106740651
Prepared by Gilberto Berríos
May 10, 2008
Reading Selections for ID1113, p. 30
Exercises
Working with the text
Skim the text to find the main idea. Write it below.
Galaxies host black holes but only some of these black holes are observable as quasars.
Vocabulary
Match the underlined words from the text with their synonyms found below. Write the corresponding
letter in the space provided.
1
__e__
…astronomy’s number one enigma.
2
__b__
…this apparent impossibility baffled astronomers.
3
__d__
Matter being sucked into…
par. 5, line 3
4
__a__
…generates a prodigious quantity…
par. 5, line 4
5
__c__
…likely harbors a monster…
a. immense
b. puzzled
c. hides
par. 1, line 1
par. 1, lines 6-7
par. 6, lines 2-3
d. drawn into
e. mystery
References
What do the words below found in italics in the text refer to?
a. this apparent impossibility (par. 1, lines 6-7)
b. this conclusion (par. 3, lines 1-2)
c. This discovery (par. 3, line 8)
d. each case (par. 4, line 2)
That quasar radiation = a trillion stars
concentrated in a relatively small area
That quasar = energy released from black hole
That quasar halo = light from billions of stars
Each of the several dozen quasars mentioned
Understanding the text
1. Read the following statements and indicate if they are True (T) or False (F). Justify your answers on
the space given.
a.
_F_
Three important discoveries were made in 1963: quasars, star-like objects and quasistellar objects.
Quasars = star-like objects = quasi-stellar objects  Only one discovery (see par. 1)
b.
_F_
Quasars were defined in 1963 as “the energy released from a massive black hole
feeding on gas and stars at the core of a galaxy.”
This seems the 1997 definition (See “Now” in paragraph 2)
106740651
c.
_F_
Prepared by Gilberto Berríos
May 10, 2008
The first piece of evidence to support this theory was obtained from the
Hubble Space Telescope.
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope provided it. See paragraph 3.
d.
_F_
Black holes’ production of energy is similar to the thermonuclear fires of a star-like
sun.  I think this should say “sun-like star” instead.
100 times more efficient than the sun! See paragraph 5.
2. Circle the best alternative to the questions given below.
After reading the text we can conclude that quasars are __c__.
a. found in every galaxy.
b. produced by all black holes.
c. radiation emitted from matter entering a black hole.  see paragraph 5
The text __a__ a hypothesis.
a. presents arguments leading to  see paragraph 6
b. gives sufficient evidence to reject
c. shows solid evidence to confirm