Listening Text:

Saturn
In todays lecture were going to talk about Saturn, a planet in our solar system. Lets
begin with some basic information about it. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is the
second largest planet in the solar system; as you probably know, the largest planet in the solar
system is Jupiter. Like Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, Saturn consists mostly of gas and does
not have a solid surface. Let me repeat. Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn -which are also
called gas giants- are consisting mostly of gas and do not have a solid surface. Saturn has
61 moons. Of these 61 moons, the largest is Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury.
Yes, its true. The largest moon of Saturn is larger than the planet Mercury. Around Saturn
there is a very large system of rings, made mainly of ice. This large system of rings also
contains pieces of rock and dust, but in very small amounts. Saturn is about 1.4 billion km
from the sun. As you can imagine, 1.4 billion km is a very, very long distance, so it takes
Saturn thirty earth years to orbit around the sun.
Now that Ive given some information about Saturn, Id like to go on to talk about the
history of its exploration. Saturn was first explored by the space probe* Pioneer 11 in 1979.
Pioneer 11 flew as close as 20,000 km above Saturn. While it was flying 20,000 km above the
planet, it took photographs of the planet and a few of its moons. But these photographs were
low in resolution, which means their quality was not very good. Despite the low quality of the
photographs it took, it discovered a new ring called the F ring. The Pioneer 11 space probe
also measured the temperature of Saturns moon Titan.
In 1980, another space probe called Voyager 1 visited Saturn. Voyager 1 took higher
resolution photographs of the planet, and its rings and moons. Unlike those taken by Pioneer
11, the photographs taken by Voyager 1 were good enough to focus on the surface features of
the moons. Voyager 1 approached very close to Titan, so it sent back a lot of information
about its atmosphere. In 1981, Voyager 2 continued to study the planet. The photographs
taken by Voyager 2 showed that changes were happening to the rings and the atmosphere of
Saturn.
In July 2004, the Cassini-Huygens probe entered into orbit around Saturn. Six months
later, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini probe. Then it started to move down
towards Titan's surface. Twenty days later, it landed on Titan. The surface it landed on was
dry, but it confirmed that large bodies of liquid existed on Titan. While the Huygens probe
was on Titan, the Cassini probe continued to gain data about Titan and a number of other icy
moons. It found evidence that one of the moons had water erupting from geysers*. Cassini
also proved that Titan contained hydrocarbon* lakes. These hydrocarbon lakes were located
near its north pole. One of these large hydrocarbon lakes near its north pole was the size of the
Caspian Sea on earth.
This is all Id like to share with you about Saturn and its moons today. Before you
come to class next week, I want you to do a web-quest and collect some information about the
exploration of Saturn since March 2007.


LISTENING QUESTIONS
Answer the questions using your notes from the lecture called Saturn.

1. Which of the following is FALSE according to the lecture?
A) Saturn is a planet in the solar system. C) Jupiter is the second largest planet.
B) Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. D) Uranus doesnt have a solid surface.

2. According to the lecture, which of the following is NOT one of the gas giants?
A) Jupiter B) Mercury C) Neptune D) Saturn

3. As we learn from the lecture, of the ---- moons of Saturn, Titan is the ----.
A) 61 / largest B) 161 / largest C) 61 / smallest D) 161 / smallest

4. It is stated in the lecture that Saturn is about ---- from the sun.
A) 1.4 billion kilometers C) 14 million miles
B) 1.4 million kilometers D) 14 billion miles

5. We learn from the lecture that space probe Pioneer 11 ----.
A) landed on Saturn in 1979 C) flew 20,000 km above Saturn
B) took high quality photographs D) crashed into the F ring

6. As stated by the lecturer, Voyager 1 ----.
A) visited Saturn in 1982 C) collected no useful information
B) took low resolution photos D) approached very close to Titan

7. In July 2004, the Cassini-Huygens probe entered into orbit around Saturn. Six months later,
the Huygens probe ----.
A) got lost in space C) stopped working and exploded
B) separated from the Cassini probe D) burnt up after it landed on Titan
8. As we learn from the lecture, the Cassini-Huygens mission discovered that the moons of
Saturn ----.
A) were completely dry C) were covered with red sand
B) hosted living creatures D) contained water

9. According to the lecture, one of the hydrocarbon lakes near Titans north pole was ---- the
Caspian Sea on earth.
A) as large as C) as cold as
B) much colder than D) much larger than

10. Which of the following is TRUE according to the lecture?
A) It takes Saturn thirty earth years to orbit around the sun.
B) The rings around Saturn are made mainly of dust and rock.
C) Voyager 2 was lost on its way to Saturn.
D) There has been no research about Saturn since March 2007.

Answers 1C, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5C, 6D, 7B, 8D, 9A, 10A