Teacher: So you've got a few minutes to discuss with your partner.

Student 1: So, as far as I know, the main similarity between Mars and Earth is that they can both support human life.

Student 2: Yeah, but do we know that's actually true? I mean, Mars is much colder than Earth, isn't it? It says here it's about minus 55 degrees most of the time, whereas on Earth only places like Antarctica get that cold.

Student 1: True. Well then, I suppose you could say both planets are a similar distance from the Sun?

Student 2: No way! Mars is much further away! It says here it's about 228 million kilometres, while Earth is about 150 million.

Student 1: Yes, but in space that's not that far. Jupiter is, like, almost 780 million kilometres. That's why we use astronomical units when we talk about distances in space. Earth is 1 astronomical unit from the Sun and Mars is 1.3. The difference doesn't sound so big when you look at it that way.

Student 2: I see what you mean. Jupiter is 5.2 astronomical units so I guess you're right. What other similarities are there between the two planets?

Student 1: Let's see … not the colour, obviously!

Student 2: Yeah! Earth is called the blue planet and Mars is called the red planet for pretty obvious reasons!

Student 1: Their sizes are pretty different. Mars is about half the size of Earth.

Student 2: What about this? It looks like the days on both planets are almost the same length. Earth's day is 24 hours but Mars's is about half an hour longer.

Student 1: You're right. OK, any other things they both share?

Student 2: I suppose you could say they have water in common.

Student 1: Could you? How?

Student 2: Well, Earth is 70 per cent water and Mars probably had huge oceans in the past. It's just that most of the water there now is probably frozen.

Student 1: Ah, I see. I don't think we can say the air is the same, though. Most of Earth's air is nitrogen and oxygen, but Mars …?

Student 2: Mars doesn't really have air, not compared with Earth. It's got about one per cent as much air as Earth.

Student 1: Right, and it's mostly carbon dioxide.

Student 2: Gravity is another difference. I didn't know this, but Mars has higher gravity than the Moon. But it's much less than on Earth, of course.

Student 1: Oh, yes. It says Mars has about 38 per cent of Earth's gravity.

Teacher: OK, let's see what you've found …

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Để nghe hiểu tốt bài hội thoại về Mars và Earth, học sinh cần chuẩn bị 3 nhóm chính:

• Từ vựng chủ đề không gian

• Cụm từ dùng khi thảo luận / tranh luận

• Ngữ pháp so sánh và suy đoán

Tôi viết theo dạng bài học trước khi nghe (pre-listening) để học sinh lớp 7 dễ tiếp cận.

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1. Từ vựng quan trọng (Key Vocabulary)

Chủ đề hành tinh – không gian

Từ	Nghĩa
planet	hành tinh
Mars	Sao Hỏa
Earth	Trái Đất
Jupiter	Sao Mộc
Sun	Mặt Trời
space	không gian
distance	khoảng cách
astronomical unit	đơn vị thiên văn
gravity	trọng lực
atmosphere / air	khí quyển
carbon dioxide	khí CO₂
nitrogen	nitơ
oxygen	oxy
frozen	bị đóng băng
ocean	đại dương

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Từ vựng mô tả khoa học

Từ	Nghĩa
similarity	điểm giống nhau
difference	sự khác biệt
temperature	nhiệt độ
size	kích thước
length	độ dài
percent	phần trăm
support life	hỗ trợ sự sống

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2. Cụm từ thường dùng trong thảo luận (Useful Phrases)

Đưa ra ý kiến

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
as far as I know	theo như tôi biết
I suppose	tôi cho rằng
I guess you're right	tôi nghĩ bạn đúng
I see what you mean	tôi hiểu ý bạn

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Phản biện / không đồng ý

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
No way!	Không thể!
Are you sure?	Bạn chắc không?
But...	Nhưng...
I don't think...	Tôi không nghĩ...

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Khi tìm thông tin

Cụm từ	Nghĩa
It says here...	Ở đây nói rằng
It looks like...	Có vẻ như
Let's see...	Để xem nào
What about...?	Còn ... thì sao?

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3. Ngữ pháp quan trọng

1️⃣ So sánh hơn (Comparative)

Rất nhiều trong bài.

Structure

A + be + comparative + than + B

Ví dụ trong bài:

• Mars is much colder than Earth.

• Mars is much further away than Earth.

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2️⃣ So sánh bằng

as + adjective + as

Ví dụ:

• The days are almost the same length.

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3️⃣ Nói số liệu

Học sinh cần quen cách đọc số lớn:

Số	Cách đọc
150 million	one hundred and fifty million
228 million	two hundred and twenty-eight million
38 percent	thirty-eight percent

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4️⃣ Modal để suy đoán

Trong bài có:

could / probably

Ví dụ:

• Mars probably had huge oceans.

• You could say they have water in common.

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4. Cấu trúc câu quan trọng

1. Nói điểm giống nhau

The main similarity between A and B is that...

Ví dụ:

The main similarity between Mars and Earth is that they can support life.

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2. Nói điểm khác nhau

A is different from B because...

Ví dụ:

Mars is different from Earth because it is colder.

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3. Nói số liệu

A is about ... percent of B

Ví dụ:

Mars has 38% of Earth's gravity.

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5. Bài tập luyện nghe trước

Giáo viên có thể cho học sinh đoán:

Question

1️⃣ Which planet is colder?
2️⃣ Which planet is bigger?
3️⃣ Which planet has more air?

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6. 10 từ quan trọng nhất phải biết

Nếu chỉ học 10 từ để nghe được bài này, nên học:

• similarity

• distance

• temperature

• gravity

• frozen

• atmosphere

• planet

• percent

• further away

• support life