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Jade Rabbit sends photos from the Moon (18th December, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

China's scientific expedition to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface. A robot called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to traverse the Moon's volcanic ash since America's Apollo missions four decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were ecstatic as the first high-quality images came through of an area of the Moon known as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos showed the rover with the Chinese flag clearly visible against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to test soil samples ahead of the possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar programme is an important component of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful use of space."

The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a landmark achievement in Chinese history. It wrote: "The world long ago sat up and took notice of China's rapid rise as a space power….But nothing compares with the scientific and technological significance of the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the mission, "has transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon into a given; sooner rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's success. Chen Qiufan described his vision of the future, saying: "I think everything will look differently when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I expect that day will come.”

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/202936/8486008.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-12/15/c_132969790.htm
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1381463/china-takes-its-place-space-change-3-and-jade-rabbit

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. JADE RABBIT: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Jade Rabbit. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

expedition / volcanic ash / ecstatic / flag / the dark of space / mining / explore / space / landmark / achievement / take notice / space power / man on the moon / vision

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. MOON: What could we use it for? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Pros	Cons
Mining minerals
Space tourism
Accommodation
Research
Future prison
Leave it alone

4. SPACE EXPLORATION: Students A strongly believe space exploration is necessary; Students B strongly believe it isn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. EXPEDITION: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the one you most want to go on at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• he Moon

• the top of Mount Everest

• the North Pole

• a safari

• Mars

• across the Sahara

• along the Silk Road

• from Cairo to Cape Town

6. EXPLORE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "explore". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Jade Rabbit is the first vehicle ever to cross volcanic ash on the Moon.	T / F
b.	Scientists weren't too happy with the first images Jade Rabbit sent.	T / F
c.	Jade Rabbit is expected to do tests on the Moon's resources.	T / F
d.	China said it wants to find peaceful ways to use space.	T / F
e.	A China newspaper said the Moon landing left a mark on the land.	T / F
f.	The newspaper said the world had recognized China as a space power.	T / F
g.	China's science fiction writers said the Moon landing wasn't so special.	T / F
h.	One writer thinks a Chinese person will visit the moon one day.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	expedition	a.	overjoyed
2.	traverse	b.	picture
3.	ecstatic	c.	noticeable
4.	visible	d.	milestone
5.	explore	e.	importance
6.	landmark	f.	mission
7.	achievement	g.	investigate
8.	significance	h.	travel over
9.	vision	i.	believe
10.	expect	j.	triumph

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	scientific expedition	a.	peaceful use of space
2.	the first vehicle to traverse the	b.	China's rapid rise
3.	Scientists at China's mission control	c.	than later
4.	clearly visible against	d.	were ecstatic
5.	explore the	e.	day will come
6.	a landmark	f.	Moon's volcanic ash
7.	took notice of	g.	to the Moon
8.	sooner rather	h.	of the future
9.	his vision	i.	the dark of space
10.	I expect that	j.	achievement

GAP FILL

China's scientific (1) ___________ to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface. A robot called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to (2) ___________ the Moon's volcanic ash since America's Apollo (3) ___________ four decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were ecstatic as the first high-quality images came through of an area of the Moon (4) ___________ as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos showed the rover with the Chinese flag (5) ___________ visible against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to test soil samples (6) ___________ of the possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar programme is an important (7) ___________ of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful (8) ___________ of space."

known
use
traverse
ahead
expedition
clearly
missions
component

The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a (9) ___________ achievement in Chinese history. It wrote: "The world long ago sat up and took (10) ___________ of China's rapid rise as a space power….But nothing compares with the scientific and technological (11) ___________ of the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the mission, "has transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon into a (12) ___________; sooner rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also (13) ___________ with their country's success. Chen Qiufan described his (14) ___________ of the future, saying: "I think everything will look (15) ___________ when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I (16) ___________ that day will come."

vision
significance
notice
overjoyed
landmark
expect
given
differently

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	sent back its first photos of ______
	a. the lunar surfaces b. the lonely surface c. the loner surface d. the lunar surface
2)	Scientists at China's mission control ______
	a. were egg static b. were elastic c. were exactly d. were ecstatic
3)	The photos showed the rover with the Chinese flag clearly visible against ______
	a. the dark of spaces b. the dark of space c. the dark of spaced d. the dark of spice
4)	test soil samples ahead of the possible mining of the Moon's ______
	a. rocks and minerals b. rocks and miner rails c. rocks and mini rails d. rocks and mine rails
5)	China's lunar programme is an important component of ______
	a. mankind's activates b. mankind's active cities c. mankind's activeness d. mankind's activities
6)	The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a ______
	a. landing mark achievement b. landed mark achievement c. landmark achievement d. land marker achievement
7)	The world long ago sat up and took notice of ______
	a. China's rapid rise b. China's rapid raise c. China's rapid risen d. China's rapid rising
8)	transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon into a given; sooner ______
	a. rather than late b. rather than lateness c. rather than later d. rather than lay tar
9)	China's science fiction writers are ______
	a. also overjoy b. also overly joyed c. also over joyful d. also overjoyed
10)	a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon. He added: I expect that ______
	a. day will pass b. day will arrive c. day will appear d. day will come

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

China's (1) ___________________ the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface. A robot called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to traverse the Moon's (2) ___________________ America's Apollo missions four decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were ecstatic as the (3) ___________________ came through of an area of the Moon known as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos (4) ___________________ with the Chinese flag clearly visible against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to (5) ___________________ of the possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar programme is an important component of mankind's activities to (6) ___________________ use of space."

The South China Morning Post described the Moon (7) ___________________ achievement in Chinese history. It wrote: "The world (8) ___________________ and took notice of China's rapid rise as a space power….But (9) ___________________ the scientific and technological significance of the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the mission, "has transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon (10) ___________________ rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's success. Chen Qiufan described his (11) ___________________, saying: "I think everything will look differently when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I (12) ___________________ come."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What did the Jade Rabbit take photos of?
2.	What was the name of the last missions to the Moon?
3.	What's the name of the area the Jade Rabbit photographed?
4.	What will the rover take samples of?
5.	What uses of space does China want to explore?
6.	What kind of achievement did a newspaper describe the landing as?
7.	What kind of rapid rise is China having?
8.	What time did the rover touch down on the Moon?
9.	Who was overjoyed with China's success?
10.	Who does one writer expect will go to the Moon?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What did the Jade Rabbit take photos of?	6.	What kind of achievement did a newspaper describe the landing as?
	a) the lunar surface b) volcanoes c) space d) aliens		a) land marking b) marked land c) marking land d) landmark
2.	What was the name of the last missions to the Moon?	7.	What kind of rapid rise is China having?
	a) Discovery b) Atlantis c) Apollo d) NASA		a) a historical one b) a phenomenal one c) as a space power d) a significant one
3.	What's the name of the area the Jade Rabbit photographed?	8.	What time did the rover touch down on the Moon?
	a) the Ray of Bainbows b) the Rainbow Bay c) the Volcanic Ash Bay d) the Bay of Rainbows		a) 12:09pm b) 9:12pm c) 12:09am d) 9:12am
4.	What will the rover take samples of?	9.	Who was overjoyed with China's success?
	a) air b) soil c) atmosphere d) water		a) rabbits b) Martians c) science fiction writers d) cosmonauts
5.	What uses of space does China want to explore?	10.	Who does one writer expect will go to the Moon?
	a) peaceful ones b) military ones c) science fiction ones d) information technology ones		a) China's president b) a Chinese person c) his daughter d) prisoners

ROLE PLAY

Role A – The Moon

You think the Moon is the best place for an expedition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): a Kenyan safari, the Sahara Desert or the Amazon.

Role B – A Kenyan Safari

You think a Kenyan safari is the best place for an expedition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): the Moon, the Sahara Desert or the Amazon.

Role C – The Sahara Desert

You think the Sahara Desert is the best place for an expedition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): a Kenyan safari, the Moon or the Amazon.

Role D – The Amazon

You think the Amazon is the best place for an expedition. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least exciting of these (and why): a Kenyan safari, the Sahara Desert or the Moon.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'mission' and 'control'.

mission

control

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

lunar
ago
quality
flag
rocks
use

history
power
night
later
future
day

JADE RABBIT SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Jade Rabbit 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

JADE RABBIT DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'moon'?
c)	What do you think of China's Moon landing?
d)	What do you hope China will achieve with its Moon landing?
e)	Would you like to go to the Moon? What would you do there?
f)	Why do you think the name of China's rover is Jade Rabbit?
g)	Why has it been 40 years since anyone sent an expedition to the moon?
h)	How excited do you get about space exploration and Moon landings?
i)	Would you be a good astronaut?
j)	What are the "peaceful" uses of space?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	How big an achievement is this for China?
c)	Will China's Moon landing spark a space race?
d)	What could countries achieve in space if they collaborated more?
e)	Would you be excited at watching another person walk on the Moon?
f)	Does your country have a history of exploration?
g)	What is your vision of the future and the Moon?
h)	What would it be like to live on the Moon?
i)	How would Earth look from the Moon?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the head of China's space programme?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

China's scientific expedition to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the (1) ____ surface. A robot called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to (2) ____ the Moon's volcanic ash since America's Apollo missions four decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were (3) ____ as the first high-quality images came through of an area of the Moon known as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos showed the rover with the Chinese flag clearly (4) ____ against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to test soil samples (5) ____ of the possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar programme is an important (6) ____ of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful use of space."

The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a landmark achievement in Chinese history. It wrote: "The world long ago sat up and took (7) ____ of China's rapid (8) ____ as a space power….But nothing compares with the scientific and technological significance (9) ____ the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the mission, "has transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon into a (10) ____; sooner rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's success. Chen Qiufan described his (11) ____ of the future, saying: "I think everything will look differently when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I (12) ____ that day will come."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	lunar	(b)	solar	(c)	stellar	(d)	polar
2.	(a)	travels	(b)	taverns	(c)	traverse	(d)	travesty
3.	(a)	elastic	(b)	intact	(c)	ecstatic	(d)	instinct
4.	(a)	visor	(b)	visibility	(c)	vision	(d)	visible
5.	(a)	before	(b)	prior	(c)	ahead	(d)	previous
6.	(a)	compartment	(b)	component	(c)	composition	(d)	constitution
7.	(a)	nought	(b)	notice	(c)	notation	(d)	notion
8.	(a)	raise	(b)	rise	(c)	rising	(d)	risen
9.	(a)	for	(b)	as	(c)	of	(d)	by
10.	(a)	done	(b)	taken	(c)	been	(d)	given
11.	(a)	viewing	(b)	eyesight	(c)	sight	(d)	vision
12.	(a)	exult	(b)	expose	(c)	exact	(d)	expect

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	China's scientific tpexnoiied to the Moon
2.	photos of the lunar csfauer
3.	the first vehicle to streerav the Moon's volcanic ash
4.	Scientists at China's mission control were ecatscit
5.	the Moon's rocks and snimearl
6.	an important noneptmoc
Paragraph 2
7.	a landmark hcteimveaen
8.	scientific and technological gnsceiifinca
9.	the mission has ntrosardmef China's dream
10.	science fniocti writers
11.	his svioni of the future
12.	everything will look niryletffde

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	samples ahead of the possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar
( )	the rover with the Chinese flag clearly visible against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to test soil
( )	decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were ecstatic as the first high-
( )	called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to traverse the Moon's volcanic ash since America's Apollo missions four
( )	rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's
( 1 )	China's scientific expedition to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface. A robot
( )	compares with the scientific and technological significance of the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the
( )	programme is an important component of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful use of space."
( )	differently when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I expect that day will come."
( )	The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a landmark achievement in Chinese history. It wrote: "The world
( )	long ago sat up and took notice of China's rapid rise as a space power….But nothing
( )	mission, "has transformed China's dream of putting a man on the moon into a given; sooner
( )	success. Chen Qiufan described his vision of the future, saying: "I think everything will look
( )	quality images came through of an area of the Moon known as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos showed

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	photos lunar Sent first the its of surface back.
2.	China's at Scientists ecstatic were control mission.
3.	soil the Test of ahead mining samples possible.
4.	component important an is programme lunar China's.
5.	explore space the peaceful Activities use to of.
6.	history A achievement Chinese landmark in.
7.	a space power Took notice of China's rapid rise as.
8.	dream a the China's putting on of man moon.
9.	writers fiction science China's overjoyed also are.
10.	come ." He added : " I expect that day will

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

China's scientific / scientifically expedition to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface / surfaced. A robot called the Jade Rabbit became the first vehicle to converse / traverse the Moon's volcanic ash since America's Apollo missions four decades ago. Scientists at China's mission control were ecstasy / ecstatic as the first high-quality images came through of an area of the Moon known / knowing as the Bay of Rainbows. The photos showed / showered the rover with the Chinese flag clearly visibility / visible against the dark of space. Jade Rabbit is expected to test soiled / soil samples ahead of the possibility / possible mining of the Moon's rocks and minerals. A Chinese scientist said: "China's lunar programme is an important component / compartment of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful use of space."

The South China Morning Post described the Moon landing as a bookmark / landmark achievement in / on Chinese history. It wrote: "The world length / long ago sat up and took / gave notice of China's rapid rise as a space power….But nothing compares / comparisons with the scientific and technological significance / significant of the landing on the moon at 9.12 on Saturday night." It said the mission, "has transformed China's dreamy / dream of putting a man on the moon into a taken / given; sooner rather than later". China's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's successful / success. Chen Qiufan described his vision of the future, saying: "I think everything will look differently when a Chinese person looks at Earth from the Moon." He added: "I expectant / expect that day will come."

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

Ch_n_'s sc__nt_f_c _xp_d_t__n t_ th_ M__n h_s s_nt b_ck _ts f_rst ph_t_s _f th_ l_n_r s_rf_c_. _ r_b_t c_ll_d th_ J_d_ R_bb_t b_c_m_ th_ f_rst v_h_cl_ t_ tr_v_rs_ th_ M__n's v_lc_n_c _sh s_nc_ _m_r_c_'s _p_ll_ m_ss__ns f__r d_c_d_s _g_. Sc__nt_sts _t Ch_n_'s m_ss__n c_ntr_l w_r_ _cst_t_c _s th_ f_rst h_gh-q__l_ty _m_g_s c_m_ thr__gh _f _n _r__ _f th_ M__n kn_wn _s th_ B_y _f R__nb_ws. Th_ ph_t_s sh_w_d th_ r_v_r w_th th_ Ch_n_s_ fl_g cl__rly v_s_bl_ _g__nst th_ d_rk _f sp_c_. J_d_ R_bb_t _s _xp_ct_d t_ t_st s__l s_mpl_s _h__d _f th_ p_ss_bl_ m_n_ng _f th_ M__n's r_cks _nd m_n_r_ls. _ Ch_n_s_ sc__nt_st s__d: "Ch_n_'s l_n_r pr_gr_mm_ _s _n _mp_rt_nt c_mp_n_nt _f m_nk_nd's _ct_v_t__s t_ _xpl_r_ th_ p__c_f_l _s_ _f sp_c_."

Th_ S__th Ch_n_ M_rn_ng P_st d_scr_b_d th_ M__n l_nd_ng _s _ l_ndm_rk _ch__v_m_nt _n Ch_n_s_ h_st_ry. _t wr_t_: "Th_ w_rld l_ng _g_ s_t _p _nd t__k n_t_c_ _f Ch_n_'s r_p_d r_s_ _s _ sp_c_ p_w_r….B_t n_th_ng c_mp_r_s w_th th_ sc__nt_f_c _nd t_chn_l_g_c_l s_gn_f_c_nc_ _f th_ l_nd_ng _n th_ m__n _t 9.12 _n S_t_rd_y n_ght." _t s__d th_ m_ss__n, "h_s tr_nsf_rm_d Ch_n_'s dr__m _f p_tt_ng _ m_n _n th_ m__n _nt_ _ g_v_n; s__n_r r_th_r th_n l_t_r". Ch_n_'s sc__nc_ f_ct__n wr_t_rs _r_ _ls_ _v_rj_y_d w_th th__r c__ntry's s_cc_ss. Ch_n Q__f_n d_scr_b_d h_s v_s__n _f th_ f_t_r_, s_y_ng: "_ th_nk _v_ryth_ng w_ll l__k d_ff_r_ntly wh_n _ Ch_n_s_ p_rs_n l__ks _t __rth fr_m th_ M__n." H_ _dd_d: "_ _xp_ct th_t d_y w_ll c_m_."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

china's scientific expedition to the moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface a robot called the jade rabbit became the first vehicle to traverse the moon's volcanic ash since america's apollo missions four decades ago scientists at china's mission control were ecstatic as the first high-quality images came through of an area of the moon known as the bay of rainbows the photos showed the rover with the chinese flag clearly visible against the dark of space jade rabbit is expected to test soil samples ahead of the possible mining of the moon's rocks and minerals a chinese scientist said "china's lunar programme is an important component of mankind's activities to explore the peaceful use of space"

the south china morning post described the moon landing as a landmark achievement in chinese history it wrote "the world long ago sat up and took notice of china's rapid rise as a space power…but nothing compares with the scientific and technological significance of the landing on the moon at 912 on saturday night" it said the mission "has transformed china's dream of putting a man on the moon into a given sooner rather than later" china's science fiction writers are also overjoyed with their country's success chen qiufan described his vision of the future saying "i think everything will look differently when a chinese person looks at earth from the moon" he added "i expect that day will come"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

China'sscientificexpeditiontotheMoonhassentbackitsfirstphotosofthelunarsu
rface.ArobotcalledtheJadeRabbitbecamethefirstvehicletotraversetheMoon's
volcanicashsinceAmerica'sApollomissionsfourdecadesago.ScientistsatChina'
smissioncontrolwereecstaticasthefirsthigh-qualityimagescamethrough
ofanareaoftheMoonknownastheBayofRainbows.Thephotosshowedtherover
withtheChineseflagclearlyvisibleagainstthedarkofspace.JadeRabbitisexpect
edtotestsoilsamplesaheadofthepossibleminingoftheMoon'srocksandmineral
s.AChinesescientistsaid:"China'slunarprogrammeisanimportantcomponento
fmankind'sactivitiestoexplorethepeacefuluseofspace."TheSouthChinaMorni
ngPostdescribedtheMoonlandingasalandmarkachievementinChinesehistory.
Itwrote:"TheworldlongagosatupandtooknoticeofChina'srapidriseasaspacepo
wer….Butnothingcompareswiththescientificandtechnologicalsignificanceofth
elandingonthemoonat9.12onSaturdaynight."Itsaidthemission,"hastransfor
medChina'sdreamofputtingamanonthemoonintoagiven;soonerratherthanlat
er".China'ssciencefictionwritersarealsooverjoyedwiththeircountry'ssuccess.
ChenQiufandescribedhisvisionofthefuture,saying:"Ithinkeverythingwilllookd
ifferentlywhenaChinesepersonlooksatEarthfromtheMoon."Headded:"Iexpec
tthatdaywillcome."

FREE WRITING

Write about Jade Rabbit for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Outline the pros and cons of mining the Moon's resources. Should it go ahead?

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Jade Rabbit. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. JADE RABBIT: Make a poster about Jade Rabbit and China's Moon landing. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. MOON MINING: Write a magazine article about mining the Moon's resources. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a Moon expert. Ask him/her three questions about Jade Rabbit. Give him/her three of your opinions on the Moon landing. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

T

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	expedition	a.	mission
2.	traverse	b.	travel over
3.	ecstatic	c.	overjoyed
4.	visible	d.	noticeable
5.	explore	e.	investigate
6.	landmark	f.	milestone
7.	achievement	g.	triumph
8.	significance	h.	importance
9.	vision	i.	picture
10.	expect	j.	believe

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The lunar surface
2.	Apollo
3.	The Bay of Rainbows
4.	Soil
5.	Peaceful ones
6.	A landmark achievement
7.	As a space power
8.	9:12pm
9.	Science fiction writers
10.	A Chinese person

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

a

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

d

7.

c

8.

b

9.

c

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Jade Rabbit sends photos from the Moon (18th December, 2014)

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