The Martian: a book review

Read a review of the book 'The Martian' to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Grouping_MjMyMjE=

Reading text

Read the review of the book The Martian below.

Then do the exercises.

Review: The Martian

The Martian tells the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut on the Ares 3 mission to Mars. After a terrible storm almost destroys the ship and the base, the crew of his ship believe he is dead. 1) _____. Alone on the red planet, he has to survive until the next mission to Mars arrives.

While this novel is fiction, in some ways it feels like non-fiction. It is very scientific and packed with details about survival on Mars. Watney is a botanist and engineer, and he begins to grow food and produce water in his artificial camp. How does he do this? 2) _____.

The author is Andy Weir, and this is his first published book. In it he has created a realistic character. There is a lot of humour in the story, and the reader can identify with the emotions (although no one can really imagine what it's like to be on Mars). Watney admits at the beginning that he is in deep trouble, but he never gives up. 3) _____. Instead, what The Martian gives us is a realistic look at an intelligent person alone on a planet and trying to survive.

The majority of the plot takes place on Mars and is written in the form of Watney's journal entries. 4) _____. Unfortunately, the other characters in the book (his fellow crew members, the scientists at NASA on Earth) do not get much development and so they often feel one-dimensional.

I should also mention that the book is thrilling to read. You will be on the edge of your seat until the very end. 5) _____. It's good not only for space travel fans and scientists but for anyone who is looking for a unique and exciting story. The Martian was so popular that it was made into a film starring Matt Damon in 2015, but I recommend reading the book first.

Task 1

Matching_MjMyMjI=.xml

Task 2

MultipleChoice_MjMyMjM=.xml

Discussion

What book would you recommend?

Download

Worksheet69.36 KB

Try another reading

Language level

B1 Intermediate

Topics

books and literature

Do you need to improve your English reading skills?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English reading skills with our online courses.

Find out more

I really liked the book "The Martian".A very interesting plot fascinates. Everything is written correctly and beautifully.I would recommend this book to all science fiction lovers.

I don't like science fiction novels, I prefer realistic literature. So, I would recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude or Cien Años de Soledad, in Spanish. This book was written by Gabriel García Márquez and it is interesting because in it Márquez tells the story of many generations of the Buendía family. This book combines things from the Colombian reality and fiction, so it is representative of the literary genre called: magical realism.

The book, I really liked it. I guarantee everyone will like this work)

"The Martian" — a fascinating, easy and funny despite the horror the situation, the book. The story captures, read in one breath and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. I can recommend the novel "The Martian" to all fans of science fiction. The book is interested with a dynamic ending and i think many will like it.

before I actually read fewer books, but the one I read and would recommend is "without a family". It's the best book I've ever read and I probably won't forget it. The book is about a kidnapped boy and a poor family who adopted him. The boy who cared for him loved him, she always gave him good things, but his foster father didn't love him because he only received money when the boy grew up because he believed that his family The baby is a wealthy family. Unfortunately, in an accident, the boy's adoptive father broke his leg and could not continue to work, so they sold him to a circus. In the journey with the circus man, he learned a lot. He learned how to write, sing and live modestly, preserving quality. At the end of the book, he finally has a family.

I do not read books very often but I think that "el Libro negro" Is a superb book, the writer is a famous YouTuber called Dross, it is a mix of 4 stories which tell us how bad the life may come to be.