How this helicopter survived 1004 days on Mars, then disappeared... – YouTube Dictation Transcript & Vocabulary
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Interactive Transcript & Highlights for Dictation
1.427 days into what should have been a 30-day mission, and it's turned into a nightmare
2.On the surface of Mars, 297 million kilometers away is Ingenuity, a tiny 680 gram helicopter
3.It's made from off-the-shelf parts you'd find at home
4.It's got bits from an Android smartphone, batteries from a cordless drill, and to everyone's surprise, it's been performing well so far
5.But something is wrong
💡 Tap the highlighted words to see definitions and examples
Key Vocabulary (CEFR B2)
guarantee
B1Anything that assures a certain outcome.
Example:
"- There was no guarantee, you know, after flight five, we may be dead by flight seven, right?"
electrical
B2An electrical engineer.
Example:
"Many of Ingenuity's key electrical components are hand-soldered."
hand-soldered
B2A B2-level word commonly used in this context.
Example:
"Many of Ingenuity's key electrical components are hand-soldered."
hypothesis
B1Used loosely, a tentative conjecture explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. As a scientific term of art, see the attached quotation. Compare to theory, and quotation given there.
Example:
"Their hypothesis is this:"
important
B1Having relevant and crucial value.
Example:
"And this is an important finding."
differences
B2The quality of being different.
Example:
"It looks fairly similar with a couple of key differences."
exploring
B1To seek for something or after someone.
Example:
"So we're a free bird when it comes to exploring the planet now. -That's huge, that's huge!"
envisioning
B2To conceive or see something within one's mind. To imagine.
Example:
"Awesome! You're envisioning like a future of aviation all over Mars as a primary explorative."
explorative
B2A B2-level word commonly used in this context.
Example:
"Awesome! You're envisioning like a future of aviation all over Mars as a primary explorative."
performance
B2The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action.
Example:
"Performance can continue to degrade in a vicious death spiral."
| Word | CEFR | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| guarantee | B1 | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| electrical | B2 | An electrical engineer. |
| hand-soldered | B2 | A B2-level word commonly used in this context. |
| hypothesis | B1 | Used loosely, a tentative conjecture explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. As a scientific term of art, see the attached quotation. Compare to theory, and quotation given there. |
| important | B1 | Having relevant and crucial value. |
| differences | B2 | The quality of being different. |
| exploring | B1 | To seek for something or after someone. |
| envisioning | B2 | To conceive or see something within one's mind. To imagine. |
| explorative | B2 | A B2-level word commonly used in this context. |
| performance | B2 | The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action. |
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