WorksheetsWhy We Shouldn't Go to Mars Study Guide
Total questions: 12
Worksheet time: 8mins
What is the author's main point about space exploration?
People should not explore because of the danger.
Scientists might learn very little from space.
Most exploration should end quickly.
Exploration is good but must be realistic.
Which of the following counterarguments does the author use against his opponents' views?
Exploring Mars will bring many discoveries.
Everyone will one day travel to Mars.
A Mars mission is too expensive at this time.
Astronauts refuse to travel to Mars anyway.
What program's funding does the author think might be cut to pay for Mars exploration?
federal taxes
rock analysis
deficit increases
health care
What support does the author provide for his idea that unmanned space probes are more beneficial than manned missions?
They are less expensive than manned missions.
They take pictures of planets from the moon.
They need people on Earth to travel in space.
They can visit other planets as well as Mars.
The author believes that the government should...
visit the moon again
analyze rocks found on earth
build more Hoover Dams
develop better space technology
Automated means:
updated for a new program
able to function without human help
fascinated with going to Mars
incapable of taking photographs
An exhilarating event is...
wasteful
impossible
thrilling
expensive
A proponent is:
a person who supports something
a person who wants to explore
someone who flies through space
someone who raises taxes
What does tantalizing mean?
forgiving
tempting
heavenly
absorbing
What does amenable mean?
agreeable
reasonable
precious
quiet
What does rationality mean?
dependence
concern
privacy
reasonableness
What are the most likely reasons the author includes an image of a space probe and photographs that a space probe took with his article in support of his claims?
Check all that apply.
To argue that space probes can analyze rocks and samples from Mars without risking human life and for much less money (lines 40-42).
To argue for his own rationality rather than a what his opponents would call "lack of vision" (lines 63-66).
To argue that the comparison that President George W. Bush's speech made between the exploration of Mars and the Lewis & Clark expedition is illogical (lines 1-20).
To argue that recent achievements in space exploration are the result of using unmanned space probes (lines 43-53).
