Download this free B2–C1 English worksheet PDF for adult learners and English teachers. This lesson is based on a recent commentary about Mars, one-way space missions and the question of who would leave Earth with no guaranteed return.
Students practise reading comprehension, useful vocabulary, phrase matching and speaking skills through a real-world space and society topic about Mars exploration, isolation, risk, sacrifice, responsibility, settlement and life in confined habitats. The worksheet is suitable for private English lessons, online classes, advanced conversation practice and homework before a discussion lesson.
The article explains that Mars has often been presented as humanity’s next frontier. Students read about the failed Mars One project, which once invited ordinary people to apply for a one-way mission partly funded through reality television, and about the continuing interest in future human Mars missions.
This worksheet encourages learners to discuss whether a one-way Mars mission would be bold exploration or organised exile. Students consider whether private companies should recruit volunteers for missions with no return, what qualities a Mars crew would need, and whether governments should spend more money on Mars or urgent problems on Earth.
The article also explores the practical and psychological difficulties of life on Mars. Students read about delayed communication, limited supplies, equipment failure, medical emergencies, isolation, radiation, reduced gravity and the pressure of never seeing Earth again. The lesson asks whether becoming one of the first humans on Mars would be worth giving up almost everything that makes Earth feel like home.
The PDF includes a B2–C1 reading article, True / False questions, Phrase Match, Synonym Match, a task where students use new language, discussion questions and a full answer key. It helps learners discuss exploration, exile, settlement, responsibility, personal sacrifice, psychological pressure, crew conflict and what gives life meaning.
Level: B2–C1
Date: 07 August 2026
Focus: reading, vocabulary, Mars, space travel, exploration, risk and speaking
This free worksheet includes:
- a B2–C1 reading text about a one-way trip to Mars
- True / False comprehension questions
- Phrase Match practice with useful expressions
- Synonym Match vocabulary practice
- a sentence-writing task using new language
- discussion questions for Student A and Student B
- full answer key
The worksheet includes useful phrases such as sign up for, leave behind, set off, cut off from, rely on, cope with, break down, work out, go through with and come down to. It also practises vocabulary such as frontier, guaranteed, confined, immediate, isolation, limited, psychological, permanent, pioneers and exile.
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