Summarise the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they case doubt on specific points made in the reading passage. (TPO40)
Many scientists believe it would be possible to maintain a permanent human presence on Mars or the Moon. On the other hand, conditions on Venus are so extreme and inhospitable that maintaining a human presence there would be impossible.
First, atmospheric pressure at Venus’ surface is at least 90 times greater than the pressure at Earth’s surface. This means that a force of 100 kilograms is pressing down on every square centimeter of surface. All spacecraft that have landed on Venus have been crushed by this extreme pressure within an hour of landing. Almost anything humans might land on Venus would be crushed as well.
Second, as far as we know, there are no reservoirs of water on Venus' surface, and the planet's atmosphere, made up mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and sulfuric acid, contains hardly any oxygen or water vapor Water and oxygen would therefore probably have to be supplied to Venus from Earth. The idea of ensuring a regular supply of water and oxygen from Earth is impractical in the extreme and would probably defeat the purpose of establishing a permanent station on Venus.
Third, very little sunlight reaches the planet's surface. About 60 percent of the sunlight that hits Venus is reflected back into space by the thick clouds that fill the atmosphere, which means that only 40 percent of the sunlight can get through the clouds Below these clouds is a dense layer of carbon dioxide, which blocks even more light, so very little light reaches the surface. The lack of light would prevent the use of solar power cells, so humans could not get electricity to power their machines and equipment.
The writer and the professor argue about whether leting human live permanently on Venus is possible. The writer holds that it is arduous to achieve that due to the high atmospheric pressure, the lack of water and sunlight. The professor, however, contradicts that it is possible to solve the problems by building a floating station in the air, like a ballow, for the following reasons.
To begin with, as opposed to the writer statement that the high air pressure will make the spacecrast and human body crush, the professor thinks that in a floating station on a high altitude, the air pressure is much lower than on the ground. As a result, the pressure in the station is similar to Earth, and thus human can survive there.
Second, the writer proposes that the lack of water on Venus will make it laborious to supply water from Earth. However, the professor cast doubt on this opinion since the floating station can produce water and oxygen using the air on Venus. In detail, the carbon dioxide and other compoud in the atmosphere can be used to generate water and oxygen through chemical process.
Third, the writer believes that the thick clouds reflects the sunlight so the solar power cells will be difficult to use, leading to the failure of obtaining electricity power. But the professor thinks that it can also be solved by the floating station. Specifically, the station can fly above the clouds to get direct sunlight from the sun. Besides, the light reflected by the cloud can also be utilized by the station as well, which can help make more power.
In conclusion, the professor contends that living on Venus is definitely achieveable by building a floating station.
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No. of Words: 288 250
Write the essay in 20 minutes.
Number of Paragraphs: 5 4
better to have 4 paragraphs:
para 1: introduction
para 2: doubt 1
para 3: doubt 2
para 4: doubt 3
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 20 in 30
Category: Satisfactory Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 1 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2
No. of Sentences: 13 12
No. of Words: 288 250
No. of Characters: 1357 1200
No. of Different Words: 136 150
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.12 4.2
Average Word Length: 4.712 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.417 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 95 80
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 73 60
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 47 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 22 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 22.154 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.604 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.692 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.397 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.658 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.091 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 4