The Solar System: Unit 1: Reading

UNIVERSITÉ SIDI MOHAMMED BEN ABDALLAH Année 2019 – 2020
FACULTÉ DES SCIENCES –

DHAR EL MEHREZ – FÈS UNITÉ LANGUES ET COMMUNICATION
MASTER PROGRAM
PROF: FETTAH EL OAURDI
UNIT 1: READING
I-Reading comprehension text
Read the following text and answer the questions below
The Solar System

The solar system is the Sun and the objects that travel around it. The Earth is part of the solar system
because it also travels around the sun.
The Sun is a star similar to the other stars in the sky but it is much closer to the Earth. The Sun is
mostly a big ball of gases composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
There are seven other planets that travel around the sun, too. These planets, in order, include Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Earth is located between Venus and Mars. The
path the planets use when traveling around the sun is oval-shaped and is called its orbit. Each of the
planets in the solar system take a different amount of time to orbit or travel around the Sun.
The planet Earth takes 365 days or one year to orbit the Sun. The other planets take more or less time
to orbit the Sun. It takes Mercury less than two months or 88 days to travel around the Sun. It is the
shortest time compared to the other planets. The planet taking the longest time to go around the Sun is
Neptune. It takes Neptune almost 165 years to travel around the Sun.
The planets of the solar system are also a variety of sizes and are made up of different substances. The
largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. Over 1,000 Earths could fill the size of Jupiter. The
smallest planet is Mercury, which is also the closest planet to the Sun. Earth and Venus are similar in
size to each other.
The four inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are made of rock containing many different
minerals. The four outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are mostly made up of different
gases. Jupiter is mainly helium, hydrogen, and water. The four outer planets also have rings that
encircle them with Saturn having the most rings.
Other objects in space include the moons of six planets. A moon is a celestial object (object in space)
that orbits another body in space. There are approximately 173 moons throughout the solar system.
Earth has a single moon, Mercury and Venus have none, and the planet with the most moons is Jupiter
with 63. Not far behind Jupiter is Saturn with 62 moons.
The asteroid belt is another object in the solar system. The asteroid belt is approximately located
between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt contains irregularly shaped bodies
called asteroids which are believed to be left over from the beginning of the solar system 4.6 billion
years ago. The objects are rocky and irregular in shape, and some may be hundreds of miles across,
but most of the asteroids are very small.
In summary, the solar system is the Sun and the objects that travel around it including the eight
planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Each of the planets
follow an oval-shaped path around the Sun which is called the planet's orbit. Many of the planets also
have moons which are celestial objects that orbit another body in space. Finally, there is also an
asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter containing irregularly shaped objects called asteroids.
QUESTIONS
1) The Sun and the objects that travel around it is called
A: planets
B: The solar system
C: Moons
D: The asteroid belt
2) What is the difference between the Sun and the other stars of the universe?
A: The sun is much farther away
B: The sun shines brighter
C: The sun is closer to the Earth
D: The sun is much larger
3) Which of the following shows the correct order of the inner planets?
A: Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars
B: Mars, Mercury, Venus, Earth
C: Venus, Mars, Erath, Mercury
D: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
4) Which of the following the correct order of the outer planets?
A: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus
B: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
C: Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune

D: Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn
5) Which of the following is the definition of an asteroid?
A: Irregularly shaped bodies which are believed to be left over from the beginning of the solar system
B: Celestial objects that orbits another body in space
C: Similar to stars in the sky but they are much closer to the Earth
D: The name of the rings encircling several planets of the solar system
6) Which of the following shows the smallest and largest planets of the solar system?
A: Mercury and Saturn
B: Venus and Earth
C: Mercury and Jupiter
D: Saturn and Jupiter
II- Grammar Activity
 The Present Simple

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or
normal.
Take the following examples:
I take the bus to the office _ She takes the bus to the office
We go to the market _ He goes to the market
You study hard _ It flies in the sky
 We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).
To eat: I eat, you eat, we eat, they eat.
In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.
He eats _ she eats _ it eats
 For verbs that end in -O, -H , -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.
 go –goes
 catch –catches
 wash – washes
 kiss – kisses
 fix – fixes
 buzz – buzzes
 For verbs that end in Y
_ If there is a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.
 marry – marries
 study – studies
 carry – carries
 worry – worries
_ If there is vowel + Y, we just add -S.
 play – plays
 enjoy – enjoys
 say – says
Exercise 1
Put the verbs between parentheses in the simple present
1. Every Monday, Sally ………………( to drive) her kids to football practice.

2. I………….(to hate) living in Seattle, because it always………………(to rain).
3. He never……………(to go) to the theatre.
4. Lisa …………….(to wash) her hair once a week
5. Mr. Johnson ……………(to worry) a lot about the future of his kids.
6. Lady Emma always ……………(to enjoy) tea time.
7. The 2:00 bus rarely……………..(to come) on time.
8. We usually……..……(to meet) on Saturdays.
Exercise 2: Choose the correct form of the following verbs
wake(s) up - open(s) - speak(s) - take(s) - do(es) - cause(s) - live(s) - play(s) - close(s) - live(s)
1. Ann hand ball very well.

2. I never coffee.
3. The swimming pool at 7:00 in the morning.
4. It at 9:00 in the evening.
5. Bad driving many accidents.
6. My parents in a very small flat
7. The Olympic Games place every four years.
8. They are good students. They always their homework.
9. My students a little English.
10. I always early in the morning.
 Dialogue
Read the conversation between the reporter and lily. Lily wants to learn about the reporter’s
job. So, she asks him about his daily activities
 Lily: do you do the same thing every day?
 The reporter: Not really. I usually meet many people and visit different places.
 Lily: well, how often do you work in your office?
 The reporter: My computer is there and I often write my stories at work. But
sometimes I go to interview people in their homes or offices. Actually, I spend a lot of
time in my car going to and from interviews.
 Lily: do you often carry a laptop with you?
 The reporter: no. I rarely use my laptop to take notes. I always use a voice recorder
instead.
 Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency show how often something happens. People use them to talk about
their habits and daily routines along side with the expression Every+ noun
For example: "I always use my notebook" means the same as I use my notebook every day.
Here are some common adverbs of frequency.

Adverb Frequency
Always - He always uses his notebook. 100%
Usually - He usually meets many people. 80%
Often - He often writes his stories. 60%
Sometimes - He sometimes goes to 40%-50%
interview people in their offices and homes.
He rarely uses a laptop to take notes. 10%
0%
Never - He never carries a laptop.
 The question people use to ask about

habits is :
“How often" as in the following example:
How often do you read books?
I usually read books. Or I read books very often.
How often does she go shopping?
She goes shopping twice a week.
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences.
Use the adverb and the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1. Our teacher, Mrs Jones, (never / be) late for lessons.

2. I (often / clean) my bedroom at the weekend.
3. My brother (seldom / help) me with my homework.
4. I(sometimes / be) bored in the maths lessons.
5. We (rarely / watch) football on TV.
6. You and Tony (never / play) computer games with me.
7. You (usually / be) at the sports centre on Sunday.
8. The school bus (always / arrive) at half past eight.

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UNIVERSITÉ SIDI MOHAMMED BEN ABDALLAH Année 2019 – 2020

FACULTÉ DES SCIENCES –

Read the following text and answer the questions below

The Solar System

1) The Sun and the objects that travel around it is called

B: The solar system

D: The asteroid belt

A: The sun is much farther away

B: The sun shines brighter

C: The sun is closer to the Earth

D: The sun is much larger

A: Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars

B: Mars, Mercury, Venus, Earth

C: Venus, Mars, Erath, Mercury

D: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

4) Which of the following the correct order of the outer planets?

A: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus

B: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

C: Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune

5) Which of the following is the definition of an asteroid?

B: Celestial objects that orbits another body in space

A: Mercury and Saturn

B: Venus and Earth

C: Mercury and Jupiter

D: Saturn and Jupiter

II- Grammar Activity

 The Present Simple

To eat: I eat, you eat, we eat, they eat.

In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

He eats _ she eats _ it eats

_ If there is a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

_ If there is vowel + Y, we just add -S.

Put the verbs between parentheses in the simple present

1. Every Monday, Sally ………………( to drive) her kids to football practice.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct form of the following verbs

1. Ann hand ball very well.

Here are some common adverbs of frequency.

 The question people use to ask about

1. Our teacher, Mrs Jones, (never / be) late for lessons.

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