The Reading / Listening - The Sun - Level 2

Scientists know when our Sun will die. It won't be soon. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists are from the UK. They say that in about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the science name for a star at the end of its life. When our Sun becomes a red giant, its centre will get smaller. Its outer layers will travel as far as Mars. This means Earth will burn and disappear. After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become a bubble of gas and space dust. No humans will be on Earth when the Sun dies out. Humans will disappear in around one billion years from now.

The Sun is still young. It is just 4.6 billion years old. This means it is only around one third into its lifespan. A professor explained that: "When a star dies, it ejects a mass of gas and dust into space.…This reveals the star's core. By this point in the star's life, it is running out of fuel." He said it then turns off and dies. The professor was happy that modern science can calculate the age of stars and what will happen to them. He said we can work out what stars there are in distant galaxies. He said: "We have even found out what the Sun will do when it dies".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    The Sun - Level 0 The Sun - Level 1   or  The Sun - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-figured-out-when-and-how-our-sun-will-die-and-it-will-be-epic
  • https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/how-and-when-will-the-sun-die-researchers-have-an-answer-3513891
  • https://www.inverse.com/science/when-will-the-sun-die


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Scientists know when
  2. It won't be
  3. It will be in
  4. the Sun will turn into a
  5. its centre
  6. travel as
  7. it will become a bubble of
  8. Humans will
  1. gas and space dust
  2. "red giant"
  3. will get smaller
  4. soon
  5. disappear
  6. our Sun will die
  7. far as Mars
  8. 10 billion years

Paragraph 2

  1. The Sun is
  2. around one third into
  3. it ejects a mass of
  4. it is running
  5. it then turns
  6. modern science can calculate
  7. in distant
  8. what the Sun will
  1. the age
  2. gas and dust
  3. off and dies
  4. do when it dies
  5. still young
  6. galaxies
  7. its lifespan
  8. out of fuel

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Scientists know when our Sun will die. It (1) ___________________. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists are from the UK. They say that in about 5 billion (2) ___________________, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the science name for a star at (3) ___________________ its life. When our Sun becomes a red giant, its centre will get smaller. Its outer layers will (4) ___________________ as Mars. This means Earth will burn and disappear. After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become (5) ___________________ gas and space dust. No humans will be on Earth when the Sun dies out. Humans will disappear (6) ___________________ billion years from now.

The Sun is still young. It is just 4.6 billion years old. This (7) ___________________ only around one third into its lifespan. A professor explained that: "When a star dies, it (8) ___________________ of gas and dust into space....This reveals the star's core. (9) ___________________ in the star's life, it is running out of fuel." He said it then (10) ___________________ dies. The professor was happy that modern science can calculate the age of stars and what (11) ___________________ them. He said we can work out what stars there are (12) ___________________. He said: "We have even found out what the Sun will do when it dies".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

ScientistsknowwhenourSunwilldie.Itwon'tbesoon.Itwillbein10billio
nyears.ThescientistsarefromtheUK.Theysaythatinabout5billionyear
sfromnow,theSunwillturnintoa"redgiant".Thisisthesciencenamefor
astarattheendofitslife.WhenourSunbecomesaredgiant,itscentrewill
getsmaller.ItsouterlayerswilltravelasfarasMars.ThismeansEarthwill
burnanddisappear.AfterourSunturnsintoaredgiant,itwillbecomeabu
bbleofgasandspacedust.NohumanswillbeonEarthwhentheSundieso
ut.Humanswilldisappearinaroundonebillionyearsfromnow.TheSunis
stillyoung.Itisjust4.6billionyearsold.Thismeansitisonlyaroundoneth
irdintoitslifespan.Aprofessorexplainedthat:"Whenastardies,itejects
amassofgasanddustintospace....Thisrevealsthestar'score.Bythispoi
ntinthestar'slife,itisrunningoutoffuel."Hesaiditthenturnsoffanddies.
Theprofessorwashappythatmodernsciencecancalculatetheageofsta
rsandwhatwillhappentothem.Hesaidwecanworkoutwhatstarstherea
reindistantgalaxies.Hesaid:"WehaveevenfoundoutwhattheSunwilld
owhenitdies".

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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