Learn English Through Song
Rocket Man - Performed by Elton John Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
1 Terminology: Space Travel
countdown (n) the act of counting down to zero,(e.g. the launching of a rocket)
2 She packed my bags last night pre-flight. Zero hour nine a.m. And I'm gonna be high
as a kite by then.
preflight (n) operations to perform prior flight zero hour (n) time an operation begins
3 I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife. It's lonely out in space on such a timeless
flight.
mission control (n) the earth-based control center for space flights
4 And I think it's gonna be a long long time 'till touchdown brings me round again to find
touchdown (n) the moment when an aircraft touches ground (opposite - liftoff)
5 I'm not the man they think I am at home. Oh no, no, no, I'm a rocket man, rocket man
burning out his fuse up here alone.
fuse (n) material (or device) which burns or sparks to explode a bomb or firework
6 And I think it's gonna be a long long time 'till touch down brings me round again to find
astronaut (n) a person trained to travel in a spacecraft, (spaceman is a male astronaut)
7 I'm not the man they think I am at home. Oh no, no, no, I'm a rocket man, rocket man
burning out his fuse up here alone.
Words with "space" include: spacecraft, (or -ship), spacesuit, spaceport, aerospace
8 Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids; in fact, it's cold as hell. And there's no
one there to raise them if you did.
Mars (n) 4th planet from the sun and nearest to the Earth (Martian is adjective)
9 And all this science I don't understand... It's just my job five days a week. A rocket
man, a rocket man...
NASA (acronym) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US)
10 And I think it's gonna be a long long time 'till touch down brings me round again to
find
space (n.) (or outer space) the universe beyond earth’s atmosphere (about 500 mi.)
11 I'm not the man they think I am at home. Oh no, no, no, I'm a rocket man, rocket man
burning out his fuse up here alone. And I think it's gonna be a long long time... 'till touch
down brings me round again to find I'm not the man they think I am at home. Oh no, no,
no, I'm a rocket man, rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone. And I think it's
gonna be a long long time... And I think it's gonna be a long long time...(etc. etc) *****
EXERCISE
Fill in the correct word(s) from the list below:
spacesuit preflight zero hour Mars mission control
touchdown spacecraft countdown astronaut
NASA
When it's time for an ________________________________ to go up into space,
it's called ____________ ____________. He goes to ____________ ____________
and checks the ________________________________ and gives it a ____________.
Then, he puts on his ____________________________ and goes into his spacecraft.
Soon, the ________________________________ begins and he is launched into
space. After he completes his mission, he will ____________________ on earth.
___________________ is now talking about sending astronauts to ____________, the
fourth planet from the sun.
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