Our Place inthe Universe
地球人類の進化と科学

IAN BOWRINGKEIKO KAWAGUCHIHIROE KUBOTAMIKI KUJI
KAZUSHIGE MIYAMOTOKAYOKO MURAKAMIwith GILLIAN FLAHERTY
and JAMES BEAN

Published and distributed bySeibido
Created and developed byInternational Language Teaching Services Limited
Level 1, 1 Market Street
Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1JB, UK
help@ilts.info
www.ilts.info
First published 2014
Copyright © 2013 International Language Teaching Services Ltd
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Editor: James Bean
Design: Clare Webber based on styling by Michele Withers
Diagrams: Dimitrios Prokopis, Pro visuals
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce photographs and illustrations:
Bigstock, cover (lower right three), pages 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 23, 25, 28, 29, 38, 40, 64, 68, 73,74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 84, 88, 90, 93, 95, 98, 99, 100, 105, 108, 109, 110, 113; NASA, pages
7 (second picture), 9, 33, 34, 48, 53, 55, 58, 60; United Launch Alliance, pages 43, 45;
European Space Agency, pages 49, 59; iStock, cover (lower left), pages 83, 103, 104; Getty
images, page 63; Paranga images, page 18; Shutterstock, cover (main picture); and Dimitrios
Prokopis – Pro visuals, pages 14, 19, 24, 39, 44, 54, 65 (based on data from KimvdLinde),70, 84, 89 (based on data from UN Population Division), 94, 114.

PrefaceO u r P l a c e i n t h e U n i v e r s e i s a n u p p e r- i n t e r m e d i a t e re a d i n gc o m p re h e n s i o n b o o k f o c u s i n g o n k e y a re a s o f s c i e n c e a n dt e c h n o l o g y. T h e b o o k ’s 2 2 u n i t s c o v e r a w i d e v a r i e t y o f
c o n t e m p o r a r y t o p i c s , w h i c h t o d a y ’s c o l l e g e a n d u n i v e r s i t ys t u d e n t s w i l l f i n d b o t h f a m i l i a r a n d i n t e re s t i n g .
The topics include climate modeling, lasers, plastics,ro c k e t s a n d ro b o t s . T h e b o o k a l s o p re s e n t s a n d e x p l a i n ssome of the fundamental milestones in the history ofs c i e n c e , s u c h a s M e n d e l ’s w o r k i n g e n e t i c s a n d D a r w i n ’s
famous voyage on the Beagle. Students using the bookw i l l d e v e l o p t h e i r re a d i n g s k i l l s a n d g a i n e x p o s u re t oscientific texts. They will also expand their sciencev o c a b u l a r y a n d d e v e l o p s k i l l s i n i n t e r p re t i n g v i s u a l s s u c h
as diagrams and graphs.
W h i l e p re s e n t i n g c h a l l e n g i n g a n d re l e v a n t s u b j e c t m a t t e r,
Our Place in the Universe is also written in language thati s c l e a r a n d “ re a d e r- f r i e n d l y. ” T h i s h i g h l y a c c e s s i b l e s t y l e
makes the book useful not only for science students, buta l s o f o r s t u d e n t s o f E n g l i s h g e n e r a l l y.

3How to use this book
Background information and essential words and phrasesThis introductory vocabulary activity is designed to prepare students for the main
reading passage. Key vocabulary and concepts are introduced in contexts that
refresh and consolidate students’ existing knowledge of the topic.
Reading passage
After completing the introductory vocabulary activity, students read the main
passage. Ten words or phrases have been selected in each passage for study inthe following vocabulary exercise. Where appropriate, the passages make reference
to the accompanying diagrams. Each reading passage is also accompanied by aglossary, which gives Japanese translations of selected words and phrases.
Vocabulary study
In this activity, students match ten key words or phrases from the reading passage
to their correct meanings. Students are encouraged to deduce the meanings fromthe context, rather than using a dictionary.
Comprehension questions
These multiple-choice questions test that important ideas and details from thepassage have been understood. Three types of question are presented throughout
the book: gap-fill style, in which students choose the correct word or phrase to fill a
gap in a sentence, sentence-completion style, in which students choose the correct
ending for a sentence, and question-and-answer style, in which students choose
the correct answer to a question.
Summary and listening practiceThis activity presents a one-paragraph summary of the reading passage withseveral words missing. First, students draw on their comprehension of the passage
to write as many words as they can. Then they listen to a recording of the summaryon the accompanying CD to complete the task. As well as giving a useful exampleof how a summary should be written, this activity also gives students theopportunity to hear the key language of the unit in spoken form.
Structure and written expression
This activity is based on TOEIC® test exercises. Students choose the correct
words or phrases to complete sentences relating to the passage. This activity
focuses on both the meaning of words and correct grammatical forms.

4 Our Place in the Universe

はじめに
Our Place in the Universe（『地球人類の進化と科学』）は、私たちが暮らす地球や宇宙、自然現象や生命の仕組み、また、こうした事象の科学的解明に欠かせない技術について解説した中級レベルの英語読解用教科書です。具体的には、自然現象（空の色や潮の干満）、宇宙の成り立ちや宇宙探索、宇宙ごみや海洋汚染、生物の進化や絶滅、ロボットなどの興味深い 22 のトピックから構成されています。
平易な英語で書かれているので、学生の皆さんはテキストを読み進めながら、身近な科学的知識を得ることができるでしょう。
扱うテーマは多様ですが、どのユニットも基礎的な解説ですので、今後、新聞や雑誌の科学関連記事を読む際に役立つ知識と語彙を習得することができます。
この教科書は理系・文系といった学生の専攻は問いません。この学習を通して、「私たち人間は、科学技術が発展した世の中で当たり前に暮らしているが、実は、宇宙の中の地球という固有な環境で進化した生命体として暮らしている」ということをあらためて考えてもらえれば幸いです。
どんどんと読み進められるように、科学用語などには日本語の注釈を付けました。しかし、VOCABULARY STUDY の問題で取り上げられている単語には、基本的に注釈はありません。辞書を使わず、文脈から単語の意味を推測し、理解してもらいたいからです。全ての単語の意味を辞書でひくのではなく、文脈を考えながら、英語で読解する練習は大切です。一方で、理解が難しい箇所は日本語に訳してみるのも良い読解練習になります。全体把握のための速読、正確に理解するための精読など、いろいろな読み方をしてもらいたいと思います。
本書を作成するにあたり、成美堂社長の佐野英一郎氏、同社の佐藤公雄氏、松本健治氏には大変お世話になりました。また、制作を始めるにあたり、有用なコメントをいただいた芝浦工業大学教授の山崎敦子氏に感謝いたします。

Preface 5本書の使い方
Background information and essential words and phrases
ここに登場する語（句）は、本文への導入となるもので、キーとなる語（句）と基本的概念が取り上げられています。このユニットのテーマに関するそれぞれの文章を完成することで、皆さんはすでに学んでいる知識をよみがえらせ、それをまとめることができます。
Reading passage
最初の語句問題を終了したら、本文へ進んでください。本文を読み終わった後の語句問題のために、10 の語（句）が太字になっています。必要に応じて、本文中に挿入された図表を参照してください。本文終了に続いて、英語の語句の日本語訳・解説があります。
Vocabulary study
文中から抜き出された 10 の重要語句について、それぞれの意味を a 〜 j の中から選んでください。
辞書はなるべく使わずに、文脈からその語句の意味を考えてみてください。
Comprehension questions
この多肢選択式問題は、本文の主要点とさらにその細部についてまでを理解したかどうかを確認するものです。全ユニットを通して 3 つのスタイルの問題がランダムに登場します。①「穴埋め」型：文中の空欄（下線部）に入る適切な語句を選んでください。②「文完成」型：文の出だしに続いて、文を完成させるための適切な選択肢を選んでください。③「問答」型：質問に対する適切な答えを選んでください。
Summary and listening practice
本文を 1 段落に要約したものですが、数語が抜け落ちています。まず最初に、皆さんの本文理解を頼りに、できるだけ空欄（下線部）を埋めてください。次に CD 録音を聞いて、残りのすべての空欄に単語を記入してください。ここでは、良い要約の書き方を例示するとともに、CD を使用することで、このユニットでの重要語句・文を耳で確認する機会を提供しています。
Structure and written expression
ここの問題は、TOEIC®で出題される文法・語彙問題のパターンを参考にしています。本文に関連する 6 つの文を完成するために、それぞれ適切な語（句）を選んでください。①適した意味の語（句）を選ぶ場合と②文法的に正しい語（句）を選ぶ場合の 2 通りがあります。

6 Our Place in the Universe

Contents
PART 1 OUR HOME
Unit 1

Impact Craters • Evidence of a Violent Past

8

Unit 2Tides • The Ocean’s Rise and Fall

13

Unit 3

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch • Oceans of Plastic

18

Unit 4

Colors in the Sky • Blue Skies and Rainbows

23

Unit 5

Climate Modeling • Predicting Our Future

28

Unit 6Dark Matter and Dark Energy • The Biggest Mysteries

33

PART 2EXPLORATION

Unit 7Natural Selection • Darwin’s Voyage on the Beagle

38

Unit 8Rockets • How Rockets Work43

Unit 9The Hazards of Space Travel • A Risky Endeavor

48

Unit 10 The Cassini–Huygens Mission • Journey to Saturn

53

Unit 11 Space Junk • Dangerous Debris

58PART 3 LIFE ON EARTH
Unit 12 Saving the Kakapo • Back from the Brink

63

Unit 13 The Birth of Genetics • Mendel’s Pea Experiment

68

Unit 14 Coral Reefs • Rainforests of the Ocean

73

Unit 15 Life in Extreme Environments • Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold 78
Unit 16 The Monarch Butterflies’ Migration • Across a Continent

83

Unit 17 Earth’s Human Population • Occupying the Planet

88PART 4 RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
Unit 18 Lasers • Useful Beams of Light

93

Unit 19 Renewable Energy • Beyond Fossil Fuels

98

Unit 20 Keeping Us Alive for Longer • Medical Advances

103

Unit 21 Robots • Smarter than Humans?

108

Unit 22 Plastics • Light, Strong and Moldable

113

Impact Craters
UNIT1

地球から見ると月面にはいろいろな模様に見えるクレーターがありますが、どのようにしてこのクレーターはできたのでしょうか。地球にもクレーターがあることを知っていますか。

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONAND ESSENTIAL WORDS AND PHRASES
Complete the sentences using words from the box below. You may change theform of the words.
craterimpactatmosphereerosionmeteorite
vaporize

1. The Earth’s ____________ is mainly nitrogen and oxygen.
2. Most solid objects that hit the Earth ____________
immediately.
3. From the Earth you can see the largest of the moon’s many____________.
4. Over millions of years, rocks are worn away by____________ from wind and water.
5. The ____________ of a large object from space hitting theEarth can cause a lot of damage.
6. In the night sky you can sometimes see a ____________ asit enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

8 Our Home

Evidence of a Violent Past

① 02〜06

When you look at the moon through a telescope, you can clearly see its many 1
circular craters. These are impact craters, caused by objects such as comets,1
asteroids and meteorites crashing into the moon at high speed. When the solarsystem was younger, there were many more of these objects traveling aroundit, crashing into planets and moons and creating impact craters. On the Earth 5
and on Mars, many of these impact craters have disappeared. These planets
have atmospheres and surface 2 water, so erosion changes the surface of theland. Over millions of years, erosion has worn the craters away or buried them.
However, on places like the moon and Mercury, which have no atmosphere and10
no erosion, the craters remain exactly as they were when they were created.
The American geologist Daniel Barringer was one of the first to suggest that03a crater on the Earth could be an impact crater. In Arizona in the United States,
there is a crater 1,200 meters across and 110 meters deep, with a rim 3 rising 80
meters above the surrounding land. In the 1920s, Barringer suggested it was theresult of a meteorite hitting the Earth. Most scientists did not agree, believing it 15
had been caused by a volcano. It was not until the 1960s that it was universally 4
accepted that some craters on the Earth are impact craters. Since then, about 170of them have been identified 5 and more are being discovered.
The size of an impact crater depends on the size and04
speed of the object that creates it and on the geology 6 20of the surface that it hits. There are two types of impact
craters. Simple impact craters are small—some only 50
meters in diameter 7—with a simple bowl-like shape.
The crater that Daniel Barringer identified, now called
the Barringer Crater, is one of these. Complex craters are 25
larger—more than four kilometers across—with a more
Crater 308 on the moon (thelarge crater in this picture)complex structure. When they were created, they had
is an example of a complex
impact crater.
high and steep sides that collapsed,8 forming a shallow
and uneven floor. In all cases, the object that created the crater completely30
vaporized on impact.
The largest known impact crater on the Earth is in Mexico. The Chicxulub
05
Crater is about 180 kilometers in diameter and was formed 65 million years ago
when an asteroid 19 kilometers wide hit the Earth. The debris released into theatmosphere cooled and darkened the Earth, and this is believed to have led tothe extinction 9 of the dinosaurs. It is possible, however, that the largest impact 35
crater on the Earth could actually be the Pacific Ocean. Many scientists believethat the Earth collided with another planet, and that this ejected a lot of theCD

02

CDCDCDImpact Craters 94045

Earth’s material into space, forming the moon, whileleaving a large hole that became the Pacific Ocean.
Fortunately, scientists think that objects large
06
enough to create new impact craters are only likely to
hit the Earth two or three times every million years.
Nevertheless, some scientists are watching the skies forcomets, meteorites or asteroids that might hit the Earth.
The Barringer Crater is an
Others are working out how they could deflect any thatexample of a simple impactcrater.
might be on a collision10 course with the Earth. Possible
methods include attaching rocket engines to these objects or using a nuclear
bomb to change their course.
CDimpact craters「衝突クレーター」
asteroid「小惑星」太陽の周りを公転する小天体
meteorite「隕石」 solar system「太陽系」 Mars「火星」 erosion「侵食」 Mercury「水星」 Daniel Barringer「ダニエル・バリンジャー（1860-1929）」米国の鉱山技術者・地質学者 rim「（円形の物体などの）縁」隕石の衝突により中心部の穴の周囲に隆起してできた外壁のこと simple（impact）crater「単純クレーター」 Barringer Crater「バリンジャー隕石孔」 complex crater「複雑クレーター」 Chicxulub Crater「チクシュルーブ・クレーター」メキシコのユカタン半島にあるクレーター debris「破壊物，破片」 dinosaur「恐竜」 deflect「向きをそらす」

VOCABULARY STUDYMatch each word with its definition. Try to guess the meaning from the context
without using a dictionary.
1. cometa. the outer or top layer of something

2. surface

b. the edge of a circle or similar shape

3. rimc. the end of an entire species

4. universallyd. the forceful coming together of two objects

5. identify

e. everywhere; by everyone

6. geology

f. to recognize something and understand what it is

7. diameterg.	the nature of the rock and soil in an area

8. collapseh.	to fall down or fall apart because of being broken

9. extinctioni.	the length of a straight line across a circle, through its
center

10. collisionj.	a body of ice and minerals orbiting the sun, surrounded
by a cloud of gas and dust

10 Our Home

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Circle the best answer, a, b, c or d, to each of these questions.
1. The moon’s impact craters were caused by:a. the moon crashing into objects in space.
b. objects crashing into the moon.
c. erosion of the moon’s surface.
d. extreme weather on the moon.
2. Many impact craters on the Earth and on Mars have:a. become bigger.
b. moved.
c. disappeared.
d. stayed the same as when they were created.
3. Daniel Barringer thought the crater in Arizona was:a. too small to be an impact crater.
b. the first impact crater ever created.
c. an impact crater.
d. created by a volcano.
4. How long did it take until scientists agreed with Barringer?
a. About 20 years
b. About 40 years
c. About 60 years
d. About 80 years
5. What kind of crater is the Barringer Crater?
a. A bowl impact craterb. A shallow impact craterc. A complex impact crater
d. A simple impact crater
6. It is thought that impact craters are created on the Earth:a. only when it collides with another planet.
b. every 65 million years.
c. two or three times every million years.
d. only when the Earth collides with the moon.

Impact Craters 11

SUMMARY AND LISTENING PRACTICE① 07

Read the paragraph and fill in as many blanks as you can. Then listen to therecording and fill in the rest of the blanks.
The large craters you can see on the ____________ are caused by objects such ascomets, asteroids and meteorites ____________ into it at high ____________. They
are called impact craters. On the Earth and on Mars, ____________ has mostly wornthese craters away or buried them. The largest known impact crater on the Earth is
the Chicxulub Crater in ____________. Many scientists believe that the Pacific Ocean
is a huge impact crater. It is thought that impact craters are only likely to occur twoor three times every ____________ years. However, there are scientists watching theskies for anything that might ____________ the Earth.

STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION
Complete the sentences using the most appropriate words or phrases. You
may refer to the main text to choose the best option.
1. Through a telescope, you can ____________ see the moon’s many craters.
a. clarify

b. clarityc. clear

d. clearly

2. Many impact craters on the Earth have ____________ because of erosion.
a. ejectedb. disappearedc. remainedd. been created

3. Daniel Barringer ____________ that there were impact craters on the Earth.
a. deniedb. agreedc. imaginedd. suggested

4. It was not ____________ the 1960s that Barringer’s idea was accepted.
a. by

b. untilc. sinced. for

5. The object that created the Barringer Crater ____________ after it hit the Earth.
a. was vaporizingb. vaporizedc. vaporizes

d. had vaporized

6. When an object hits a planet, debris ____________ into the atmosphere.
a. is released

12 Our Homeb. has releasedc. releases

d. is releasing