(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Scientists say it could take at least 1,500 years before humans make contact with species of aliens, or for them to communicate with or find us. Astronomers from Cornell University in the USA combined two existing theories about the possibility of life existing on other planets to form a new equation. One of these theories is the Fermi Paradox described by physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950. This states that while billions of Earth-like planets exist in our galaxy, not one has made contact with Earth yet. The other is the mediocrity principle, which suggests that because there is life on Earth, it will typically exist on Earth-like planets throughout the universe.
Study author Evan Solomonides will soon present a research paper on his theory. He said: "We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place, but that doesn't mean no one is out there." According to Solomonides, extraterrestrials could have received signals from Earth. However, he proposes that ET would not have been able to decipher them. He said they would need to decode the light waves into sounds and analyse 3,000 human languages to understand any messages. He said that signals from Earth have only reached about 8,500 stars and that the Milky Way galaxy alone contains 200 billion stars. He added: "If we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals, so we should keep looking."
中文翻译
据科学家表示，若想和外星人取得联系，或要让他们发现我们至少要等1500年。来自康内尔大学的天文学家将两个“外太空生命”原理结合在一起，形成了一个新的等式。原理之一是1950年物理学家恩里克·费米提出的费米悖论。费米悖论指出，银河系内存在着数十亿个类似地球的行星，但尚未有行星与人类取得联系。另一个是平庸原理，它指出因地球上存在生命，宇宙中其它类似行星也存在相关的自然过程。
研究作家埃文·索洛莫尼德斯不久将发表研究报告。他认为：“我们尚未与外星人取得联系，宇宙之大无奇不有。”据索洛莫尼德斯表示，外星人很有可能收到过地球信号。但他认为目前外星人还无法破译。称外星人需要将光波破译成声音，通过分析3000种人类语言来了解信息。他认为地球信号所能遍及的范围约8500个恒星，但光银河系就有2000亿个行星。他补充道：“如果我们停止观测，我们就会错过外太空信号，我们要做的是继续观测。”
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重点讲解
1.make contact with 与…联系
例句：They managed to make contact with the British consulate in Lyons.
他们设法与英国驻里昂领事馆取得了联系。
2.at least 至少
例句：He's been away for at least a week.
他走了总有一个星期吧。
3.be able to 能够
例句：If only I could get some sleep, I would be able to cope.
要是能睡上一会儿，我就能应付了。
4.Milky Way 银河系
例句：Some stars out of Milky Way outblaze the sun.
银河系外的有些星体其光度超过太阳。
听力题目
1) How many years might it be before we make contact with aliens?
a) exactly 1,500
b) around 1,500
c) more than 1,500
d) less than 1,500
2) What university are the researchers from?
a) Cornell
b) Corniche
c) Cornwall
d) Corn
3) When did the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi describe his theory?
a) 1950
b) 1590
c) 1509
d) 1905
4) What is the name of the second theory mentioned in the article?
a) the meritocracy principle
b) the mediocrity principle
c) the media principle
d) the medicinal principle
5) Where does the second theory mentioned say life "will typically exist"?
a) on Alpha Centauri
b) in a distant galaxy far far away
c) in our solar system
d) on Earth-like planets
6) Who is Evan Solomonides?
a) an astronaut
b) a researcher
c) an expert on alien personality
d) the inventor of alien language
7) What does Evan Solomonides say about space?
a) it's a big place
b) it's a dark place
c) it's a cold place
d) it's a nice place
8) What did Evan Solomonides say extraterrestrials could have received?
a) stars
b) satellites
c) signals
d) an invitation
9) How many languages would aliens need to understand?
a) 750
b) 1,000
c) 2,000
d) 3,000
10) What contains 200 billion stars?
a) the Milky Way
b) our solar system
c) all of space
d) a distant galaxy far far away
听力答案
1.b
2.a
3.a
4.b
5.d
6.b
7.a
8.c
9.d
10.a
