英语听力：自然百科 探索世界奥秘之Alien Neighbors (寻访外星人) Unit02

From a planet.......let me get out of here....stay where you are....

Humanoid aliens have been good business in the 20th century. B moviemakers in particular have found a winning formula in showing semi-human space creatures with their fanatical urge to conquer earth.

This is bent¹ on conquering the world...Ah..

I don't think it's very likely that the earth has been visited by intelligent aliens. In fact, the whole business of travel from one star system to another, physical travel, I think it's really rather fantastic, it's much easier to send messages and communicate with your friendly aliens next door than physically² get in a spacecraft and go and visit.

We don't yet have the know-how³ to detect them, let alone travel to them if they exist. It’s clear that only a technologically⁴ superior race could visit us, in the meantime, we strain to pick up unfamiliar⁵ radio signals and scan the heavens for clues. In almost 40 years, there has been only 4 possible messages, all of them false alarms. An alien signal heading for earth could come from any direction. To speed up the search, a SETI program called Project Phoenix⁶ has made some choices.

Project Phoenix has a fairly straightforward⁷ philosophy. We point our telescope in the direction of nearby sun-like stars, stars that are cousins of our own sun. Those are the ones (who), we think, are most likely to have planets somewhat similar to earth around them and maybe with an, an advanced civilization on one of those planets.

No star in the search is farther away than 150 light years and like our sun, each one is over 3 billion years old, plenty of time for intelligent life to have developed radio technology. The president of the SETI Institute, Frank Drake pioneered the techniques used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He doesn't rule out the idea that someone is tuned⁸ in to us.

The space around Earth is full of radio signals, and particularly television signals, which we have transmitted over roughly the last 50 years. In fact, there is a shell around the earth, 50 light years in radius⁹, full of our signals, and in that shell there are about 1,500 stars which are now receiving our signals, and if anyone is there, they are able to find out all about us by watching our television.

Quick, quick, brand in Richard Hudnut whole family...quick, quick.. cut your winding¹⁰ time in half...Hey, cut the effort...your cresol lotion¹¹ ...quick quick quick and quick

Can SETI transmit powerful radio signals of its own? Hoping for a response? Some people think that Project Phoenix actually broadcasts inquiries¹² into space and we wait for replies from the aliens. Well, we don't do that, and the reason is quite simple. Say, say the nearest extraterrestrial is 100 light years away, well, our question would take 100 years to get there and if they deigned¹³ to reply, it will be another 100 years before their answer gets back to us. 200 years have gone by, you've probably lost interest and surely your funding is gone away.

There may well be a communication's technology that we don't know about yet, as we were unaware¹⁴ of radio waves only a century ago. Technology is definitely on the move. After a walk on our own moon, we began exploring new worlds by remote control, using more and more advanced spacecraft, among the most successful missions, was Voyager II.

humanoid: a machine or creature with the appearance and qualities of a human有人的特点的

know-how: practical knowledge and ability:实际知识, 技术秘诀, 诀窍

straightforward: easy to understand or simple:简单的, 易懂的

rule out: to decide or state that something is impossible or will not happen划去, 排除, 取消

deign to do sth: to do something unwillingly and in a way that shows that you think you are too important to do it:屈尊降贵做某事

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

4 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

5 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

6 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

7 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

8 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

10 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

11 lotion   

n.洗剂

参考例句：

• The lotion should be applied sparingly to the skin.这种洗液应均匀地涂在皮肤上。
• She lubricates her hands with a lotion.她用一种洗剂来滑润她的手。

12 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 deigned   

v.屈尊，俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Carrie deigned no suggestion of hearing this. 嘉莉不屑一听。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Carrie scarcely deigned to reply. 嘉莉不屑回答。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。