剑9阅读真题2 is there anybody out there(2)

剑9阅读2和生词IsThereAnybodyOutThere?TheSearchforExtra-terrestrialIntelligenceThequestionofwhetherwearealoneintheUniversehashauntedhumanityforcenturies,butwemaynowstandpoisedonthebrinkoftheanswertothatquestion,aswesearchforradiosignalsfromotherintelligentcivilizations.Thissearch,oftenknownbytheacronymSETI(searchforextra-terrestrialintelligence),isadifficultone.Althoughgroupsaroundtheworldhavebeensearchingintermittentlyforthreedecades,itisonlynowthatwehavereachedtheleveloftechnologywherewecanmakeadeterminedattempttosearchallnearbystarsforanysignoflife.1.haunted adj.闹鬼的，鬼魂常出没的，受到困扰的。haunt n常到的地方，vt，缠住，常到，出没（像鬼魂似的）2.poised. adj.泰然自若的，蓄势待发的，保持平衡的，有充分准备。3.Brink  n.边缘，边沿，界限。4.Acronym  n.首字母缩略词Acro是否是一个前缀，而nym与name意义接近。5civilisation  (E)=civilization(A)发音一样，英为S，美国为Z。文明，文化，教化。6extra-terrestrial  n.外星人，adj.地球（大气圈）外，的人，行星际的。Terra  n.土，土地，地球Terraalba石膏粉，白土Terracotta赤土制成的陶器Terraincognita【拉】未发现的地域，未知知识领域Terrace n.平台，阳台，梯田Terraced house 排屋中的一栋房屋，联排别墅Terracing 梯田，阶地，阶梯看台区。7 intermittently  adv间歇地intermit v 暂时停止，中断，（使）间断ATheprimaryreasonforthesearchisbasiccuriosity–thesamecuriosityaboutthenaturalworldthatdrivesallpurescience.WewanttoknowwhetherwearealoneintheUniverse.Wewanttoknowwhetherlifeevolvesnaturallyifgiventherightconditions,orwhetherthereissomethingveryspecialabouttheEarthtohavefosteredthevarietyoflifeformsthatweseearoundusontheplanet.Thesimpledetectionofaradiosignalwillbesufficienttoanswerthismostbasicofallquestions.Inthissense,SETIisanothercoginthemachineryofpuresciencewhichiscontinuallypushingoutthehorizonofourknowledge.However,thereareotherreasonsforbeinginterestedinwhetherlifeexistselsewhere.Forexample,wehavehadcivilizationonEarthforperhapsonlyafewthousandyears,andthethreatsofnuclearwarandpollutionoverthelastfewdecadeshavetoldusthatoursurvivalmaybetenuous.Willwelastanothertwothousandyearsorwillwewipeourselvesout?Sincethelifetimeofaplanetlikeoursisseveralbillionyears,wecanexpectthat,ifothercivilizationsdosurviveinourgalaxy,theirageswillrangefromzerotoseveralbillionyears.Thusanyothercivilizationthatwehearfromislikelytobefarolder,onaverage,thanourselves.Themereexistenceofsuchacivilizationwilltellusthattheoldercivilizationmaypassonthebenefitsoftheirexperienceindealingwiththreatstosurvivalsuchasnuclearwarandglobalpollution,andotherthreatsthatwehaven'tyetdiscovered.8evolve v.(使)逐步形成，使逐步演变，进化TheAmericanconstitutionwasplanned;theBritishconstitution evolved.美国宪法是精心制定的，英国宪法是约定俗成的。Hehas evolved anewtheoryaftermanyyearsofresearch.他经过多年的研究，逐渐出了新的理论。evolve的基本意思是“演变”“进化”,表示某物〔事物〕自身发展的结果,也可表示某物〔事物〕逐渐地、循序地显现、展开,强调其缓慢、复杂的演变过程。evolve既可用作不及物动词,也可用作及物动词。用作及物动词时,接名词或代词作宾语;用作不及物动词时,常与介词from,into等连用。9 foster v.领养，培养，促进，抱有希望等adj 收养的10sufficient adj足够的充分的，~to,足够1111cog  n.轮齿；从属地位的人或物；诈骗；雄榫 v. 用雄榫连接；欺骗12tenuous adj.脆弱的；稀薄的；贫乏的；纤细的；空洞的13 lifetime n.一生；终身；寿命；使用期限14 optimism n.乐观；乐观主义15BIndiscussingwhetherwearealone,mostSETIscientistsadopttwogroundrules.First,UFOs(UnidentifiedFlyingObjects)aregenerallyignoredsincemostscientistsdon’tconsidertheevidenceforthemtobestrongenoughtobearseriousconsideration(althoughitisalsoimportanttokeepanopenmindincaseanyreallyconvincingevidenceemergesinthefuture).Second,wemakeaveryconservativeassumptionthatwearelookingforalifeformthatisprettywelllikeus,sinceifitdiffersradicallyfromuswemaywellnotrecognizeitasalifeform,quiteapartfromwhetherweareabletocommunicatewithit.Inotherwords,thelifeformwearelookingformaywellhavetwogreenheadsandsevenfingers,butitwillneverthelessresembleusinthatitshouldcommunicatewithitsfellows,beinterestedintheUniverse,liveonaplanetorbitingastarlikeourSun,andperhapsmostrestrictively,haveachemistry,likeus,basedoncarbonandwater.16groundrules n.程序；场地临时规则；基本规则17merge vi.浮现；(由某种状态)脱出；(事实)显现出来18conservativeadj.保守的；守旧的  n.保守派(党)；保守的人18radically  adv.根本地；完全地；过激地19uiteapartfrom 更何况,更不用说21evertheless resembleadv.尽管如此；不过；仍然conj.然而/不过像，相似22orbitn.势力范围；眼眶；轨迹vt.绕轨道而行；进入轨道vi.盘旋CEverwhenwemaketheseassumptions,ourunderstandingofotherlifeformsisstillseverelylimited.Wedonotevenknow,forexample,howmanystarshaveplanets,andwecertainlydonotknowhowlikelyitisthatlifewillarisenaturally,giventherightconditions.However,whenwelookatthe100billionstarsinourgalaxy(theMilkyWay),and100billiongalaxiesintheobservableUniverse,itseemsinconceivablethatatleastoneoftheseplanetsdoesnothavealifeformonit;infact,thebesteducatedguesswecanmake,usingthelittlethatwedoknowabouttheconditionsforcarbon-basedlife,leadsustoestimatethatperhapsonein100,000starsmighthavealife-bearingplanetorbitingit.Thatmeansthatournearestneighboursareperhaps100lightyearsaway,whichisalmostnextdoorinastronomicalterms.23 estimaten.估价；估计v.估计；估价；评价24astronomical adj.天文学的；巨大的DAnaliencivilizationcouldchoosemanydifferentwaysofsendinginformationacrossthegalaxy,butmanyoftheseeitherrequiretoomuchenergy,orelseareseverelyattenuatedwhiletraversingthevastdistancesacrossthegalaxy.Itturnsoutthat,foragivenamountoftransmittedpower,radiowavesinthefrequencyrange1000to3000MHztravelthegreatestdistance,andsoallsearchestodatehaveconcentratedonlookingforradiowavesinthisfrequencyrange.Sofartherehavebeenanumberofsearchesbyvariousgroupsaroundtheworld,includingAustraliansearchesusingtheradiotelescopeatParkes,NewSouthWales.Untilnowtherehavenotbeenanydetectionsfromthefewhundredstarswhichhavebeensearched.Thescaleofthesearcheshasbeenincreaseddramaticallysince1992,whentheUSCongressvotedNASA$10millionperyearfortenyearstoconductathoroughsearchforextra-terrestriallife.Muchofthemoneyinthisprojectisbeingspentondevelopingthespecialhardwareneededtosearchmanyfrequenciesatonce.Theprojecthastwoparts.Onepartisatargetedsearchusingtheworld’slargestradiotelescopes,theAmerican-operatedtelescopeinArecibo,PuertoRicoandtheFrenchtelescopeinNancyinFrance.Thispartoftheprojectissearchingthenearest1000likelystarswithhighsensitivityforsignalsinthefrequencyrange1000to3000MHz.Theotherpartoftheprojectisanundirectedsearchwhichismonitoringallofspacewithalowersensitivity,usingthesmallerantennasofNASA’sDeepSpaceNetwork.25lien  n.外侨；外国人；外星人 adj.外国的；陌生的；相异的26attenuated v.变细；稀释；变弱  adj.细的；薄的；减少的27traversing n.横渡；横越 动词traverse的现在分词.28vast adj.巨大的；广阔的29turnout v.结果是；生产；出现；关闭；翻转；证明是30transmitted adj.传输的；传送的；传达的31thorough adj.彻底的；完全的；详尽的；细致深入的32antennas 英 [æn'tenəz 天线EThereisconsiderabledebateoverhowweshouldreactifwedetectasignalfromanaliencivilization. Everybodyagreesthatweshouldnotreplyimmediately.Quiteapartformtheimpracticalityofsendingareplyoversuchlargedistancesatshortnotice,itraisesahostofethicalquestionsthatwouldhavetobeaddressedbytheglobalcommunitybeforeanyreplycouldbesent.Wouldthehumanracefacethecultureshockiffacedwithasuperiorandmucholdercivilisaiton?Luckily,thereisnoturgencyaboutthis.Thestarsbeingsearchedarehundredsoflightyearsaway,soittakeshundredsofyearsfortheirsignaltoreachus,andafurtherfewhundredyearsforourreplytoreachthem.It’snotimportant,then,ifthere’sadelayofafewyears,ordecades,whilethehumanracedebatesthequestionofwhethertoreplay,andperhapscarefullydraftsareply.33 impracticality英 [ɪmˌpræktɪ'kæləti]   n.不实用(不切实际；不能实行；不现实)34ethical  ['eθɪkl] adj.伦理的；道德的；凭处方出售的