Space & Alien Vocabulary
This adjective describes something extremely small or tiny.
minute
The type of irony where someone says one thing but means another — often called sarcasm.
verbal irony
This short, introductory paragraph that summarizes what a news article is about comes right after the headline.
standfirst
This common acronym describes an Unidentified Flying Object, most often associated with alien sightings.
UFO
This is the closest planet to the Sun in our solar system.
Mercury
This noun refers to an unexpected stroke of luck or accidental success that happens by chance, not skill.
a fluke
The type of irony where the opposite of what we expect happens.
situational irony
True or False: according to the Writing Skills box, headlines should use articles like 'a,' 'an,' and 'the.'
False
This alleged 1947 event in New Mexico, USA, is one of the most famous supposed UFO crash sites in history.
Roswell incident
This is the largest planet in our solar system.
Jupiter
This adjective describes a kind, well-meaning being — the opposite of hostile or aggressive.
benevolent
The type of irony that only occurs in texts like novels, poems, and plays, when the audience knows something the characters don't.
dramatic irony
According to the Writing Skills box, what verb tense should headlines generally use for present or recent events?
present simple or past simple
In 1938, a radio dramatization of this H.G. Wells novel about a Martian invasion reportedly caused real panic among some listeners who believed it was really happening.
The War of the Worlds
Launched by NASA in 1977 and still transmitting today, this spacecraft is now the most distant human-made object in space.
Voyager 1
This noun refers to something that deviates from what's standard, normal, or expected — an irregularity.
anomaly
In the headline 'Citizens of Oceania pull together to make Hate Week the best yet!' what makes this ironic?
Promoting hate through teamwork and enthusiasm is the opposite of what we'd expect
According to the Writing Skills box, what form of verb should be used when a headline refers to future actions?
infinitive
This film franchise stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as secret agents who monitor and manage extraterrestrial activity on Earth.
Men in Black
This astronaut was the first human being to walk on the Moon, in 1969.
Neil Armstrong
This phrase means for something, like a plan or a long-term research project, to be completed successfully.
come to fruition
In the headline 'Ministry of Truth replies "no comment," citing official secrets act,' what's ironic about it?
A Ministry of Truth refusing to tell the truth and keeping secrets contradicts its own name
According to the Writing Skills box, what is the maximum recommended number of words in a headline?
ten words
This acronym, mentioned in today's lesson, stands for the scientific effort to detect signals from intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations.
SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
Aside from our Sun, this is the closest known star to our solar system, at about 4.24 light-years away.
Proxima Centauri