long-term survival of humanity – долгосрочное выживание человечества
back-up planet / second home – запасная планета / второй дом
technological spin-offs – побочные технологические разработки
radiation exposure – воздействие радиации
psychological isolation – психологическая изоляция
planetary protection – защита других планет от загрязнения
ethical implications – этические последствия
resource allocation – распределение ресурсов
realistic timeframe – реалистичные сроки

To begin with, I (firmly) believe that …
In the long run, establishing colonies on Mars could help humanity to … (infinitive of purpose)
Having a back-up planet may allow us to … (gerund phrase as subject/object)
Only by investing in off-planet habitats can we guarantee … (inversion)
If we ignore the ethical implications of colonization, we might … (first conditional)
From an ethical perspective, it is essential to consider … (it-clause + to-infinitive)

Model Answer: I mostly agree that human settlements on Mars are a realistic and ethical long-term goal. To begin with, in the long run they could support the long-term survival of humanity. Having a back-up planet would protect us if Earth faced a catastrophic event, such as an asteroid impact or extreme climate change.

Moreover, building such colonies would generate powerful technological spin-offs in areas like life-support systems and renewable energy. These innovations could later be applied on Earth, so the benefits would not be limited to a few astronauts.

Admittedly, there are serious concerns about radiation exposure, psychological isolation and planetary protection. However, if we set strict ethical rules and invest gradually within a realistic timeframe, I believe Mars colonization can be both responsible and worthwhile.

public funding – государственное финансирование
taxpayer money – деньги налогоплательщиков
accountability / public oversight – подотчётность / общественный контроль
profit-driven motives – мотивы, основанные на прибыли
long-term vision – долгосрочное видение
innovation and competition – инновации и конкуренция
national security – национальная безопасность
data transparency – прозрачность данных
regulatory framework – нормативно-правовая база

Personally, I think space exploration should mainly be … (passive)
When public funding is involved, governments have to ensure that … (that-clause)
Relying exclusively on private companies could lead to … (gerund as subject)
Not only do private firms accelerate innovation, but they also … (inversion)
To balance innovation with accountability, governments ought to … (infinitive of purpose + modal “ought to”)
Rather than leaving space entirely to the market, we should … (rather than + V-ing)

Model Answer: Personally, I think space exploration should still be led by national space agencies, with private companies playing a strong supporting role. When taxpayer money is involved, governments have to ensure accountability and protect the public interest, which is difficult if profit-driven firms are fully in charge.

At the same time, private companies clearly accelerate innovation and competition. Not only do they reduce launch costs, but they also introduce new ideas more quickly than many traditional agencies.

To balance innovation with accountability, governments ought to set a clear regulatory framework and cooperate with private partners, rather than leaving space entirely to the market. In this way, society benefits from both creativity and public oversight.

commercial space tourism – коммерческий космический туризм
meaningful scientific progress – значимый научный прогресс
proof of concept – демонстрация реализуемости идеи
luxury experience – роскошное развлечение
widening inequality – растущее неравенство
environmental impact / carbon footprint – воздействие на окружающую среду / углеродный след
inspire the public – вдохновлять общество
democratize access to space – делать доступ к космосу более массовым
symbolic achievement – символическое достижение

On the one hand, space tourism could …; on the other hand, it might … (contrast structure)
I tend to view it as … because … (complex clause of reason)
While it may inspire the public, it also raises concerns about … (while-clause concession)
If companies focused more on research missions, they would … (second conditional)
Instead of investing in luxury flights, governments should prioritize … (instead of + V-ing)
What really matters, in my opinion, is whether it leads to … (noun clause as subject)

Model Answer: On the one hand, commercial space tourism can be seen as a proof of concept that reusable rockets work safely, which may reduce costs for genuine scientific missions. It can also inspire the public and keep space exploration in the headlines.

On the other hand, I tend to view it mainly as an irresponsible luxury for the wealthy. Tickets are extremely expensive, so it risks widening inequality and sending the message that space is just another playground for billionaires. In addition, its environmental impact is hard to justify while we are fighting climate change.

What really matters, in my opinion, is whether these flights lead to broader benefits. Unless companies clearly use tourism profits to support research or democratize access to space, I cannot consider it meaningful progress for humanity.

telescope access policy — политика доступа к телескопам
usage fee — плата за пользование
maintenance costs — расходы на обслуживание
campus facility — университетский объект (инфраструктура)
personal interest / recreational use — личный интерес / развлекательное использование
approved research project — утверждённый научный проект
student club / astronomy society — студенческий клуб / астрономическое общество
access inequality — неравный доступ
promote STEM engagement — продвигать интерес к STEM-дисциплинам
discounted group rates — льготные групповые тарифы

Student (indignant): Frankly, this new telescope fee is completely unreasonable. The university claims it’s just a “small charge,” but that misses the point—students already pay high tuition, and we shouldn’t have to pay extra just to enjoy facilities that are supposed to belong to all of us. Many of us use the observatory simply because we’re curious or because our astronomy clubs meet there, not because we’re involved in some official research project. Charging a fee basically punishes students for being interested in science.

On top of that, the policy creates real inequality. Wealthier students will have no trouble paying, while others will be forced to skip telescope nights entirely. If the university truly wants to promote STEM engagement, it shouldn’t restrict access based on money. Instead of shifting the cost onto students, the administration could increase departmental funding or organize more free open nights.

Overall, this policy feels unfair and short-sighted, and it goes against the idea that university resources should be equally accessible to everyone.

Basic Introductory Expressions:

- "As stated in the announcement, the university is changing its telescope access policy."
- "The student strongly objects to this policy because …"
- "To start with, she argues that …"
- "In addition, she believes that …"
- "For these reasons, she thinks the policy is unfair."

Advanced Introductory Expressions:

- "The announcement introduces a new telescope access fee, which the student finds problematic."
- "The student promptly voices her opposition to this decision."
- "Initially, she claims that the policy unfairly charges students for using campus facilities."
- "Moreover, she emphasizes that the fee creates economic inequality and discourages interest in science."
- "Overall, she concludes that the policy is short-sighted and conflicts with the idea of equal access."

Basic Template:

**Linking & structure phrases:**
- “As stated in the announcement…”
- “The student disagrees because…”
- “Her first reason is that…”
- “Another reason she gives is…”
- “She also mentions that…”
- “Overall, she believes…”

**Grammar patterns:**
- To begin with, … (intro of first point)
- Not only…, but also… (inversion)
- Because of…, … (cause-effect)
- As a result, … (consequence)
- By charging students, the university… (gerund as subject complement)

Model Answer (Student Summary):

The student strongly disagrees with the new telescope access fee. Her first reason is that students already pay high tuition, so charging extra money for a campus facility is unfair. She adds that many students use the observatory out of curiosity or for club activities, so the policy discourages interest in science.

Her second reason is inequality. She argues that wealthier students will easily afford the fee, while others may have to skip telescope nights, which limits access to STEM opportunities. She believes the university should find other ways to cover maintenance costs instead of placing the burden on students.

quantum teleportation — квантовая телепортация
entangled particles — запутанные частицы
laboratory demonstration — лабораторный эксперимент
scale up (to larger systems) — масштабировать (на более крупные системы)
macroscopic object — макроскопический объект (предмет «обычного» размера)
data transmission — передача данных
secure communication — защищённая связь
biological sample — биологический образец
material replication — копирование материала
transformative technology — преобразующая (радикально меняющая) технология

Professor (critical): Quantum teleportation is often portrayed as a future method for moving large objects or even people, but that idea ignores several fundamental scientific problems.

To begin with, the experiments people are excited about involve single photons or very simple atomic states. Scaling that up is not just a matter of building better machines. As soon as a system contains many particles, the amount of quantum information needed to describe it grows exponentially. For any macroscopic object, the informational load becomes so enormous that teleportation is physically unmanageable with current or foreseeable technology.

Another issue concerns communication speed. Some commentators assume that entanglement allows instant data transmission. However, in every actual teleportation protocol, scientists still rely on a classical communication channel to complete the process, and classical signals cannot travel faster than the speed of light. So teleportation cannot provide faster-than-light communication.

A final limitation involves practical applications in medicine and engineering. Teleporting a biological or material sample would require reconstructing every quantum state perfectly, and current methods destroy the original during the process. That makes it unusable for real patients or valuable materials.

So, although quantum teleportation is a fascinating research tool in physics, its real-world, large-scale uses are far more limited than many people imagine.

Useful structure phrases (not a full template):

- “The passage describes quantum teleportation as a promising future technology.”
- “The professor, however, questions these predictions.”
- “First, he explains that … (information grows exponentially / macroscopic objects).”
- “Second, he points out that … (classical channel / no faster-than-light communication).”
- “Finally, he argues that … (original is destroyed / not practical for medicine or engineering).”
- “In this way, he shows that the reading’s optimism is unrealistic.”

High-Band Model Answer:

The reading presents quantum teleportation as a technology that could eventually scale up, improve communication, and even support medical or engineering applications. However, the professor argues that these expectations are unrealistic for several scientific reasons.

First, he explains that all current demonstrations involve extremely simple systems, such as single photons. For any larger object, the amount of quantum information that would need to be transmitted grows exponentially. Because of this informational explosion, teleporting macroscopic objects is essentially impossible with any technology we can foresee.

Second, he challenges the claim that teleportation could offer faster communication. He notes that a classical message is always required to complete the process, and classical signals cannot exceed the speed of light. So teleportation cannot enable instantaneous data transfer.

Finally, he doubts its practical use in medicine or engineering. Teleporting a biological or material sample would destroy the original object, making the technique unsafe and unusable in real-world settings.

In this way, the professor systematically casts doubt on all three benefits suggested in the reading.

Lecture Script (with audio-style intonation cues)

Professor: Today, I want to talk about the idea of a quantum internet, a proposed network that uses quantum entanglement to transmit information securely. Although it sounds revolutionary, it faces several major scientific limitations.

[Pause — rising tone] First, entanglement is extremely fragile. Even tiny interactions with the environment can destroy it. When we try to send entangled photons through normal fiber-optic cables, they lose their quantum state after only a few dozen kilometers. [Falling tone] That distance is far too short for global communication. Scientists have suggested using quantum repeaters, but these repeaters don’t yet work reliably, and building them would require technology we simply do not possess.

[Shift — low even tone] Second, even if the fragility problem were solved, creating a worldwide quantum network would require a completely new physical infrastructure. Regular fiber networks cannot maintain stable entangled states. We would need specialized cooling systems, vacuum chambers, and extremely stable lasers. [Slow emphasis] Replacing the entire global telecom system would take decades and cost more than any communication upgrade in history.

[Pause — rising tone] Finally, the quantum internet will not make communication faster. Many popular articles say entanglement enables instant transmission, but that is a misunderstanding. [Firm, falling tone] Even in perfect conditions, users must exchange classical signals to complete the process. And classical signals cannot travel faster than light. So the main benefit would be security, not speed.

[Closing — calm, even tone] For these reasons, while quantum networking may be useful in scientific labs, a globe-spanning quantum internet is far more difficult — and far less transformative — than people often assume.

Active Vocabulary (EN → RU)

quantum internet — квантовый интернет
entanglement — квантовая запутанность
quantum state — квантовое состояние
decoherence — потеря квантовой когерентности
quantum repeater — квантовый повторитель
optical fiber — оптоволокно
infrastructure overhaul — полная перестройка инфраструктуры
classical communication channel — классический канал связи
secure transmission — защищённая передача данных
scalability — возможность масштабирования

TOEFL Speaking 4 Question:
Using points and examples from the lecture, explain why the professor believes that a global quantum internet is unlikely to be practical in the near future.

High-Band Model Answer:

In the lecture, the professor explains why a global quantum internet is not realistic for the near future. First, he notes that entanglement is extremely fragile, so entangled photons lose their quantum state after traveling only short distances. Current repeaters cannot reliably restore those states, so the system cannot scale to a worldwide network. Second, he emphasizes that even if this problem were solved, we would need an entirely new infrastructure — cooling systems, vacuum tubes, and highly stable lasers — which would take decades and enormous financial investment to build. Finally, he clarifies that the quantum internet would not make communication faster because classical signals are still required. Those signals cannot travel faster than the speed of light, meaning the only real advantage is security. Overall, he argues that scientific and practical obstacles make the technology far less feasible than people assume.