Unit 4
Extraterrestrial Intelligence:
Is There Anyone Out There?
Part A 閱讀-Reading Section
On April 13, 2000, American scientists announced they had identified the most distant object
in the universe. The tiny red speck they found and photographed was a quasar billions of light
years away. It was formed when the universe was an infant about one-tenth of its present age. In
the last decade alone, astronomers have surveyed more than a million objects in the sky. They
have examined hundreds of new galaxies and have witnessed the birth and death of stars. They
have confirmed the existence of antimatter and have even photographed light bent by the huge
gravitational force near a black hole. On the home front, they have made new attempts to study
a passing comet, have examined an asteroid, and have dropped a robot on Mars. Impressed by the
colorful pictures of deep space taken by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, one is urged to
ask the question that all astronomers have yet to answer to everybody's satisfaction, "Are we
alone in the universe?"
While we are tempted and have every reason to believe that there should be life forms
elsewhere in the universe, no researcher has been able to confirm the existence of any beyond a
doubt. Hollywood imagination aside, no real clues exist to prove the existence of either a
lovable E.T. or an evil alien species. We know, however, that it has taken humans only 5
million years to become what they are today, and that there are millions of solar systems out
there just like ours. Thus it seems reasonable to assume that the universe, currently believed
to be just over 9 billion years old and measuring 9 billion light years across, should have had
plenty of time and enough platforms to create life many times over. Scientists once discovered
some fossil remains of a worm-like creature on Mars, although the evidence remains unclear.
Astronomers are not just looking inside our solar system; they are also using powerful radio
telescopes to pick up intelligent sounds from deep space. So far, however, there has been no
signal.
If there are life forms elsewhere, what would they look like? Do they breathe oxygen as we
do? Do they need water and light? Do they have hands and feet, or do they walk on all fours? All
these seem good questions, but they are all too preoccupied with our familiar observation of
life as it is on earth. Perhaps we need to think more creatively. In fact, many scientists have
all but abandoned models based on the human body. Intelligent life may be found elsewhere in
conditions totally unacceptable for humans. Alien colonies may live in total darkness and
without water or oxygen. In fact, water and oxygen may kill them just as sulfuric acid and
carbon dioxide will kill us. They may have sensors and do not need eyes to see or ears to hear;
they may not even have hands or feet. They may, in short, not look like any living creature on
earth.
And what if they were searching for us? How do we tell them what we are and where we are?
Since the early 70s, American scientists have seriously studied the question of introducing
human beings to other intelligent civilizations. Launched in 1977, both Voyager I and II
carried a 12-inch gold-plated copper record identifying their time and place of origin. On the
disk are also 116 images of Earth and greetings in 55 languages, including one in Mandarin and
one in Taiwanese. Escaping the solar system at 57 thousand miles per hour, already over 7
billion miles away from the sun, the Voyagers would take 40 thousand years to reach the next
planetary system. When their batteries dry up in 2020, humans will never hear from them again.
Perhaps a million years from now, in some distant corner of the universe, the spacecraft will
encounter some unknown aliens. With some cleverness and luck, they may be able to hear again an
ancient message in an unfamiliar language saying: "hello from the children of planet Earth."
When this will happen, and if it will happen at all, we'll never know.
Until we receive our first visitors from outer space, no one is sure of what life elsewhere
would be like, or if there's intelligent life out there. What would be your best guess?
--Written by David Wible-____________________________________________________extraterrestrial ["EkstrJtJ`restrIJl] adj. 外星的
announce [J`nZUns] v.t. 宣告
universe [`yunJ"vRs] n. 宇宙
speck [spEk] n. 一小點
quasar [`kwesar] n. 類星體
billion [`bIlyJn] n. 十億
infant [`InfJnt] n. 嬰兒
decade [`dEkedx dEk`ed] n. 十年
astronomer [J`stranJmK] n. 天文學家
examine [Iq`zAmIn] v.t. 仔細觀察
galaxy [`qAlJksI] n. 銀河
witness [`wItnIs] v.t. 親眼目睹
confirm [kJn`fRm] v.t. 確認
antimatter [`AntI"mAtK] n. 反物質
gravitational ["qrAvJ`teSJnL] adj. 引力的
home front ["hom `frVnt] n. 後方
comet [`kamIt] n. 彗星
asteroid [`AstJ"rOId] n. 小行星
robot [`robJt] n. 機器人
Mars [marz] n. 火星
space [spes] n. 太空
orbiting [`OrbItIG] adj. 繞（天體）周圍軌道而行的
telescope [`tElJ"skop] n. 望遠鏡
urge [Rdj] v.t. 驅使
Hollywood [`halI"wUd] n. 好萊塢
beyond a doubt 無庸置疑地
alien [`elIJn] n. 外星人
species [`spiSIz] n. 種
reasonable [`rizNJbL] adj. 合理的
fossil [`fasL] n. 化石
evidence [`EvJdJns] n. 證據
oxygen [`aksJdjJnx `aksIdjJnx-`aksIdjIn] n. 氧氣
preoccupied [pri`akyJ"pZId] adj. 先入為主的
sulfuric acid [sVl`fyUrIk `AsId] n. 硫酸
carbon dioxide [`karbJnYdZI`aksZId] n. 二氧化碳
civilization ["sIvLJ`zeSJn] n. 文明
launch [lOntS] v.t. 發射
Voyager I, II [`vOIIdjK "wVn "tu] n. 航海家一號，二號
copper [`kapK] n. 銅；銅色；銅製品
battery [`bAtJrI] n. 電池
spacecraft [`spes"krAft] n. 太空船
message [`mEsIdj] n. 訊息
planet [`plAnIt] n. 行星
Part B 讀後練習-Post-Reading Practice
I. True or False: Mark T for a true statement and F for a false statement.
Ｔ
Ｔ
Ｆ
Ｆ
Ｆ
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The most distant object scientists have identified is a quasar.
Both Voyager I and II are leaving the solar system.
All aliens should look like humans.
Scientists were able to confirm the existence of a worm-like creature on Mars.
Intelligent life may be found elsewhere in conditions totally accepted for humans.
II. Comprehension Questions: Choose the best answer to each question.
Ｂ
Ａ
Ｂ
Ｃ
Ｄ
1. In the last decade, scientists have NOT
.
(A) dropped a robot on Mars
(B) found living creatures on Mars
(C) found antimatter in the universe
(D) studied a passing comet
2. Since the 1970s, American scientists have pondered the question of
(A) introducing humans to alien civilizations
(B) defending against attack by aliens
(C) making movies like E.T.
(D) finding worms on Mars
3. Both Voyager I and II were launched in
.
(A) 1976
(B) 1977
(C) 1978
(D) 1979
4. The Voyagers will reach another planetary system in
.
(A) 115 years
(B) 2020
(C) 40 thousand years (D) 7 billion years
5. According to this passage, are we alone in the universe?
(A) No, we can prove that we are not the only living creatures.
(B) No, we are not alone.
(C) Yes, we are alone.
(D) We don't know.
.
Part C 字彙練習-Vocabulary Practice
Match the words: Fill in the blanks using the following words.
examined
decade
witnessed
galaxies
announced
confirm
urged
oxygen
preoccupied
beyond a doubt
American scientists
announced
that they had identified the most distant object in the
universe, that is, a quasar billions of light years away. In the last
decade , astronomers
have
examined
hundreds of new
galaxies
and have
witnessed
the birth and death of
stars. While they have made attempts to investigate the other possible beings in the universe,
one is
urged
to ask, "Are we alone in the universe?" Although we are tempted to believe that
there should be life forms in the universe, no researcher has been able to
confirm
the
existence of any
beyond a doubt . Nevertheless, if there are life forms elsewhere, what do they look like? Our
assumption are all too
preoccupied
with our familiar observation of life as it is on earth.
Alien colonies may live in total darkness and without water or
oxygen . They may not look
like any living creature on Earth.