Page 142 - Grasp English C1+ (Student Book)

10 Stargazing

Grammar Conditionals and inversion

A. Read the two versions of the text and answer the
questions.

1. What differences do you notice?
2. What effect does it have on the text?
a) As soon as Neil Armstrong stepped out of the
lunar lander, he said his most famous, and
widely-contested, phrase. It was the first time
anyone had set foot on the moon. It was such a
significant event that an estimated 500 million
people watched it live.
b) No sooner had Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar lander than he said his most famous, and
widely-contested, phrase. Never before had anyone set foot on the moon. So significant was the
event that an estimated 500 million people watched it live.

B. Read the text. Complete the sentences with
the correct phrases. There are three extra
phrases you don’t need to use.

Stargazing in India

If you consider yourself a lover of the night skies,
1 take a trip to India and not visit
the incredible Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur.
2 the largest of five observatories
built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the early
18 century, in 2010 it was designated as
th
a UNESCO World Heritage site for its architectural
and cultural significance.
Jai Singh had been interested in astronomy since
he was a child. At that time, many astronomers
used an Islamic book, called the zij, which
gave calculations to work out the position of the sun, Moon and stars. 3 the book was
inaccurate, Jai Singh would not have felt the need to build the breathtaking Jantar Mantar observatory,
with its nineteen structures which can be used to calculate the position of celestial bodies with astonishing
accuracy even to this day.
4 Jai Singh that he ordered many of the structures to be made first of wood so that
their measurements could be perfected before being remade with stone and marble. Included in the
instruments is the world’s largest sundial. 5 such a grand structure been built to measure
time and the fact that to this day it is precise to within three seconds astounds scientists.

a. had he not realised e. on no account can you
b. never before had… f. only when work was finished did…
c. no sooner had it been built than… g. rarely has science been…
d. not only is it h. so dedicated to perfection was

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