The Reading / Listening - Colonizing Space - Level 5

Demographers are ringing alarm bells about overpopulation, but Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says we need more people. He wants to populate our solar system. He said that in a thousand years' time, he "would love to see…a trillion humans living in the solar system". He added that if that happened, "we would have at any given time 1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins.…Space would be full of life and intelligence and energy". He wants to build the infrastructure that space entrepreneurs will use in the future, "so that ingenuity and imagination can really be unleashed".

Fellow multi-billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X, echoes Mr Bezos' thoughts. In 2021, he said: "We want to be a multi-planet species." Earlier this year, he warned that: "Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming." Mr Bezos can see people living in giant space stations. He said most inhabitants of these would visit Earth for vacations. He envisions Earth returning to its pristine environment because of factories built in space. He said they would exploit resources on the moon or on asteroids instead of Earth's.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Colonizing Space - Level 4 or  Colonizing Space - Level 6

Sources
  • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-elon-musk-human-170119555.html
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/bezoss-vision-for-1000-einsteins-doesnt-take-into-account-37000-serial-killers
  • https://futurism.com/the-byte/jeff-bezos-trillion-people-live-cylindrical-space-stations


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. Demographers are ringing
  2. Amazon founder
  3. He wants to populate
  4. at any
  5. full of life
  6. He wants to build
  7. space
  8. ingenuity and imagination can
  1. the infrastructure
  2. really be unleashed
  3. and intelligence
  4. Jeff Bezos
  5. entrepreneurs
  6. our solar system
  7. given time
  8. alarm bells

Paragraph 2

  1. Fellow
  2. We want to be a
  3. population collapse
  4. a much bigger
  5. people living
  6. inhabitants of these
  7. returning to its pristine
  8. they would exploit
  1. in giant space stations
  2. due to low birth rates
  3. environment
  4. would visit Earth
  5. multi-billionaire Elon Musk
  6. multi-planet species
  7. resources on the moon
  8. risk to civilization

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Demographers are (1) ___________________ about overpopulation, but Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says we need more people. He wants to (2) ___________________. He said that in a thousand years' time, he "would love to see…a trillion humans living in the solar system". He added (3) ___________________ happened, "we would have at (4) ___________________ 1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins.…Space would be (5) ___________________ and intelligence and energy". He wants to build the infrastructure that space entrepreneurs will use in the future, "so that ingenuity and imagination can (6) ___________________".

(7) ___________________ Elon Musk, owner of X, echoes Mr Bezos' thoughts. In 2021, he said: "We want to be a (8) ___________________." Earlier this year, he warned that: "Population collapse due to low birth rates is a (9) ___________________ to civilization than global warming." Mr Bezos can see people living in giant space stations. He said most (10) ___________________ would visit Earth for vacations. He envisions Earth returning to its pristine environment because of factories (11) ___________________. He said they would (12) ___________________ the moon or on asteroids instead of Earth's.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Demographersareringingalarmbellsaboutoverpopulation,butAmazo
nfounderJeffBezossaysweneedmorepeople.Hewantstopopulateours
olarsystem.Hesaidthatinathousandyears'time,he"wouldlovetosee…
atrillionhumanslivinginthesolarsystem".Headdedthatifthathappene
d,"wewouldhaveatanygiventime1,000Mozartsand1,000Einsteins.…
Spacewouldbefulloflifeandintelligenceandenergy".Hewantstobuildt
heinfrastructurethatspaceentrepreneurswilluseinthefuture,"sothati
ngenuityandimaginationcanreallybeunleashed".Fellowmulti-billio
naireElonMusk,ownerofX,echoesMrBezos'thoughts.In2021,hesaid:
"Wewanttobeamulti-planetspecies."Earlierthisyear,hewarnedtha
t:"Populationcollapseduetolowbirthratesisamuchbiggerrisktociviliz
ationthanglobalwarming."MrBezoscanseepeoplelivingingiantspaces
tations.HesaidmostinhabitantsofthesewouldvisitEarthforvacations.
HeenvisionsEarthreturningtoitspristineenvironmentbecauseoffacto
riesbuiltinspace.Hesaidtheywouldexploitresourcesonthemoonoron
asteroidsinsteadofEarth's.

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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