1) Who said he didn't want to be rescued and why?
2) What is the bridge of a ship, and why did the scientists and naval officers all go there?
3) Where was the alien ship when the ship's crew first detected it?
4) Why did Pierre Lafayette say "Merde!" at the end of the story?
1) Who said he didn't want to be rescued and why?
'Rescue mission!' the admiral suddenly shouted and he looked irritated. 'Who are they gonna rescue? I don't need rescuing, thank you very much! I have a nice home and beautiful family right here on Honolulu Island.
2) What is the bridge of a ship, and why did the scientists and naval officers all go there?
They hurried along the deck and in through a door that led to the bridge* - the highest part of the ship and the best place to get an all-round view of the surrounding darkening sea and sky.
3) Where was the alien ship when the ship's crew first detected it?
'Sonar?' interrupted Pierre. 'Do you mean it's under the water?' The captain ignored him.
'Estimated time of arrival?'
'Four minutes, Captain! It's incredible! There's nothing that can travel that speed under water! I… I don't get it!'
4) Why did Pierre Lafayette say "Merde!" at the end of the story?
'Merde!' said Pierre ('merde' is a swaer word in French) to anyone who might be listening to him. 'They want nothing to do with us!'
(The alien spaceship had come to rescue the dolphins and whales of the ocean, and was not interested in making contact with the humans!)
extraterrestrial - from another planet
alien - life from another planet
life forms - beings which are living
electro-magnetic field - this surrounds the Earth and protects us from harmful rays from space
orbit - going around the sun etc.
meteorite - an object that may crash into the Earth
evolve / evolution - life that grows and changes over long periods of time
cosmic - from the universe
comet - a huge ball of us that flies through space
binoculars - a device used to see objects far away
UFO - unidentified flying object (alien spaceship)
What the hell is going on? - What is happening?
fin - wing-like structure of a creature that lives in the sea
1) Nevertheless
2) no expense spared
3) you've got another thing coming!
4) evidently
5) up to one's eyes
6) in the middle of nowhere
7) failed to comprehend
8) under the impression
9) get straight to the point
10) It goes without saying
11) taken somebody's word for it
12) I don't get it
The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.
1) knwldg - what is known
2) ancnt - very old
3) dstntn - the end of your journey
4) plnt - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars etc.
5) elmntry - easy
6) swtchd off - turned off
7) accrt - precise
8) brz - a light wind
9) srrndd - were on all sides
10) dcrsng - less and less
The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.
1) wsdm - knowledge and experience
2) uncnvncd - not sure about something
3) figr ot - find a solution
4) ovrxctd - too nervous
5) hbtbl - a place where life can exist
6) cmpsd of - made up of
7) drknng - losing light
8) ignrd - did not look at or speak to
9) incrdbl - hard to believe
10) Srly - of course, obviously
1) Nevertheless
Visiting aliens* from another planet! Nevertheless, this Frenchman seemed to know what he was talking about.
2) no expense spared
They had flown him here all the way from Paris and put him up in the most expensive hotel in Honolulu – no expense spared.
3) you've got another thing coming!
If they think they're gonna fly us off to some alien lump of rock out in space, they've got another thing coming!
4) evidently
Dave sat back in his chair, making an attempt to sound like a university lecturer – which evidently he was not.
5) up to one's eyes
We ought to be up to our eyes in aliens! Frankly, Ian. I haven't even met one!
6) in the middle of nowhere
The reason is because our tiny, insignificantc1 planet in the middle of nowhere in the universe, happens to be unique!
7) failed to comprehend
Pierre Lafayette failed to comprehend why the five naval officers had to be present - they seemed of little or no use whatsoever.
8) under the impression
On the other hand, Pierre was under the impression that the admiral was not convinced of all this alien business.
9) get straight to the point (see 4)
10) It goes without saying
I just want to say something, and I'll get straight to the point. It goes without saying that failure to see or make contact with any alien life forms is just going to make a fool out of the US Navy.
11) taken somebody's word for it
He was conscious of the fact that the US Navy had taken his word for all this.
12) I don't get it
Four minutes, Captain! It's incredible! There's nothing that can travel that speed under water! I… I don't get it!
1) knowledge
2) ancient
3) destination
4) planet
5) elementary
6) switched off
7) accurate
8) breeze
9) surrounded
10) decreasing
1) wisdom
2) unconvinced
3) figure out
4) overexcited
5) habitable
6) composed of
7) darkening
8) ignored
9) incredible
10) Surely
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