Unit 12 Fact and Fantasy

Warming Up1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Although submarines had been built and used as early as 1620, the first steam-powered submarine was not comstructed until 1875. In Jules Verne’s book, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, therefore, the submarine of Captain Nemo can still be seen as a science fiction invention. When rumours are spread about a large sea

creature, three men set out to look for it. They discover it isn’t an animal,but a submarine,and they are kept as prisoners by its captain, Nemo. The submarine is a fantastic and beautiful ship and in it they travel 20,000 leagues(=60,000 sea miles or 111,000 kilometers) under the sea. Nemo shows the most beautiful places under the sea, including sunken ships and underwater cities. For more information on this book, see the main reading.

Around the World in Eighty Days(1872)

Around the World in Eighty Days was written at a time when travel and communications were still a matter of long time. Although the invention of steam-powered machines had made the development of trains possible, they travelled at low speeds. Beside railways, steamships were the fastest and most reliable way of travel. Still, at the time when Jules Verne wrote this book, people

believed it was impossible to travel around the world in about 80 days. On his travels, from London to India, from there to Hong Kong and across the Pacific to San Francisco and hence to New York, to return to London from there, he has many exciting adventures. Many of these adventures make him lose time, but he always find ways of catching up, always just on time to board the next train or steamship.

Question 2

1. The highest mountain on earth is Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, in the Chinese part of the Himalaya, with an elevation of 8,848 metres. The second highest mountain is Mount Chimborazo (6,272m) in Ecuador, south America.

2. The deepest point in ocean is generally believed to be in the Marianas Trench in the Western Pacific Ocean at approximately 11,033 metres. The second deepest point in the ocean is in the Mindano Trench, With just over 11,000 metres)

3. The longest river on earth is the River Nile, in Africa, with a total length of 6,695 km. The second longest river, is the River Amazon, in South America,(6,400km) followed by the Chang Jiang (Long River) in Asia (China), with a total length of 6,300km. The yellow River (Huang He ) in China ranks fourth, with a length of 5,464km.

4. The average distance from the earth to the moon is about 384,401km. The distance to the planet Mars ranges from 56 million km to 375 million km. The average distance to the nearest star, our own sun, is 93 million miles (150 million km).

5. The diameter of the earth at the equator is 7,926.41 miles (12,756.32 kilometres), while it is a bit shorter at the poles: 7,901 miles (12,715.43 km). So the distance to the centre of the earth lies between 3,963 miles(=6,378km) and 3,950.5 miles(6,358km).

6. The inner part of the earth is divided into two layers, the inner core and the outer core. The outer core is about 2,260 km thick. The temperature in the outer core is about 7200-9032°F(4000-5000 °C). The inner core is about 1220 km tick. The temperature in the inner core is about 9032-10832 °F (5000-6000 °C)

7. Travelling around the world the longest distance is along the equator. It is 24,901.55 miles(40,075.16 kilometres) long.

8. Balloons travel at the speed of the wind that is blowing. Most modern balloon rides do not take passengers with wind speed of over 20 miles per hour. However, in races modern

balloons may reach speeds of up to 200 mph(322.25kmh). Modern aeroplanes with jet propulsion fly at a speed of about 900 miles per hour. The speed of a space shuttle in orbit around the earth is about 17,600 miles per hour.

Jules Verne The Father of Science Fiction

Pre-reading: When do you think the inventions in the pictures

were made?

P1: built by the German Werner Von Siemens in 1879.

P2:

Invented in 1879 simultaneously by Thomas Alva Edison in the United States and Sir Joseph Wilson Swan in England.

Light bulb

P3: James Watt in 1769 built a steam-powered boat. It was John Fitch who developed and produced the first successful steam-powered ships. Steam-powered ships were in use between 1790 and the end of the 19th century.

When was electricity discovered and how was it used in the following 200 years?

1752-Franklin:invention of the lightening rod

1800-Volta:invention of the electric battery

1821-Faraday:invention of the electric motor

1844-Morse: invention of the telegraph 1876-Bell:invention of the telephone 1879-Edison:invention of the electric

lamp

1904-Tesla:invention of the radio 1911-Carrier:invention of the air

conditioner 1913-invention of the electric

refrigerator 1928-Farnsworth: invention of the

television 1947-invention of the transistor

About the inside of the earth: The earth’s core consists of fluid

outer core and a solid inner core. The region between the crust and

the earth’s core is called the mantle. The earth’s outermost surface is called the crust. The crust is about 25 miles thick beneath ocean.

Five important words of the text:

Science ; fiction; electricity; submarine and ship.

Reading: Read the text and finish th

e post –reading exercises.

Jules Verne

Born in:

Died in:

Nationality:

Interested in:

Remembered as:

Famous novels:

1828

1905

French

Botany and applied science

The father of science fiction

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Describe the character of Captain Nemo:

1. Nemo is the kind of person who It is difficult to say whether you like or not.

2. He is hard and cruel, but also has a soft and gentle side.

Use your own words to paraphrase the following sentences or parts of sentences:

e.g. To make a living, Verne had to write and sell

stories. Verne had to write and sell stories to make

money. In their efforts to survive, they find

themselves on the surface of the monster itself…

--- ___________________________________ ___________________________________His permanent guests ___________________

While they are trying to survive the accident, they found they were right on top of the creature itself.

His prisoners

Exercise 3: Submarine Spaceship

Similarities

Exists now

Travels in water

Can leave the ship in diving suit

Does not exist

Travel in space

Can leave the ship in a space suit

Differences

Because humans cannot live outside the ship, the life conditions inside the ship must be kept constant.

Exercise 4: Explain where Jules Verne might have got

his ideas when he wrote his novels. 1. Why would there be a huge

underground ocean?The finds of skeletons and bones of ancient sea creatures and shells in rocks on the continents suggest that a huge underground ocean existed in the earth.

2. Why do the characters find plants and animals that lived on the earth millions of years ago?

3. Why would there be a boiling river inside the earth?

Finds such as rests of ancient plants in coal and bones and teeth of ancient animals suggest that such life existed deep in the earth.

In some countries, such as Iceland,there are hot springs. As the inside of the earth in very hot, water inside the earth must be boiling and probably boiling rivers feed the hot springs.

Exercise 5: climb down into a very deep cave

Preparation: tools &things Risks:dangers & things

•Bring ropes•Wear good shoes•Bring a torch & extra batteries•Matches & candles•Take drinking water &food•Bring a hammer /pick axe

•You may lose your way •You may fall into a pit•A cave may collapse•You may be killed by falling rocks•You run out of power and then all is dark