PİRİ REİS UNIVERSITY COMPULSORY

READING WORKSHEET WEEK 7

DELTA REGULAR

READING EXAM PRACTICE

First Lady of Astronomy
1 Caroline Lucretia Herschel was born on March 16, 1750 in Hannover, Germany. She was the fifth
of six children. In 1757, during the Seven Years’ War, Caroline’s 19-year-old brother William
escaped to England, where he began to teach music. In 1772, he asked his sister to come over there
and at the age of 22, Caroline Lucretia Herschel moved in with William to act as his housekeeper.

2 William gave Caroline voice lessons and trained her in mathematics as well. Caroline became a
well-known soprano and began to sing professionally. Meanwhile, William's hobby of astronomy
began taking more of his free time. Caroline started to serve as her brother's apprentice in the field
of astronomy, and then began to function more and more on her own. She helped her brother
develop the modern mathematical approach to astronomy.

3 On March 13, 1781, William spotted an object while he was looking at the sky with his telescope.
At first, he thought it was a comet. However, after careful observation by himself and other
astronomers, it was determined that he had discovered a new planet, Uranus. In the following year,
William was appointed as personal astronomer to King George III. After this promotion, he gave
up his music career, and began to practice astronomy full time, with Caroline by his side. Whenever
William was away, Caroline took the opportunities to make her own observations. On August 1,
1786, Caroline discovered her first comet.

4 The discovery of a comet by a woman for the first time brought Caroline to the attention of the
world. She became the first officially recognized woman for a scientific position when King
George III gave her a £50 per year salary to continue helping William. Although Caroline continued
to work as his assistant, she also began to do more independent work. She discovered seven more
comets until 1797. Her second comet is now known as the periodic comet Herschel-Rigollet, which
is expected to return every 155 years.

5 William died in 1822 and Caroline was left alone, so she decided to go back home. When she
returned to Hannover, she continued with her work in astronomy and completed William's
catalogue of 2500 nebulae*. She received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society on
February 8, 1828. She then received other honors such as an honorary membership into Britain's
Royal Society in 1835, and the Gold Medal for Science by the King of Prussia in 1846, on her 96th
birthday. Caroline died on January 9, 1848. In 1889, after her death, she received a final honor for
her achievements when her middle name, Lucretia, was given to a minor planet.

* a cloud of gas (mainly hydrogen) and dust between the

stars

Adapted from metu.edu.tr

 PRACTICE

A. Answer the following questions according to the text.

1. What did Caroline do before she became a singer?

a. She taught music to adults.
b. She acted as William’s housekeeper.
c. She discovered a comet.
d. She practiced astronomy.

2. When did Caroline first receive the attention of the world?

a. When she discovered her first comet on August 1, 1786.
b. When she was working as a housekeeper.
c. When she was six years old and living in Germany.
d. In 1772, when his 19-yer-old brother William escaped to England.

3. Why did Caroline return to Hannover?

a. Because she wanted to be rich.

b. Because she had an argument with his brother and left him.
c. Because William died in 1822, and she was left alone.
d. Because she missed her parents.

B. What do the following refer to?

1. there (para.1) : _________

2. the following year (para.3) : _________

3. his assistant (para.4) : __________

C. Look at the bold and italic words in the text. Find TWO of them for the TWO definitions
below.
a. assistant / trainee (n): _______

b. saw / identified (v): _______

D. Mark the following statements True or False. Correct the sentence if it is false.
T F 1. William taught music before he became the astronomer of King George III.
_________________________________________________________________
T F 2. Caroline discovered seven comets in her lifetime.
_________________________________________________________________

Adapted from metu.edu.tr

 E. Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the words given.
1. The ________of cellular phones has grown in the last five years. POPULAR
2. The view from across the lake was really ________. IMPRESS
3. Dinosaurs have been ________for millions of years. EXTINCTION
4. Ozone ________is extremely severe over the Antarctic because of climatic and atmospheric
changes. DESTROY
5. A(n) ________plant spreads quickly in a garden or other area, so that it becomes a problem.
INVASION
6. To decide our company’s future, further ________of the data is necessary. ANALYZE
7. These chairs may look good, but they're very ________to sit on. COMFORTABLE
8. You cannot make copies of computer programs. It's ________. LEGAL
9. The other driver was ________for the accident, and he should pay for the damage?
RESPONSIBILITY
10. There is a sudden ________in the rate of inflation. FALL

Adapted from metu.edu.tr