大学英语精读第6册课文全文翻译中英对照Word下载.docx
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大学英语精读第6册课文全文翻译中英对照@#@大学英语精读第6册课文全文翻译-中英对照@#@大学英语精读第6册全文课文翻译@#@THEQUESTFOREXTRATERRESTRIALINTELLIGENCE@#@Throughallofourhistorywehaveponderedthestarsandmusedwhetherhumanityisuniqueorif,somewhereelseinthedarkofthenightsky,thereareotherbeingswhocontemplateandwonderaswedo,fellowthinkersinthecosmos.Suchbeingsmightviewthemselvesandtheuniversedifferently.Somewhereelsetheremightbeveryexoticbiologiesandtechnologiesandsocieties.Inacosmicsettingvastandoldbeyondordinaryhumanunderstanding,wearealittlelonely;@#@andwepondertheultimatesignificance,ifany,ofourtinybutexquisiteblueplanet.@#@Thesearchforextraterrestrialintelligenceisthesearchforagenerallyacceptablecosmiccontextforthehumanspecies.Inthedeepestsense,thesearchforextraterrestrialintelligenceisasearchforourselves.@#@Inthelastfewyears--inone-millionththelifetimeofourspeciesonthisplanet--wehaveachievedanextraordinarytechnologicalcapabilitywhichenablesustoseekoutunimaginablydistantcivilizationseveniftheyarenomoreadvancedthanwe.Thatcapabilityiscalledradioastronomyandinvolvessingleradiotelescopes,collectionsorarraysofradiotelescopes,sensitiveradiodetectors,advancedcomputersforprocessingreceiveddate,andtheimaginationandskillofdedicatedscientists.Radioastronomyhasinthelastdecadeopenedanewwindowonthephysicaluniverse.Itmayalso,ifwearewiseenoughtomaketheeffort,castaprofoundlightonthebiologicaluniverse.@#@Somescientistsworkingonthequestionofextraterrestrialintelligence,myselfamongthem,haveattemptedtoestimatethenumberofadvancedtechnicalcivilizations--definedoperationallyassocietiescapableofradioastronomy--intheMilkyWayGalaxy.Suchestimatesarelittlebetterthanguesses.Theyrequireassigningnumericalvaluestoquantitiessuchasthenumbersandagesofstars;@#@theabundanceofplanetarysystemsandthelikelihoodoftheoriginoflife,whichweknowlesswell;@#@andtheprobabilityoftheevolutionofintelligentlifeandthelifetimeoftechnicalcivilizations,aboutwhichweknowverylittleindeed.@#@Whenwedothearithmetic,thesortsofnumberswecomeupwithare,characteristically,aroundamilliontechnicalcivilizations.Amillioncivilizationsisabreathtakinglylargenumber,anditisexhilaratingtoimaginethediversity,lifestylesandcommerceofthosemillionworlds.ButtheMilkyWayGalaxycontainssome250billionstars,andevenwithamillioncivilizations,lessthanonestarin200,000wouldhaveaplanetinhabitedbyanadvancedcivilization.Sincewehavelittleideawhichstarsarelikelycandidates,wewillhavetoexamineaverylargenumberofthem.Suchconsiderationssuggestthatthequestforextraterrestrialintelligencemayrequireasignificanteffort.@#@Despiteclaimsaboutancientastronautsandunidentifiedflyingobjects,thereisnofirmevidenceforpastvisitationoftheEarthbyothercivilizations.Wearerestrictedtoremotesignalingand,ofthelong-distancetechniquesavailabletoourtechnology,radioisbyfarthebest.Radiotelescopesarerelativelyinexpensive;@#@radiosignalstravelatthespeedoflight,fasterthanwhichnothingcango;@#@andtheuseofradioforcommunicationisnotashort-sightedoranthropocentricactivity.RadiorepresentsalargepartoftheelectromagneticspectrumandanytechnicalcivilizationanywhereintheGalaxywillhavediscoveredradioearly--justasinthelastfewcenturieswehaveexploredtheentireelectromagneticspectrumfromshortgammaraystoverylongradiowaves.Advancedcivilizationsmightverywellusesomeothermeansofcommunicationwiththeirpeers.Butiftheywishtocommunicatewithbackwardoremergingcivilizations,thereareonlyafewobviousmethods,thechiefofwhichisradio.@#@ThefirstseriousattempttolistenforpossibleradiosignalsfromothercivilizationswascarriedoutattheNationalRadioAstronomyObservatoryinGreenbank,WestVirginia,in1959and1960.ItwasorganizedbyFrankDrake,nowatCornelUniversity,andwascalledProjectOzma,aftertheprincessoftheLandofOz,aplaceveryexotic,verydistantandverydifficulttoreach.Drakeexaminedtwonearbystarsforafewweekswithnegativeresults.Positiveresultswouldhavebeenastonishingbecauseaswehaveseen,evenratheroptimisticestimatesofthenumberoftechnicalcivilizationsintheGalaxyimplythatseveralhundredthousandstarsmustbeexaminedinordertoachievesuccessbyrandomstellarselection.@#@SinceProjectOzma,therehavebeensixoreightothersuchprograms,allatarathermodestlevel,intheUnitedStates,CanadaandtheSovietUnion.Allresultshavebeennegative.Thetotalnumberofindividualstarsexaminedtodateinthiswayislessthanathousand.Wehaveperformedsomethinglikeonete