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An Unusual Supernova


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Published: 11.11.2017
Level 5   |   Time: 2:19
Accent: British

TOEFL: Scientist have discovered a supernova that is behaving in an unusual way.

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You can download the file [ HERE ].

    

triangle Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções


  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.

  2. WATCH the VIDEO

    The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.

  4. WATCH and READ the SCRIPT

    Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.

  2. VER el VIDEO

    La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.

  4. MIRAR Y LEER

    Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.

  5. HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES

    Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

  1. 어휘 읽기

    비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.

  2. 비디오 보기

    비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.

  3. 문제에 답하기

    먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.

  4. 비디오 보면서 대본 읽기

    대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.

  5. 액티비티 하기

    듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

  1. LER o VOCABULÁRIO

    É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.

  2. ASSISTA ao VÍDEO

    Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.

  4. ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT

    Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

triangle Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario


  • ☐ ☐ ☐ terminal [adj] - dying
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ collapse [v] - fall down, crumple
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ explode [v] - burst violently and noisily
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a black hole [n] - a region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ massive [adj] - very big
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a let-up [n] - a period when something happens with less strength or intensity
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ matter [n] - anything that has mass and occupies space, consisting of particles (atoms)
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ antimatter [n] - the opposite of regular matter, consisting of antiparticles
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ one go [n] - one event
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ let out [phv] - release
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a blip [n] - an unexpected, minor event that is different from the general trend
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ death throes [exp] - the final stage before something ends or dies

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb, [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression



triangle Comprehension Questions 이해력 검사 문제 Perguntas de compreensão Preguntas de comprensión


  1. What is a supernova?
    The final explosion of a dying star
    A type of black hole
    A very large sun

  2. What usually happens to a star when it comes to the end of its life?
    It creates a new solar system.
    It collapses into a black hole.
    It explodes into a supernova.
    It changes into a planet.

  3. How much energy is released in a supernova explosion?
    The same amount of energy that is in Earth's sun
    The same amount of energy in 100 million suns
    The same amount of energy in 2 suns

  4. What is unusual about this supernova?
    It took longer to explode than most supernovas.
    Scientist were able to see it easily.
    It exploded very suddenly.

  5. How long do supernovas usually last?
    60 days
    100 days
    600 days

  6. How long did this supernova last?
    60 days
    100 days
    600 days

  7. What do scientists think was unusual about this star that went supernova?
    It was very big.
    It was very small
    It was very hot.
    It was very cold.

  8. What do scientists think happened in the core of this star?
    It released extra energy.
    It produced anti-matter.
    It collapsed.

  9. What does a star turn into after a supernova?
    A planet
    A black hole
    A neutron star

  10. What happened 50 years ago?
    The same star had an explosion.
    A similar type of supernova occurred.
    Scientists first discovered supernovas.

  11. How long might have this star been exploding?
    5 years
    15 years
    60 years



triangle TOEFL Questions TOEFL 문제 Perguntas do TOEFL Preguntas de TOEFL


  1. What is the discussion mainly about?
    (A) The differences between a black hole and supernova.
    (B) A supernova that is following an unusual pattern.
    (C) The amount of energy in a supernova.
    (D) How scientists observe supernovas.

  2. What two things can happen when a star dies?
    [Click on two answers.]
    (A) It can explode into a supernova.
    (B) It can join another supernova.
    (C) It can turn into a new planet.
    (D) It can collapse into a black hole.

  3. What is the difference between a supernova and a black hole?
    (A) A supernova is formed when a star explodes, while a black hole is formed when a star collapses.
    (B) A black hole is formed when a star explodes, while a supernova is formed when a star collapses.
    (C) A black hole is much bigger than a supernova.
    (D) A black hole releases much more energy than a supernova.

  4. What does the woman suggest when she says this?

    (A) This event may force scientist to change the way they observe supernovas.
    (B) This event may cause scientists to re-evaluate their theories about supernovas.
    (C) The scientist doing this research may have made many mistakes.
    (D) This event may be difficult to prove scientifically.

  5. What does the scientist mean when he says this?

    (A) It is expensive to do this type of research.
    (B) It is difficult to know if this event is truly unusual.
    (C) Most scientists will find this event hard to believe.
    (D) The current equipment scientists have is not good enough.

  6. Why does the scientist think that this supernova may have been releasing energy for many years?
    (A) The star has been visible in the sky for many years.
    (B) Scientist saw an explosion from this star 50 years ago.
    (C) The supernova is about 50 light-years away from the Earth.
    (D) Scientists have been able to measure the age of the light from the star.

  7. According to the scientist, which of these statements is true for typical supernovas?
    [Click on three answers.]
    (A) They release a lot of energy quickly.
    (B) They are difficult to detect.
    (C) They become neutron stars.
    (D) They last about 100 days.
    (E) They rarely occur in our galaxy.
    (F) They usually happen at night.

  8. According to the scientist, which of these statements is true for this specific supernova?
    [Click on four answers.]
    (A) It is very hot.
    (B) It is visible in the sky.
    (C) It is lasting longer than usual.
    (D) It likely produced antimatter.
    (E) It came from a very large star.
    (F) It formed close to a black hole.



triangle Sentence Building 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones


Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instrucciones: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.



Sentence 1

when / star / die / it / usually / either / collapse / black / hole / or / explode / supernova


When a star dies, it usually either collapses into a black hole or explodes into a supernova.



Sentence 2

typical / supernova / release / energy / equivalent / 100 / million / sun / over / about / 100 / day


Typically, a supernova releases energy equivalent to 100 million suns over about 100 days.
A typical supernova releases energy equivalent to 100 million suns over about 100 days.



Sentence 3

however / scientist / discover / unusual / supernova / that / last / 600 / day / release / energy / equivalent / 600 / million / sun


However, scientists have discovered an unusual supernova that lasted 600 days, releasing the energy equivalent to 600 million suns.
However, scientists have discovered an unusual supernova that lasted 600 days, which released the energy equivalent to 600 million suns.



Sentence 4

before / that / event / star / may / be / so / massive / and / hot / that / it / produce / antimatter / core


Before that event, the star may have been so massive and hot that it produced antimatter in its core.



Sentence 5

instead / one / big / explosion / it / release / energy / slow / over / time


Instead of one big explosion, it released energy slowly over time.



Sentence 6

there / also / evidence / suggest / star / might / start / go / supernova / 60 / year / ago


There is also evidence [suggesting/that suggests] that the star might have started [going/to go] supernova 60 years ago.



Sentence 7

this / discovery / challenge / exist / idea / about / how / star / die / and / might / lead / new / understand / stellar / behavior


This discovery challenges existing ideas about how stars die and might lead to a new understanding of stellar behavior.



triangle Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión


  1. What was the most interesting thing you heard or learned in this listening?
  2. Have you seen any unusual phenomenon in the sky (an eclipse, a shooting star, a comet)? When? Can you describe what it looked like?
  3. What facts or theories that you learned in high school or university have changed now?
  4. What do you think might be the next major discovery in astronomy? How could it change our view of the universe?
  5. Should research focused on issues on Earth (for example climate change) be prioritised over space research? Is space research even important? If so, how?
  6. If we found a habitable planet that already had life on it, would we have a right to move there? If the life was intelligent, would you change your opinion?

triangle Script 대본 Roteiro Texto


A supernova is the terminal explosion of a dying star, but scientists have discovered a very unusual example. It doesn't seem to follow the normal pattern. So what is the normal pattern? A question for our science reporter Paul Rinkon.

Well, the normal pattern is that when a star is coming to the end of its life, it can go one of either two ways. It can either collapse into a black hole, or it can explode in this massive energetic event called a supernova. And that releases the energy equivalent to 100 million suns over quite a short space of time-about 100 days. What happened in this case is that it continued for a much longer time. And that's something that people haven't seen before. Astronomers hadn't seen this before, and this seems like a very very unusual object.

And when you say a much longer time?

Yeah. So the typical period duration for a supernova is about 100 days. It doesn't go beyond that. But this one continued for 600 days, and it continued releasing energy. There was no let up. So it released probably the amount of energy about 600 million suns, equivalent to that.

And what scientists think this means?

Well, what they think it means is that perhaps this is a very unusual type of sun that got so massive, got so big, and got so hot, that it actually produced antimatter in its core. Now this is the actual, the opposite of matter. And what happens in this case is that the sun gets violently unstable. And instead of exploding in just one big go, releasing all its energy and then it's gone, it's reduced to this tiny neutron star. It kind of, it just let it out slowly.

Now you keep saying that this is a very unusual event. Does this mean that they are going to have to rethink the way that they look at a supernova, or is this just a huge very energetic blip?

I think the universe is so big, and we haven't sampled enough of the sky. And we just haven't seen these stars before. What's also interesting is that they've seen something, they've seen an explosion from this object before, 50 years ago. And they just can't explain that. So this may actually have been instead of 600 days, it may have been going off essentially in its death throes for 60 years or longer and letting out these short explosions without actually destroying itself in one massive supernova as happens with most stars.

That was our science reporter Paul Rinkon.