead, Dr. Adams, saw her enter the room. “The drones have been prepared to endure pressure up until depths of 500 kilometers.”
“That won’t be deep enough to reach the bottom of the trench,” She added.
“It will be close enough to see the bottom!”
Volcanic activity was prevalent in the depths of the trench. Though, they had detected something, rhythmic, perfectly rhythmic. That was why the drones had been modified. That’s why they were going beyond studying the tiny life forms they had recently discovered thriving in this same trench.
The displays in the room showed the point of view of the three drones. They reached the mouth of the trench at about 200 kilometers deep. The lights on the drones painted the sheer ledges of the trench. Small patches of white on the rock were common near thermal vents. It was a bacteria.
She spotted the green of the thermal algae that also dwelled here. Their drones would come back covered in it. They were 300 kilometers deep now.
The drones started to hear it. It was soft at first, regular, with a long pause between each reading.
“Our moon is alive,” one of the drone pilots said with a chuckle.
The drones reached 400 kilometers deep. The audio from the drones was now clearly sending back the rhythmic beating of whatever they were hearing. Raina looked at the temperature readings from the drones. It was 50 degrees Celsius and climbing. The density of life on the trench walls was growing. Even under tremendous pressure from the moon’s ocean and the extreme climate of the trench, life was still here.
Other trenches had been discovered across the moon by the other colonies. Other trenches had
life, but none of them were like the trench below Europa 7. They were at 500 kilometers. The drones paused their descent.
“Switching to depth-lense,” a drone pilot said.
The view from the cameras displaying the world around the drones shifted. They cut their lights and looked directly at the bottom of the abyss.
The three screens were totally dark as they slowly sought whatever tiny parcel of light they could find down there. Slowly, an image formed. At first, the detail was poor, every pulse disturbed the cameras, but steadily, the images became clear as their AI slowly pieced together what was being captured into a coherent image.
“Doctor?”
Raina looked at her assistant. “Yes?”
“What is that?”
Its texture was smooth with an occasional ridge. Significant heat was coming off it. There was another pulse. The bottom of the trench expanded and then contracted.
“Our moon is alive,” the same pilot said again.
“Dr. Pavlov.” Raina looked up at Dr. Adams. “That does look alive.”
“Take samples from 500 kilometers, then let’s get the drones back here,” she said. “How long will it take to get the drones ready to get deeper?”
Dr. Adams shrugged. “Everything we do here is the first time it has ever been done. However, I will make sure it gets done immediately.”
阅读时间 (20 minutes)
木卫二的潮汐（上篇1/3)
23 空间年
窗面的玻璃很冰。尽管殖民地上的气候很舒适，但是Raina依然能感受到木卫二海洋的冷冽刺骨。这让她回想起从火星穿越至木卫二时的寒冷。
冰封的表面。木卫二的海洋被15到25公里的冰层覆盖着。殖民地居民先是钻探了17公里深，随着殖民地的发展，最终凿穿了冰层，抵达了海洋。
这是五年前发生的事了，那时她和她的团队刚结束这个从火星穿越至此的长途旅行不久。当时人们在木卫二的海洋与冰层中发现的资源，加上那些木卫三（Ganymede）殖民地所开采出的资源，再加上木卫一（Iroh）未来可开采铁矿的潜力，已经让这颗木星卫星上的各个殖民地拥有独立建设和发展的潜力，不再完全依赖来自火星和地球的资源。
“博士！” Raina转过身，看见她的助手对她说。“我们正在操作无人机进行本次的任务，正准备下潜。敬邀您来旁观……我们希望您能在一旁观察。”
她笑着说。“当然。”
他们正将无人机派送到海洋深处，一次比一次更深。他们在抵达这个卫星前预估了海洋的深度是60到150公里，但如今150公里已经被认为是浅层。
“我们正在返回海沟。”当她进门时，团队的领导人——Adam博士简短地向她说明任务。“无人机的耐压程度可达500公里深。”
“如果要到达海沟底部这样是不够深的。”她回道。
“要侦测到底部，这个深度足够了！”
火山活动在海沟底部是非常普遍的。然而，他们侦测到某个带有节奏的声音，近乎完美的规律节奏。这个发现令人兴奋，这就是无人机先前需要改良下潜深度的原因！这也是为什么他们选择再次下潜，而不单纯停留于分析最近在海沟中新发现的微小生命体。
在房间里的几个萤幕上展示了三架无人机当前的视角。在大约200公里深时，他们已经很接近海沟的入口处。无人机的灯光描绘出海沟陡峭的岩壁。在热泉附近的岩石上有几个小片的白色斑块，那是一种细菌。
她发现这里也生长着一片绿色热藻。他们的无人机返回时机器上自然会覆满了这些藻类。现在他们已经到达300公里深了。
无人机又开始接收到声音了。起初它是柔和而规律的，每次读取间有很长的停顿。
“我们的卫星上有生命。”其中一个无人机操作员笑着说。
无人机到达了400公里深。现在无人机的收音装置非常清晰地回传着他们刚才听到的有节奏的敲击声。Raina看了无人机的温度测量仪，是摄氏50度，且一直攀升。在海沟峭壁上的微生物密度也正在上升。即便这里乘载了卫星海洋的巨大压力并受到海沟极端气候的影响，生命依然存在。
卫星上的其他海沟已经被其他殖民地的居民开发了。其他的海沟也有生命，但没有一个像木卫二7号领地的海沟中发现的那样特殊。他们现在已经到达了500公里深。无人机停止下潜。
“更换成捕捉深水影像的特殊镜头。”无人机操作员说。
镜头的视角映射出无人机周围的世界改变了。他们关掉灯光，直接观察深渊的底部。
他们慢慢地搜寻着可能存在的任何微小光源，三个萤幕全暗了。渐渐地，一个画面浮现。一开始细节很模糊，每一个声波的震动都干扰着镜头，但渐渐地，随着AI人工智能逐步将捕捉到的画面拼凑成一个图像，画面开始变得清晰。
“博士？”
Raina看向她的助手回道：“怎么了？”
“那是什么？”
那个东西的表面大致平滑，但偶尔有一道类似脊线的突起。它散发出极大的热能。又一个声波传来。他们观察到海沟的底部扩展后随即收缩。
“我们的卫星上有生命。”同一个无人机操作员又说了一次。
“Pavlov博士。”Raina抬头看向Adams博士。（注：Raina的姓氏为Pavlov） “那看起来的确是有生命的。”Adams博士说。
“从500公里处采取样本，然后把无人机带回来，”她说。“需要多长的改造时间才能让无人机能进到更深的地方？”
Adams博士耸了耸肩。“我们在这里做的每一件事都是第一次。不过，我会尽力确保它立刻完成。”
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash
Post-Reading Activity (15 minutes)
Comprehension Questions:
True or False:
The colony on Europa has been established for ten years. T / F
The drones were able to reach the bottom of the trench. T / F
The rhythmic sound detected by the drones was perfectly regular. T / F
Short Response:
What was the initial depth the drones were prepared to endure?
Describe the appearance of the trench as seen by the drones.
What did the drones detect at 400 kilometers deep?
Why do the drones need to be modified for this mission?
Discussion Questions:
What do you think the rhythmic sound detected by the drones could be? Provide reasons for your answer.
How do you think the discovery of life in Europa’s trench could impact future space exploration?
阅读后的讨论 (15 minutes)
促进阅读理解的问题：
是非题：
欧罗巴上的殖民地已经建立10年了。 T / F
无人机能够到达海沟的底部。 T / F
无人机所能探测到的声音，其节奏近乎完美地规律。 T / F
简答题：
无人机一开始设计能够承受的深度是多少？
无人机能看到的海沟外观如何？
无人机在深400公里处探测到了什么？
为什么针对这次任务无人机需要被重新改造？
讨论问题：
你认为无人机探测到的有节奏的声音可能是什麼？请回答并说明理由。
你认为在欧罗巴的海沟中发现生命的这个事件，可能对未来的太空探索产生什么影响？
Answer Sheet
True or False:
False. The colony on Europa has been established for five years (stated in the passage).
False. The drones were unable to reach the bottom of the trench (stated in the passage).
True. The rhythmic sound detected by the drones was perfectly regular (stated in the passage).
Short Response:
The initial depth the drones were prepared to endure was 500 kilometers.
The trench appeared very deep and dark, with sheer ledges. Patches of white bacteria were common near thermal vents. Thermal algae were also present. The density of life increased as the drones descended.
At 400 kilometers deep, the drones detected a rhythmic beating sound and an increased temperature.
The drones needed to be modified for this mission to endure the immense pressure and extreme heat at the depths they were exploring (stated in the passage).
Discussion Questions:
What do you think the rhythmic sound detected by the drones could be? Provide reasons for your answer.
Possible answers:
A large creature's heartbeat: The rhythmic nature and increasing intensity suggest a large, living organism.
Seismic activity: Europa is known to have seismic activity, and the sound could be internal rumblings or tremors.
Geothermal activity: The increasing heat and rhythmic pattern could be due to geothermal processes deep within Europa.
An unknown phenomenon: It could be an entirely new and unexplained phenomenon, something never before encountered.
A form of communication: The rhythmic sound could be a form of communication between organisms or geological features.
How do you think the discovery of life in Europa’s trench could impact future space exploration?
Possible answers:
Increased interest in Europa: It could lead to more missions focused on exploring Europa to further study its ocean and the potential for life.
Development of new technologies: New technologies might be required to explore Europa's deep ocean and withstand its extreme conditions, leading to advancements in engineering and space exploration.
Rethinking life's possibilities: The discovery could change our fundamental understanding of where and how life can exist in the universe, broadening the search for extraterrestrial life.
Ethical considerations: It raises significant ethical questions about how humanity interacts with potential extraterrestrial life and ecosystems.
International collaboration: It could foster greater international collaboration and investment in space exploration.
Focus on other ocean worlds: It may shift some focus to other ocean worlds in our solar system (and beyond) that might harbor similar life.
New scientific fields: This discovery could lead to the creation of entirely new scientific fields dedicated to the study of extraterrestrial life and environments.
Credits:
Story and lesson written by… Tyler W. Golec
Translation by… Lien Ji-Cho
Art contributed by… NASA Hubble Space Telescope, Sarah Lee & Planet Volumes on Unsplash.
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