Asteroid investigation (P6)
山西省灵石县第一中学       任立琴

I. Free-talk
Are you curious about the outer space? How could we learn more about it?

II. Read for general information
Read the title and predict what the article probably talks about.
 

Read the article and check your prediction.

Main idea of the article:  _____________
_________________________ 
Key:
 

III. Read for details
1. Collect the information about Bennu.
 

feature of news: 为保证新闻的真实客观性，新闻中往往引用大量数字和官方机构、专业人士的发言或观点。

3. Put the following events in right order.
A.OSIRIS-REx blasted off.
B.OSIRIS-REx rehearsed twice.
C.OSIRIS-REx stirred up dirt and rock.
D.OSIRIS-REx dropped out of its orbit.
E.OSIRIS-REx took a close-up of Bennu.
F.OSIRIS-REx collected 60 grams of rocks.
G. Extra software was added to OSIRIS-REx.
Key： ADEGBCF

4. Why did the scientists choose Bennu to do such an investigation?
Possible version: 
Bennu was formed about 4.5 billion years ago and it has witnessed our solar system’s entire history. Scientists will analyze the material in labs around the world to find out more secrets about our solar system.

IV. Language focus
Find out the following expressions in the article.
1.数亿
2.前进，成功
3.怀着......的目标
4.据证实......
5.对......负责
6.扬起，煽动
7.看起来像
8.增加......到......
9.花费......做......
10.想方设法的做......
11.准备好做......
12.等不及做......
13.全世界
14.找到，查明
15.太阳系

Key:
1. hundreds of millions of
2. make one's way to...
3. with the goal of 
4. It is confirmed that...
5. be responsible for...
6. stir up
7. look like/seem like
8. add...to
9. spend...(in) doing sth...
10. manage to do sth.
11. be ready to do sth.
12. can't wait to do sth.
13. around the world
14. find out
15. solar system

IV. language focus
Do the words in each group have similar meanings?
Group 1 
• The spacecraft dropped out of its 750 meter-high orbit and took about four hours to carefully and slowly make it to just above the surface. (para 3)
•• However, when OSIRIS-REx got close enough to take a close-up (特写) of Bennu, scientists were surprised by how rough it was and how large the rocks were.  (para 5)

Group 2
• The OSIRIS-REx’s 3.4 meter arm, which is responsible for collecting samples, reached out and touched Bennu for about 10 seconds. (para 3) 
• Her beautiful roses won the second prize at the flower show.

Group 3
• Recently, the 12th batch (批) of 60 Starlink satellites was launched, bringing the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to more than 700. 
• Before OSIRIS-REx’s launch, data from multiple telescopes showed the asteroid’s surface looked like a beach, full of tiny particles (颗粒) that could be easily collected.  (para 4)

Group 4
• They didn’t have a lot of room for mistakes since OSIRIS-REx only has three bottles of nitrogen gas.  (para 6)
• Sorry, sir! All the rooms have been occupied. 

Sentence
Before OSIRIS-REx’s launch, data from multiple telescopes showed the asteroid’s surface looked like a beach, full of tiny particles (颗粒) that could be easily collected. (para 4)
 

 “A piece of primordial (原始的) rock that has witnessed our solar system’s entire history may now be ready to come home for generations of scientific discovery, and we can’t wait to see what comes next,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science missions. (para 8)
 

V. Further information
贝努（Bennu）是一个威胁近地天体且非常神秘的小行星，科学家预测22世纪末将近距离接近地球,碰撞地球的概率为2500分之一。2018年12月10日，OSIRIS-REx探测器在贝努小行星上发现了水痕迹。
NASA在2016年发射了一个航天器执行小行星样本返回任务。这项任务名为“源光谱释义资源安全风化层辨认探测器”Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identifi-cation Security Regolith Explorer（OSIRIS-REx）。探测器上搭载的科学仪器由亚利桑那大学，戈达德空间飞行中心，亚利桑那州立大学，以及加拿大航天局提供。而科学组的成员则来自全美各大学，民间科学机构和政府科研部门。任务成本为8亿美元，发射费用另需10亿美元。