Prime Time 4, Coursebook

Planetary sustainability (Unit 8) Reading between the lines a) Read the quote by John F. Kennedy in 1963. b) What does the quote above mean? Tick your choice. He says that a world has many problems which cannot be solved by ordinary people, but only scientists and professors. He says that people who question things can make great dreams come true. Great things can only be achieved by people who dare to find solutions to problems that seem impossible. c) Listen to the explanation and check if you were right. Be a fact detective: NASA’s vision on planetary sustainability a) Read the words below and match them with their definitions. 1. planetary These letters stand for the US-American National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 2. NASA the ability to think about or plan the future with your imagination and wisdom 3. solar system 1 relating or belonging to a planet or planets; or relating to the Earth as a planet 4. vision collection of 8 planets and their moons in orbit round the sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets b) Read the first part of the interview below. Interviewer: So, NASA doesn’t just focus on going to the moon. It’s more than that. Prof Sanders: Exactly, it’s more than building spacecraft and exploring the universe. I’d like to focus on a mission called “planetary sustainability”. Interviewer: What does it do? Prof Sanders: Well, its vision is explained in a quote by former US president John F. Kennedy, namely, “The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by the skeptics and cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask why not. […]” Interviewer: Interesting quote. How does it relate to the NASA’s planetary sustainability? jk78qi 1 “[…] The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by the skeptics and cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask why not. […]” 2.25 y9u8bj 2 130 16 Unit Fact detectives one hundred and thirty Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv