1. PES/ENG/XI/130
A PUNJAB EDUSAT SOCIETY PRODUCTION
Subject English
Class XI
Module Escape Velocity
VO1
A five years old English boy looking at the moon and says, “One day I will see the stars
from the moon.
Anchor 1: Hello students! You have seen a kid having a dream of
going to the moon. Do you ever wished to go to the moon? I hope
so many of you wish to go. But you are silent because it is very
difficult to reach there. Of course today in the age of twenty-first
century, nothing is impossible. So today we will read about Ted, an
English young man who not only passed the Examination in
academic qualification but he risked his life to fulfill his ambition.
Students! Before going further let’s have a look at the learning
objectives of the episode.
After the completion of the module, you will be able to
• Narrate the story of the adventure of Ted.
• Describe strangeness of life on the moon.
• Answer short questions as asked in the examination.
Anchor 2:
Now before going ahead with the story, let me tell you about the writer of
the lesson. Writer is Brian N Ball.
He wrote many stories and novels on Science Fiction. The story of Escape
Velocity is not the story of past but it is the story of 2031. He has tried to
bring future in the present.
1

2. PES/ENG/XI/130
Now you must be eager to know the story. So look at the screen.
VO2
Ted: A young English of 24-25, rich man’s son, very intelligent student of
Astronomy.
Ed: Ted’s uncle very expert in killing sharks.
The scene starts in the sea; Ted and Ed are in a submarine. They are on
holiday. Ted has seen his uncle killing dozens of sharks. Today is Ted’s last
chance to test himself with a knife before being posted at the observatory on
the moon.
VO3
Ted shouted: Shark
Ed: Stay here!
(Ted waited tensely for the shark to decide to charge. She suddenly clipped
his huge tail and charged. Ted worked quickly and accurately. He waited
and slashed, slowly. It seemed but fast enough. He kept the knife in so that
the shark’s impetus did the killing. It fell away slowing dead.)
VO4
Ed: I suppose you were ready for it, you did it well
Ted: It’s my last chance. I’ll get my movement orders from the Moon
Service any day now.
Ed: O’ yes but at first they hadn’t been too sure to accept you at
Astronomical Institute.
Ted: Yes they thought, being a rich man’s son I may not be serious
about a life time of studying the stars.
Ed: But you have proved them wrong by including your self in the top
2% students.
Ted: I hope I’ll get the order today.
Ed: It means a lot to you. Doesn’t it, Ted? (As he swung the submarine
towards the shore)
Ted: Everything. Since I was five years old, I first realized there were
people up there. I’ve said to myself that one day I’d be there to see the
stars.
Ed: And now you’re going, I’ll miss you in the holidays.
Anchor 3:
2

3. PES/ENG/XI/130
Students! Now you must have learnt from the animation that Ted is very
intelligent student of Astronomy. He was the top student of A.D 2031 in the
Astronomical Institute’s examination. He was expecting his movement
orders to work in the observatory at the moon. But the letter he received is of
regret. It means he could go any where he wished now: Anywhere, except to
the Moon. When Ted showed the letter to his uncle Ed, he tried to tell him
following special things about the moon.
ftfdnkoEhU, s[jk~ animation s'I uzrh soQK ;wM nk frnk j'J/rk
fe Ted , Astronomy dk pj[s jh j[fFnko ftfdnkoEh ;h. T[j A.D 2031
ftZu Astronomical Institute’s d/ fJwfsjkB #u ;G s'I gfjb/ Bzpo s/
nkfJnk ;h. T[j uzB s/ gq/yDFkbk ftZu ezw eoB dh T[whd eo
fojk ;h. go i' gZso T[; ~ fwfbnk, T[; B/ T[; ~ fBokF eoB fdZsk.
fJ; dk wsbp fJj ;h fe T[j uzB s'I nbktk fes/ th ik ;edk ;h, fiE/ T[j
ukj/. id' Ted B/ fJj gZso nkgD/ nzeb Ed ~ ftykfJnk sK T[BQK
B/ T[; ~ uzB pko/ e[ZM ftF/F rZbK dZ;D dh e'fFF ehsh.
Every one can not withstand the life on the moon.
Gravity of the moon is one sixth of Earth’s gravity.
It makes moving about altogether different.
Very few and strange individuals, No natural light.
You have to live in caves under perpetual artificial light.
Meteors are falling at any time and may shatter the
roof of the dome.
Anchor 4:
So you have seen that everyone can not withstand the life on the Moon. It
is a strange life. The gravity of the moon is one-sixth of Earth’s gravity.
Therefore, moving about is altogether different. There are only a few
3

4. PES/ENG/XI/130
hundred individuals there, and most of them you’ve never seen because they
are from another part of the planet. One has to live in caves under perpetual
artificial light. While on the moon you have to be aware that at any moment
the gongs of an alarm might warn you that you had seconds to reach for an
emergency suit with its air supply, because a meter had shattered the roof of
the dome. Eighty percent of all trainees were sent back within weeks of
landing. Children! The strangeness of life on the Moon was too much for
them. Ted was very depressed. Uncle Ed sympathized with him. But he says
that, he could stand living the rest of his life down on earth if they’d only
give him the chance of a few days on the Moon.
Now he has still some hope so Ted goes to Dr. Hargreaves. Here is the
conversation between the two.
;' s[;h t/fynk fe jo e'Jh uzB s/ ihtB BjhI ih ;edk. T[E/ dhnK
gfo;fEnK nihp jB. uzB dk r[o{sk nkeoFD, Xosh d/ r[o{sk
nkeoFD dk S/tK fjZ;k j?. fJ; eoe/ fJj g{oh soQk nbZr j?. T[E/
f;oc e[ZM jh ikshnk jB, s/ T[BQK ftZu' f}nkdkso ~ s[;hI ed/
BjhI t/fynk, feT[I fe T[j d{i/ rqfj d/ jB. uzB s/ feqsw gqekF d/
tkbh r[ck ftZu ofjDk g?Idk j?. go uzB d/ T[go s[jk~ u"ezB/
ofjDk j'J/rk feT[Ieh, yso/ dh xzNh fe;/ th ;w/I ;[DkJh d/ ;edh j?
ns/ s[jk~ e[ZM jh seconds, emergency suit ftZu gj[zuk gt/rk, fiE/
air supply w"}{d j[zdh j? feT[Ieh fe;/ yr'bh t;s{ d/ NeokT[D
eoe/ r[zpd dh SZs N[ZN rJh j?. ;ko/ f;ybkJh gqkgs eoB tkfbnK
u'I nZ;h ch ;dh ~, tkg; nkT[D d/ e[ZM jcfsnk gfjbK jh }whB s/
G/i fdZsk frnk ;h. ftfdnkoEhU, T[BQk bJh uzB T[go ihtB pj[s
f}nkdk ftbyD ;h.Ted pj[s jh T[dk; ;h. nzeb Ed B/ T[; Bkb
jwdodh iskJh. go T[; B/ fejk, fe T[j nkgD/ ihtB dk pkeh dk ;wK
Xosh s/ fpskn ;edk j?, i/ e[ZM T[; ~ fdBK bJh uzB s/ ofjD dk
w"ek fdZsk ikt/ sK. j[D T[; ~ jkbk th e[ZM T[whd ;h, fJ; bJh
4

5. PES/ENG/XI/130
Ted, Dr. Hargreaves e'b iKdk j?. fJE/ d'jK dofwnkB rZbpks j[zdh
j?.
VO5
Dr. Hargreaves. They’ve turned you down on medical grounds.
Ted: Me!
Doctors Hargreaves: Heart. Under normal conditions, the Moon shuttle
will kill you. You could not stand the acceleration due to escape velocity.
Ted: Heart trouble! (it was a shock to him)
Doctors Hargreaves: It takes a powerful physique to withstand normal
acceleration, as you know. In your case, the chances are about fifty-fifty
that you’d die. It’s too much of risk.
Ted: You couldn’t replace the defective part, even the whole heart
replacements is very common.
Dr. Hargreaves: (shaking his head) It’s the mitral valve. We could
replace it, certainly, but the Moon service would never look at you. Not
with a replacement.
Ted: Thanks for seeing me, it’s good of you.
Anchor 5:
Students! I hope you have understood the reason behind the rejection of
Ted. Dr. Hargreaves has mentioned that Ted’s heart is weak so he can not
withstand the acceleration due to escape velocity. The word Escape Velocity
must be confusing you. So let’s first talk about the Escape Velocity.
ftfdnkoEU, w?~ T[whd j? fe s[jk~ T[; ekoD dk gsk bZr frnk j?
fe Ted ~ itkp feT[I fwfbnk. Dr. Hargreaves B/ T[b/y ehsk fe Ted
dk fdb ew}'o j?, fJ; bJh T[j n?;e/g rsh d/ ekoD, rsh ftZu tkX/ ~
podkFs BjhI eo ;e/rk. fJj Fpd n?;e/g s[jk~ }o{o jh p/u?B eo
5

6. PES/ENG/XI/130
fojk j't/rk . ;' ;G s' gfjbK w? s[jk~ n?;e/g rsh d/ pko/ ftZu dZ;
fdnK.
Escape Velocity consists of two words:
Escape: beyond, out of, to get away from
Velocity: speed in a particular direction
Therefore it is a speed of any body in the direction away from the
center of earth with which the body goes beyond the force of gravity. Or
you can define escape velocity as:
It is a speed with which if a body is thrown upwards from the earth
then the body goes out of the reach of gravity.
You can understand it well with the help of this demonstration.
VO6
fJ; bJh fJj fe;/ th t;s{ dh T[j ;ghv j? fi; Bkb T[j Xosh d/ e/Ido s' d{o dh
fdFk ftZu iKdh j? ns/ fi; eoe/ t;s{ r[o{sk nkeoFD s'I go/Q ubh iKdh j?. iK
s[;h n?;e/g rsh ~ fJ; soQk th gfoGkFs eo ;ed/ j', fe fJj T[j ;ghv j[zdh j?,
id' fe;/ t;s{ ~ T[go tZb ;[fNnk iKdk j? sK T[j r[o{sk nkeoFD dh fyZu s'I
d{o ubh iKdh j?.
Anchor 6:
Now students, you must have understood the reason behind Ted’s not
getting employment at the moon. But you know he is crazy for going at
moon. So he is very restless. His father is worried for his health so he
advised him;
VO 7
6

7. PES/ENG/XI/130
Ted’s father: Take a month off, son. Take a year. Go and see the
world! I’ll see you don’t run short of cash. Then come back and tell me
what you’ve decided.
Ted: Couldn’t you pull something with the Moon Service? You know
all the big men. General Detweiler and Secretary Harrison were here
last week. Couldn’t they do anything”?
Ted’s father: No Ted. This is the twenty-first century, and we have to
do the job we’re trained and suited for. The moon service people knows
what they are talking about, and if they say “no”, then “no it is”.
Anchor 7:
So students, Ted comes back to the Astronomical Institute. He is wandering
in the corridors, glancing at the photographs of early astronauts. His eyes
stop at a British, crazy, middle-aged rocket specialist who made his own
weird ship and blasted off from his own back garden. Children! What a
coincident, Ted thinks of the Shark. What was there in common? Between
his first real shark-hunt and the Englishman’s crazy shot in a home made
rocket? Ted grinned. Action was link between Willis and his first shark.
Students you will be surprised to know that after one hour, Ted was moving
about the Dump. Now you will ask what that is. It is a strange collection of
machinery from the first eight years of rocketry. It was the dump for scores
of rocket bodies, hundreds of engines, and millions of obsolete spares. Ted
takes the view of everything and at last he thinks anything useful? Why not
the spare space-suit been taken from the rack? Now an idea boiling up in his
mind as he looks at the crest of the Moon Services on the suit.
;' ftfdnkoEhU, Ted tkg; Astronomical Institute ftZu nk frnk. T[j
poKv/ ftZu x[zw fojk ;h ns/ gfjb/ astronauts dhnk s;thoK t/y
fojk ;h, sK T[; dhnK nZyK nZXyV T[wo d/ fJZe ypsh poskBth
s/ fNe rJhnk i' fe okeN dk wkfjo ;h. fi; B/ nkgDk jh nihp ijk}
pDkfJnk ns/ nkgD/ jh xo d/ fgSb/ fjZ;/ s' T[vkfJnk. ftfdnkoEhU,
eh coincident ;h fe Ted B/ Shark pko/ ;'funk. Ted d/ nkgD/ gfjb/
7

8. PES/ENG/XI/130
shark-hunt ftZu ns/ nzro/} ftnesh d/ xo ftZu fsnko ehs/ crazy shot
dofwnkB, nkg; ftZu eh ;KMk ;h. Ted ][F j'fJnk. T[; d/ nkgD/
gfjb/ Fkoe ns/ Willis d/ action nkg; ftZu linked ;h. ftfdnkoEhU,
s[;hI fJj ikD e/ j?okB j't'r/ fe fJZe xzN/ pknd Ted S'NhnK
w'NhnK uh}K tZb ik fojk ;h. j[D s[;hI g[S'r/ fe fJj eh ;B< fJj
okeN fsnko eoB d/ gfjb/ nZm ;kbK dh wFhBoh dk Gzvko ;h.
Ted B/ jo fJZe uh} ~ fXnkB Bkb t/fynk ns/ nyho ftZu T[; B/
tos'I ftZu fbnkdh ikD tkbh fe;/ uh} pko/ ;'funk. feT[I Bk fJ;
epkV ftZu' tkX{ space-suit b? fbnk ikJ/. fiT[I jh T[; B/ ;{N ~ t/fynk
sK uzB ~ b? e/ soQK soQK d/ ftuko T[; d/ fdwkr ftZu T[pkb/
ykD bZr/.
Ted Says in his mind, He would go to the moon! In spite of Dad’s well-
meant but useless advice, in spite of Hargreaves’ cold discouragement and in
spite of a faulty mitral valve.
VO 8
The shuttle was scheduled for departure from the Atlantic Platform at
12.33 hours. Before that, he had to make sure that suit was safe. He had
checked it down to the last detail.
He watched the pleasant-looking security men who stood about
idly at the entrance. They looked grand in their tight-fitting Moon
service uniforms. But Ted knew they could move. It was not easy to
escape their notice.
He looked straight into eyes of the first security man. The other looked
him over professionally. A late comer, his bored eyes said. The look told
Ted that the crest had worked as a recognition symbol. He was in. No
one could question him now.
He code up the lift to crew’s hatch and walked in confidently. He
saluted a senior officer as he passed. He looked around. Where could he
hide?
8

9. PES/ENG/XI/130
But his weight! How could he dispose of a hundred and thirty
pounds! And the weight of his suit! Seven minutes to blast-off!
Ted looked into tiny escape capsule. Everything was in place;
waiting for emergency-then he saw it. Oxygen, oxygen tanks. With their
highly compressed liquid oxygen! All he had to do was to release
sufficient oxygen to equal his weight. The oxygen was so cold that it
would evaporate immediately on contact with the far warmer
atmosphere of the ship and its volume would escape through the still-
open ports within a minute or two.
The clamour of the five-minute alarm started him as he carefully
checked the outflow of oxygen. Hastily he cut it off as the gauges showed
that the necessary weight had escaped.
He waited, for death? It was the longest three minutes of his life.
He waited for pain and death.
Blast-off came with a tiny, almost unfelt, shudder. He closed his
eyes, tried to relax, and tried to nerve himself against the first choking
thrust of gravity.
It comes, not as pain, but as a hammer-blow of force on his chest and
throat.
This is death. His mind shrieked but it was only the beginning.
The Shuttle’s immense engine raced and strained as the vessel roared
through thin air away from the heavy drag of Earth’s metallic core. It
blasted on, thrusting hard into fifteen-twenty-five-thirty thousand miles
an hour.
Ted tried to be brave. But a sense of utter cold had caught him
with first hard burst of acceleration, and will, strength, and spirit failed.
Blackness reached for him. A red cloud burst inside his head.
He did not hear the warming clamour of the alarm that told the
engineers that an unidentified passenger had plugged into the Shuttle’s
air-supply.
He did not know that a team of crewmen raced to his assistance when
they found his ice-cold body.
He knew he was alive because he could see the rabbi-faced nurse.
9

10. PES/ENG/XI/130
Anchor 8:
Students! Ted was overjoyed to hear that he has reached the moon safely
and will get a chance to work at the moon. So children! Ted has fulfilled
ambition of looking stars from the moon. So let me test you, what have you
learnt so far? Here are some questions, try to answer them.
ftfdnkoEhU, Ted fJj ;[D e/ pj[s jh ][F ;h fe T[j ;[oZfyns uzB s/ gj[zu frnk
j? ns/ T[; ~ uzB s/ ezw eoB dk w"ek fwb/rk. fJ; bJh ftfdnkoEhU, Ted B/
uzB s' skfonK ~ t/yD dk nkgDk ;[cDk g{ok eo fbnk.
j[D w? fJj t/y btK fe nZi d/ gkm ftZu' s[;hI eh f;Zfynk j?. fJE/ e[ZM ;tkb
jB, T[BQk d/ T[so d/D dh e'fFF eo'.
Q. 1. Why was Ted keen to get his posting to the Moon?
Ans. He was very keen to go to the moon because he was crazy to see
the
Stars from there and the people there since his childhood.
Q. 2. (a) Why was it difficult for every one to endure life on the Moon?
Ans. It is very difficult to endure life on the moon because the basic
environmental conditions on the moon are not as on the earth.
(b) Describe the strangeness of life on the Moon
Ans. The life on the moon is very strange as:
(i) The gravity on the moon is one sixth of the earth’s gravity
(ii) Because of this, movement on the moon is very difficult
(iii) No natural light
(iv) Meteors are falling at any time
Q. 3. Ted felt fit yet the doctor did not recommend his posting to
the
moon. What was wrong with his heart?
Ans. Ted’s recommendation was rejected on the basis of medical
Ground, as the mitral valve of his heart was defective.
10

11. PES/ENG/XI/130
Q. 4. Ted visited the Dump. What did he take from there?
Ans. Ted took a space suit with a crest of moon on it from the
dump.
Q. 5. (a) Why did the Security men not stop Ted?
Ans. Ted was wearing a space suit with a crest of moon on it. So the
Security men did not stop him.
(b) How did he dispose of his weight (130 pounds)?
Ans. He disposed off his weight by releasing oxygen equal to his
weight
from the oxygen tanks.
Q. 6. (a) Ted lost consciousness when the Shuttle took off. Where did
he find himself when he regained consciousness?
Ans. When he opened his eyes he saw rabbi-faced nurses who told
him
that he is on the moon.
(b) Why did Ted feel “himself choking with elation and
triumph?
Ans. Doctors on the moon told him that he was alright and would get
chance to work on the moon. So Ted felt himself choking with
elation and triumph.
Q. 7. How did he manage to survive the strain of the journey?
Ans. Ted, while releasing oxygen to dispose off his weight had not
replaced the oxygen tank’s control properly. The first jolt of
acceleration caused the blanket of cold liquid oxygen flooded
over
him instantly his body temperature got down and the rate of his
heart
beat had slowed down to a twentieth of the normal. Therefore
strain
on his heart due to escape velocity was only a small friction of its
usual strain. So before he froze to death, the crewmen saved him.
11

12. PES/ENG/XI/130
Anchor 9:
Students, I hope you liked the episode. Thanks for paying attention.
14
12

13. PES/ENG/XI/130
15
13

14. PES/ENG/XI/130
MASTER FILE OF SCRIPT
Subject:
Class:
Topic:
Script ID
Date of Receiving by PES: ________________________________________________
Date of Receiving by Subject Specialist:
Name of Subject Specialist:
Tick (√ ) any one of the following:
1. Script is frozen for production.
2. ( ) Script is frozen for production after minor changes done at Edusat HUB.
14

15. PES/ENG/XI/130
3. Script need to freeze for production after suggested corrections to be done by
Service Provider.
4. Script returned back for needy correction.
Signature of the Subject Specialist
Date and Time:
Countersigned by:
Dy. Director SISE
Submitted to Service Providers Date ____________
15