Sound MORE Fluent in 25 Minutes with this English Reading Lesson!

In this lesson, we're going to read a news.

Article together so you.

Can improve.

All areas of your English.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's.

Get started first, I'll read the headline.

Saturn's majestic rings will vanish in 2025.

Are you familiar with this adjective majestic?

This means beautiful, but in the  sense of producing admiration.

So in that regard, we don't  usually use it to describe people.

It's not common to say you look  majestic or that shirt is majestic.

But we do use this a lot to  describe scenery or experiences.

So for now, I recommend you use it  with scenery because every day you  

can look outside and make an observation about  something looking majestic or being majestic.

For example, the stars look majestic tonight.

And notice I said you can use look or be.

So you could say the stars are  because of course stars is plural.

The stars are majestic.

Tonight, Saturn's majestic rings, of course,  

notice this possessive because  the rings belong to Saturn.

Saturn's majestic rings will vanish.

Vanish.

This word is very similar to disappear,  

but when something vanishes, it happens  instantly and also perhaps mysteriously.

You don't know the reason why  native speakers frequently use  

this in more of a sarcastic or comical way.

For example, whenever I need help, my  coworker vanishes, suddenly disappears.

Now notice here with this  ES, it adds that extra sound.

Vanishes, shiz.

Repeat after me.

Shiz.

Vanishes.

Vanishes.

I could say my students  won't vanish from my channel.

If you vanish, it means all  of a sudden you disappear.

You no longer watch my lessons.

You unsubscribe, for example.

But I know my students won't  vanish from my channel.

Right, Right.

But that's right.

But that's right.

So I know you won't vanish.

Put that's right in the comments and  don't worry about taking notes because  

I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's continue and find out why or  how these majestic rings will vanish.

Most people consider Saturn's awe  inspiring system of rings that encircle.

So the rings form a circle around in circle in  circle that's encircle the rings that encircle  

the planet to be the most fascinating and  iconic celestial feature in our solar system.

The word celestial means of or  from the sky or outside this world.

So of course the stars, the planets, the sun,  the moon, they would all be celestial features.

Or you could say bodies, objects.

You would need some word after  because celestial is an adjective.

Now fascinating means extremely interesting.

So instead of saying very interesting or  extremely interesting, you could say fascinating.

For example, learning about Saturn.

So notice my gerund statement.

I'm starting my sentence with the gerund verb,  the verb and ING to make a general statement.

Learning about Saturn and other  celestial bodies features.

You could also say wonders, a wonder if something  that produces awe or mystery or intrigue.

For example, the seven wonders of the world,  

we're all very curious about them, so you  get referred to celestial wonders as well.

Is fascinating, is extremely interesting.

But maybe for you this isn't true, so you  could always put this in the negative.

Isn't fascinating.

I prefer learning about the ocean instead,  

which is not a celestial feature because it's  not of the solar system, it's of the ocean.

And I previously used the word awe.

So notice here awe inspiring as an adjective.

If something is awe inspiring,  it's more unique, it's mysterious.

It's more of a wonder.

So wondrous would be the  adjective all wonder is a noun.

Wondrous is an adjective.

So when you look at it, it really  produces some curiosity or some  

some feeling of fascination in  you that could be awe inspiring.

Are you?

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Now let's continue with our lesson.

Back in the 17th century, Italian  astronomer Galileo Galilee first  

spied Saturn through his ancient telescope.

Let's review the pronunciation here.

Don't look at the word because the  spelling and pronunciation are different.

Just listen to my voice.

Ancient chant, chant ancient, ancient  through his ancient telescope.

Now let's review this word here.

Spied.

Do you recognize the verb?

This is in the past.

Simple.

So it's an Ed, but the verb is to spy.

So when you spy you simply see.

But when you spy, it sounds like you're purposely  observing and trying to see something specific.

Now you probably know this verb from detective  

novels or spy novels is even  a genre of novels spy novels.

But generally, if you're not a detective,  this is considered not a positive thing.

For example, you shouldn't spy on your neighbors.

You shouldn't purposely observe  your neighbors because it's none  

of your business what your neighbors do.

So you shouldn't spy on your neighbors.

Now let's look back here, back here,  because we have back in the 17th century.

When we say back in and then a time reference,  it makes it sound like a long time ago.

You could say I graduated back in 2005.

S of course you can say I graduated in 2005.

If you add the word back, it simply communicates  that you view this as a very long time ago.

Even if it wasn't, maybe it was two,  2019, which wasn't that long ago,  

but to you it seems like a very long time ago.

So you can add this, even if  it was a short period of time,  

just to communicate that for you  it feels like a long time ago now.

Notice we also have back in the 17th century.

Remember that with an ordinal number,  first, second, third, 4th, 5th.

So ordinal numbers you must use the.

For example, I live on the 4th floor, and you  need to pronounce that I work on the 4th floor.

Let's continue.

He compared the planet's appearance to having  ears due to the limitations of his device.

So the limitations of his  device, what is his device?

The telescope.

But of course a very ancient  telescope back in the 17th century.

So you could not see it like this.

Of course, this isn't a accurate image of Saturn.

You couldn't see it like this back in  the 17th century because the devices,  

the tools, the equipment were ancient.

Hopefully you find this lesson  fascinating, extremely interesting so far.

Let's keep going.

Saturn's axis is tilted just  like Earth for half of its year.

The ringed planet.

So this ringed is describing the planet.

Remember that word encircled, Encircled by rings.

The ringed planet leans.

So right now I'm not leaning, but now  

I'm leaning on my elbow or I'm leaning  to the right, I'm leaning to the left.

So that is the word lean.

The ringed planet leans toward the sun, lighting  up the top of its rings for the other half.

It tilts back and the sun shines on Saturn's  South Pole and the bottom of the rings.

The verbs lean to lean and tilt to  tilt are very common in the sense  

that the result is the same if I lean or tilt.

But generally we use tilt for objects like my  chair because you change the angle or position.

So right now my chair is in a fixed position,  but if I change that angle or position,  

I can tilt my my chair back or I  can tilt it forward for example.

But lean is more of a change your weight and then  

your position naturally changes  because you change your weight.

So for our body movements we use the verb lean.

I'm leaning.

But for an object I could change the  angle or position which is it's tilt.

Notice here they say Saturn's axis  is tilted, so it's on on an angle.

Positioned on an angle.

You could say the building is tilted so  the builders they built it on an angle.

Or you could say the bricks are deteriorating,  

which means gradually  crumbling, gradually weakening.

The bricks are deteriorating, so now  the building leans to the left because  

the support of the bricks is less and less  so the weight of the building is shifting.

So very similar but subtle  difference between the two.

Interestingly, there are two brief  times during Saturn's orbit when  

the ring edge points directly at the Sun.

This event, known as an equinox,  gives both Saturn's northern and  

southern hemispheres some equal sunlight.

For a short while, let's look at interestingly.

Interestingly, this is a transition  word, and transition words are a great  

way to add to your communication to make  you sound more fluent or more professional.

So interestingly, this tells you that what is  to come according to the author is interesting.

You could say my roommate  always vanishes on cleaning day.

So you have a set day of the week  that you clean your apartment and  

your roommate is supposed to also clean.

But interestingly, he or she always vanishes,  

so you can add on interestingly just to  show how you feel about the situation.

Now, maybe interestingly isn't the right choice.

Maybe it's more annoyingly.

Annoyingly, my roommate always  vanishes on cleaning day.

So you can think of it as  saying it is interesting.

It is annoying that my roommate always vanishes.

So you can take the adjective  

and then turn it into an adverb with LY  to show how you feel about the situation.

Let's continue.

Now notice again we have another  adverb functions as a transition  

where thankfully this isn't a permanent change.

So you could just say this  isn't a permanent change.

The change being that the rings vanish.

The rings disappear.

This isn't permanent.

Now you can express how you  feel about this situation.

Thankfully, you're happy that  this isn't a permanent change.

It's a fleeting cosmic event.

Do you know what fleeting means?

It's an adjective.

You know that because we have a cosmic event.

And then fleeting gives you information about it.

So it's an adjective.

If something is fleeting, it means it  lasts for a very short period of time.

You could say we met back in 2019.

Remember, you're adding back to make  it sound like it was a long time ago.

We met back in 2019, but our romance was fleeting.

So we had a romantic relationship,  but for a very short period of time.

But you could add on and express  your feelings of it and say,  

thankfully we're both happily married  today, so the story has a happy ending.

And notice happily is an adjective, an adverb,  excuse me, an adverb that describes your marriage.

We're both happily married today.

It's a fleeting cosmic event that recurs  happens again and again every 29.5 years,  

which is how long it takes  Saturn to orbit the sun.

Orbit means to go around in a complete circle.

Now the verb to occur means to happen,  

and if you add re before verbs it  means that you do that verb again.

So reoccur means to happen again, but  it's not repeatedly or as a pattern.

So for example, my Internet bill is recurring.

Every 15th of the month I get a  bill and that will happen again  

and again as a pattern until I cancel my bill.

My Internet bill is recurring, but  I would say let's hope the power  

outage doesn't reoccur so it doesn't  happen again, but just one more time.

There is not a pattern of power outages.

The power outage means that everything goes dark.

I do not have power electricity.

That is a power outage.

So there is an important difference  between recur and reoccur.

Let's continue After March 2025, Saturn's axial  tilt will bring the rings back into view, then  

vanish, suddenly disappear, almost mysteriously  disappear, then vanish again in November 2025.

Saturn's rings won't completely disappear  in 2025, but they will seem to vanish.

So if something seems to do something,  it means it appears in that way,  

but it isn't 100% truthful or accurate or certain.

Let's compare these sentences.

She's sick.

She is sick.

So this is our verb to be as a contraction.

She's sick compared to she seems to be sick.

So here it's the verb seem and  then the infinitive to be sick.

You could also say she appears to  be sick and it has the same meaning.

This is a statement of fact.

I can say with certainty that this is true.

This is not with certainty I  think, but I'm not 100% certain.

She seems to be sick.

She sounds sick, she looks  sick, but I haven't asked her,  

she hasn't told me directly, I haven't  talked to her doctor for example.

But they will seem to vanish for a short period  due to an event called ring plane crossing.

This happens when Earth passes through Saturn's  ring plane, making the rings appear edge on.

Since the rings are so thin, they can become  almost invisible from our perspective on Earth.

So This is why they seem to vanish.

But this isn't actually truthful.

It appears this way it it  seems to happen this way.

Now our perspective.

You could also say our view on Earth.

These two words are commonly used  when you express your opinion.

Of course, you know to say in my  opinion and then you state your opinion.

But when you use perspective or view,  

you use the word from from my  perspective, from my point of view.

So you wouldn't just say from my  view, you would say point of view.

And from from my point of view,  learning about pattern is fascinating.

And again, you can make this  negative because it's your opinion,  

your perspective, your point of  view, and you're entitled to it.

So I added in my opinion.

So you remember the difference,  the rings will appear to disappear.

Now remember you could say the  rings will seem to disappear,  

which means that it isn't actually true.

So the rings will seem or appear to disappear for  only a few days or weeks as the crossing happens.

However, the rings will still be  there, just not visible from Earth.

So.

We can't see them, but they exist.

They exist on the planet Saturn.

That's why they're saying appear  to disappear or seem to disappear,  

because that's what it looks  like from our perspective.

But that isn't the reality.

That isn't the truth.

And that's why they didn't just say the  rings will disappear, because they won't.

It's just our perspective.

Saturn experiences a ring plane  crossing roughly every 15 years.

With the upcoming crossing in 2025,  

however, conditions will be less than  favorable for observing the planet.

It will be largely obscured  by the light of the Sun.

So this is saying that unfortunately, we won't be  able to see this very well even with a telescope,  

because it will be largely obscured.

Do you know what this means?

Obscured.

When something is obscured by something  else, it means that you're unable to see it.

So another word, a more  common word, would be blocked.

So right now, your view of me is blocked.

It's obscured by my hands.

So right now your view is blocked.

You could also use this with with  sound, so I could obscure the sound.

I won't because that will be unpleasant,  

but I could put my hand over the  microphone and obscure my voice as well.

But it is more commonly used with with sight.

So you could say our view of  the fireworks was obscured.

So notice this to be obscured by now it's our view  which is singular, not fireworks, which is plural.

Why I'm using was and not were.

Remember this is the verb to be in the past.

Simple.

It was obscured.

It was, It represents our view.

Our view of the fireworks  was obscured by the clouds.

We couldn't see the fireworks  because of the clouds.

This is the passive.

You can use this in an active as well  and say the clouds obscured our view.

You can absolutely say obscured.

Blocked is the more everyday word and to  be honest I would use blocked 90% of the  

time in my vocabulary and I would use  obscured in very specific situations.

When I want to sound more formal or more technical  then I would use obscured, but you can use both.

They have the same meaning.

And that's the end of our article.

Hopefully you found it fascinating.

Now what I'll do is I'll read the  article from start to finish and  

this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

Saturn's majestic rings will vanish in 2025.

Most people consider Saturn's awe inspiring  system of rings that encircle the planet  

to be the most fascinating and iconic  celestial feature in our solar system.

Back in the 17th century, Italian  astronomer Galileo Galilee first  

spied Saturn through his ancient telescope.

He compared the planets appearance to having  ears due to the limitations of his device.

Saturn's axis is tilted just like Earth's.

For half of its year, the ringed planet leans  toward the sun, lighting up the top of its rings.

For the other half, it tilts back,  

and the sun shines on Saturn's South  Pole and the bottom of the rings.

Interestingly, there are two brief  times during Saturn's orbit when  

the ring edge points directly at the Sun.

This event, known as an equinox, gives  both Saturn's northern and southern  

hemispheres some equal sunlight for a short while.

Thankfully, this isn't a permanent change.

It's a fleeting cosmic event  that recurs every 29.5 years,  

which is how long it takes  Saturn to orbit the Sun.

After March 2025, Saturn's axial tilt  will bring the rings back into view,  

then vanish again in November 2025.

Saturn's rings won't completely disappear in 2025,  

but they will seem to vanish for a short period  due to an event called ring plane crossing.

This happens when Earth passes through Saturn's  ring plane, making the rings appear edge on.

Since the rings are so thin, they can become  almost invisible from our perspective on Earth.

The rings will appear to disappear for only  a few days or weeks as the crossing happens.

However, the rings will still be  there, just not visible from Earth.

Saturn experiences a ring plane  crossing roughly every 15 years.

With the upcoming crossing in 2025,  

however, conditions will be less than  favorable for observing the planet.

It will be largely obscured  by the light of the Sun.

Do you want me to make more lessons where we.

Review the news together.

If you do, then put more, more, more, put more,  more, more, more, more in the comments below.

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Now.