Column Discussion (Expert)｜コラムディスカッション（上級）Lesson13 : Astronomers Identify 'Missing Link' Mid-Sized Black Hole

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　milestone	/MAHYL-stohn/
	-an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life
	Their first music show win was a special milestone in their musical career.
2.　existence	/IG-zis-tuhns/
	-the state or fact of existing; being
	The existence of robots made some manufacturing processes quicker.
3.　adjacent	/uh-JEY-suhnt/
	-lying near, close, or contiguous; adjoining; neighboring:
	The playground is located adjacent to a coffee shop.
4.　immense	/ih-MENS-lee/
	-extremely
	He was a member of an immensely popular band back in his days.
5.　occurrence	/uh-KUR-uhns/
	-something that happens; event; incident:
	The professor is always on the lookout for rare natural occurrences.

PART B_1

Let’s read the article. Please read it aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

Average-sized black holes discovered in space

Scientists reached another milestone as they discovered an average-sized black hole of which existence clears up uncertainties regarding objects in outer space.

With data gathered from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and two X-ray observatories, researchers located the black hole in the act of annihilating an adjacent star. Black holes are immensely dense matters with powerful gravitational pulls even light cannot get away with.

This latest discovery has a mass that is 50,000 times more than that of our sun. It is situated more or less 740 million light-years from our planet in another galaxy where there are fewer stars.

Scientists have been looking for mid-size black holes for 40 years. Yet, less than 10 of them have been discovered. They believe that several objects similar to this exist, and are just waiting to be discovered. They noted that the phenomenon of a black hole swallowing a star is such a rare occurrence that it takes place only once in 10,000 years on average.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the article.

PART C_2

1.	What did the scientists discover?
2.	Where did they get the data they used for the research?
3.	How far is the object from Earth?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the article. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	How important are astronomical discoveries?
2.	Do you think more black holes will be discovered soon?
3.	What do you think would happen if scientists discontinued studying space?
4.	What other heavenly bodies do you know about?
5.	Have you ever considered getting a career in Astrophysics?

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An article by Voice of America