Listen&Learn: “Cosmos”

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about the book that introduced the public to the universe.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• cosmos: the entire universe
• popular science: a genre of books that explain science in a simple, understandable way
• host: to be the presenter of a TV show
• astronomer: someone who studies space
• documentary: a non-fiction, educational movie or TV series
• remake: a new adaptation of an existing movie or TV show

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11 — 1.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS | More

Gapfill exercise

Cosmos is a popular science book written by astronomer Carl Sagan. The book was published in 1980, when Sagan was hosting a documentary with the same name. The of both the book and the series was to introduce the general to astronomy. The book has 13 , which match up with the 13 episodes of the documentary series. At the time, Sagan’s work caused many people to become interested in space and science. In 2014 —18 years after Sagan’s death— a remake of the original Cosmos series aired on TV. Though scientists’ understanding of the universe has grown since 1980, Cosmos is still one of the most famous scientific books ever published.

Comprehension questions

1. Cosmos was both a book and

an academic article

a documentary series

a lecture offered to the public

Correct! Wrong!

Cosmos was both a book and a documentary series.

2. The goal of the book was

to propose new scientific theories

to convince other scientists that aliens were real

to introduce the general public to astronomy

Correct! Wrong!

The goal of the book was to introduce the general public to astronomy.

3. In 2014,

a documentary was made about Carl Sagan

a remake of the Cosmos series aired on TV

a sequel to the Cosmos book was published

Correct! Wrong!

In 2014, a remake of the Cosmos series aired on TV.

Discussion/essay questions

1. What are your beliefs about the universe? Do you think there is life on other planets?

Transcript

Cosmos is a popular science book written by astronomer Carl Sagan. The book was published in 1980, when Sagan was hosting a documentary series with the same name. The goal of both the book and the series was to introduce the general public to astronomy. The book has 13 chapters, which match up with the 13 episodes of the documentary series. At the time, Sagan’s work caused many people to become interested in understanding space and science. In 2014 —18 years after Sagan’s death— a remake of the original Cosmos series aired on TV. Though scientists’ understanding of the universe has grown since 1980, Cosmos is still one of the most famous scientific books ever published.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

© EnglishClub.com

Subscribe to EnglishClub Podcasts

15 comments

• English Club Indonesia says:
  

  I slightly believe that the universe is just part of a simulation. There could be life on other planets, but not in this solar system.

• Quynh Pham says:
  

  I think there’re many planets that we’ve not known about it.
  Universe is mystic.
  Thanks for the podcast.
  I love it!

• Carlos says:
  

  The truth is out there…

• Pushpa Pathirana says:
  

  i think universe is everything. This topic helped me to enhance my listening skills as well as i found the new word “Cosmos’
  Thanks

• Erika says:
  

  What are your beliefs about the universe? Do you think there is life on other planets?

  In my point of view the universe has a lot of things that science already don´t now, the universe is infinite to us and is full of misteries that maybe one day the astronomers and the scientific community will let us know.

  And about the life in other planets, I think that there is life in other planets, maybe some microorganisms or animals, and will be so interesting if one day we know more about the existence of others beings out of the Earth planet.

• Tchatchoua Ambroise Rodrique says:
  

  Thank you so much. More of this will enhance my listening and increase also my comprehension skills.

• Vijdan says:
  

  Hello. Thank you for your interesting information. It is useful.

• Cindy Chan says:
  

  I love this listening that give me a general knowledge that is not easy to find in news. Great work. Thank you.

• SIOMARA DE CASSIA MIRANDA says:
  

  I appreciated this subject very much! Thank you for sharing!

• The King Of Love From IRAN says:
  

  Thank you for sharing it with us,

• Hoai Bao says:
  

  Great

• Christine PENNEC says:
  

  GREAT.

• Samary says:
  

  Great

• Jean Michel says:
  

  What a brilliant idea, i have enjoyed listening, and practising my english through this lesson.
  Thank you.

• Nezha Kasimi says:
  

  This listening is really helpful thank you for such an eye opener.