THE WATERY PLACE

Part I Pre-reading tasks

UFO's and Extraterrestrial Aliens: Why Earth Has Never

Been Visited

Have alien intelligences from other parts of the universe visited the earth? This page is an attempt to rationally look at the issue of UFO's and extraterrestrials. Within the last few years, scientists have gained considerable knowledge about the universe so that the question of extraterrestrial visitations can be addressed from a scientific, rational perspective.

Aliens visiting from elsewhere in the universe?

Have we been visited extra-terrestrial beings from elsewhere in the universe? First, I would like to eliminate the idea that we have been visited by beings located out-side our own galaxy. Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way is 2 million light years distant This means that if there were aliens in Andromeda it would take them longer than 2 million years to come to earth. Another problem is why they would want to visit our galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy is considerably larger than our galaxy.

If life were common in the universe, there should be many times more of it in Andromeda, then in our wimpy galaxy. Why would they even want to visit us? A third problem for potential aliens is detecting us We have been sending radio-waves for less than 100 years. It will be another 2 million years before those signals reach our closest neighboring galaxy. The light (and other electro-magnetic signals) that they now see represent the way the earth looked 2 million years ago .

It will be another 2 million years before those signals reach our closest neighboring galaxy. The light (and other electro-magnetic signals) that they now see represent the way the earth looked 2 million years ago .Beings in other galaxies would have no way of knowing that advanced life forms existed in our galaxy.

SETI - aliens in our own galaxy?

Scientists have been actively searching for extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy for the last forty years. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has extended out to 40,000 light years from earth (in comparison, the galaxy is 100,000 light years across). To date, no signal from any extra-terrestrial stellar system has ever been detected. A most optimistic estimate for the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy is 150.

. This would mean that each intelligent civilization would be separated by an average of 2,000 light years. Such vast distances make contact unlikely and finding other advanced civilizations improbable. If these civilizations exist, they will not detect our radio signals for another 1900 years. How will they even know we are here?.

Interstellar space travel - BIG problems

Obviously, our current rocket technology is incapable of providing the speed needed to make interstellar travel realistic. Matter/anti-matter engines might provide the power to accelerate near the speed of light. However, there is no way to contain or generate large amounts of anti-matter. The only way that we have done so now is through extremely large (miles across) particle accelerators

However, the meager few anti-matter particles generated are rapidly destroyed through interactions with ordinary matter. Nuclear power would provide a long-lived fuel supply for interstellar travel. Even so, such fuel would last only tens of years before being spent. Fusion power is yet to be harnessed, but would, likewise, fuel would eventually run out.

According to Frank Drake, "To send a spacecraft the size of a small airliner at one-tenth the speed of light requires as much energy as the US now produces in more than a hundred years." This does not sound practical to me! Assuming that fuel and propulsion problems could be eventually solved, there are other, more serious, problems to contend with. Traveling near the speed of light is no simple problem

Running into small particles (like the size of a grain of sand) would punch major holes in a space-craft, due to the high speed of impact According to Frank Drake, "At relativistic speeds, even a collision with a particle of a few grams results in something close in energy to a nuclear bomb blast. Not good news for the space travelers." A major biological problem seldom mentioned in the press is the blue shifting of the light from ordinary stars when traveling near the speed of light.

The Doppler effect of traveling at such speeds would blue shift ordinary visible light all the way to the wavelength of gamma and x-rays. Shielding gamma rays is next to impossible (they can even travel through the earth). When they do strike matter (like space traveler's bodies), the results are devastating. This problem alone might restrict the speed of space travel to a small fraction of the speed of light. Other significant problems would be involved in trying to keep biological organisms alive for many years of space travel.

The idea of making a self-contained bio-habitat is appealing, but impractical, due to the large amount of space required. A recent attempt to do this on earth was a miserable failure, since the designers failed to provide enough space to support all members of the small crew A second possible solution to the food problem would be to put the travelers into suspended animation. Currently, we have no idea how to do this, and it does not seem possible to do so.

The lack of gravity would likely be fatal within a couple years (determined from the effects of prolonged weightlessness among the astronauts of the Space Station). Generating gravity would be possible through spinning, but might severely restrict the design of propulsion systems. In addition, it would be impossible to carry enough food and water for such a trip. Two solutions are possible - though not within the technology that we currently possess. One solution is to recycle all carbon and water. (does not sound appetizing, does it?).

Possible new words and expressions:

1.     alien: foreign, unfamiliar, strange. 2.     visitation:(formal)official visit. 3.    galaxy: any of the large systems of stars

of outer space. 星系 4. devastating: very destructive.

5.   Andromeda: Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy ,Our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda, Andromeda is frequently referred to as M31.M31 is so distant it takes about two million years for light to reach us from there. 仙女座

6. wimpy: like a weak and timid person. 7.  interstellar: between the stars 8.  matter: physical substance in general(co

ntrasted with mind or spirit) 9.   particle: very small bit or piece of somet

hing. 微粒，粒子

10.   harness: control and use. 11.  propulsion: driving something forward or

being driven forward. 12. punch: make a hole in something 13. next to: almost

The Planets

Our solar system has nine planets

within it. These planets are :

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

and Pluto

Part II Pre-questions: 1.      Have you ever seen some movies or re

ad some science fictions about ET? If so, tell us about them.

2.      How many planets are there in the Universe? Can you name them?

3.      Do you think there are lives there? And state your reasons.

Part III Comprehension questions: 1.   According to the passage, have Ali

ens ever visited our planet? And list his reasons.

2.    Is it possible for Aliens to visit us? And support yourself .

3.    What obstacles the interstellar space travel?

Keys: 1.  There are nine planets in the Universe.The

y are:Mercury,Venus,Mars, Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,Pluto and Ea

rth. 2.  The Aliens have never visited our planet.T

he reasons are in the second paragraph. 3.    It is impossible for Aliens to visit us ,The r

easons are in the fourth paragraph.  4. The answer also lies in the fourth paragra

ph.

Part IV Language points:

1.  on account of: (fml) because of examples : the house is not suitable for an old person on account of all those stairs. He failed to show up when the time is due on account of his illness.2. deputy: someone whose job is to help a sheriff in the U.S; the second most important person in a particular organization.examples: After serious years hard work he was promoted to deputy manager.

3. work up: spend time and effort preparing; produce or develop gradually.

examples :Let’s go for a walk to work up an appetite

Our plan is to further work up custom for our product.

4.   pension: an amount of money paid regularly to someone who can no longer earn money by working.

Examples: He has been receiving pension for six months.

5.   disable: make a person unable to use his/her body properly.

examples: The disabled in the army deserve our genuine respect.

.Nowadays there is a bias against the disabled persons.

6.   veteran: person with much or long experience, especially as a soldier.

examples: In 1976,many veterans gathered in America, many of whom caught a kind of disease named Legionaire’s disease.

7.  complicated: difficult to understand or deal with.

examples: The problem is too complicated to understand for a nine-year-old.

The new computer is even complicated for an expert to handle.

8.  knock off: (informal) stop working, usu, at the end of a day.

examples: When do you knock off for supper?

I’ll knock off early today cause I have to pick up my son from school.

9. hit the sack: (informal) go to bed. examples: guys ,time to hit the sack ,lights

out! He was worn out today so he hit the sack rig

ht after supper. 10.curse real steady: curse, swear, here re

al steady means “constantly” examples: The tourists who were delayed b

y the annoying weather cursed it silently.11.go over: examines the details of ;ch

eck; study carefully.

examples: I hastily went over my lessons the last night and sat for the exam.

Let go over the whole process of the accident in detail.

12. column: a series of numbers arranged one after the other; a tall pillar.

examples: Fill in the blanks in the left column and then line them with appropriate ones in the right column.

The roof of the temple was held up by a row of stone columns

.

13. rocket: a tube-like device containing material that burns rapidly and propels the tube through the air.

examples: American Robert H. Goddard was one of the forest scientists to experiment with rocket propulsion systems

14. bug: cause eyes to stick out ;annoy somebody.

Examples: The eyes of the monster can bug out when it get surprised.

Don’t bug me with silly questions.

15. alike: similar, in the same manner. examples: People, natives and

foreigners alike, hope to have a safe and secure living condition.

The twins look extremely alike. 16. observation: the act of watching

attentively. Examples: The injured was put under

close observation despite his constant protest.

Observation is very important for a chemical student.

17.locality: a particular place ,the position of something.

example: This is the very locality of the accident.

18. isolate: set apart; cut off from others. examples: When I am angry, I find it best to i

solate myself from others for a while. The persons who was suspected to have go

t the disease was isolated from others for the sake of prevention.

19.  adopt: take over and use as one’s own; take into one’s family and make legal son or daughter.

examples: The old maid adopted a home-less boy as her son.

Some immigrants discarded their old customs and adopted American ways.

20.  mode: a manner, way or method of doing.

examples: Railways are still the most important mode of transport in many less advanced countries.

You will have to change your mode of life when you immigrate to another country.

21.appearance:the way that somebody or something looks; an act of coming into sight.

examples:The manager gave every appearance of being a very dedicated employee.

Women’ magazines are full of ideas on how to make the best of one’s appearance.

22.  You could see the light break in on Cameron: You could notice Cameron was beginning to understood what they said.

23. go for: be attracted by ;like or prefer examples: Many young people go for pip mu

sic. What sort of novels do you go for? 24. blink: shut and open the eyes quickly; fla

sh on and off. examples: Staring for hours at a computer s

creen dries out the eyes as people blink less.

25.regardless of: without worrying about or taking account of

examples: Each state has two senators, regardless of population.

Regardless of the danger ha might face, he rushed into the burning building to save the people there.

26. nationality: the state of belonging to a particular nation; people who belong to a nation.

examples: Many different nationalities went to the U.S.

Her father in an American. Her father is an Italian. What nationality is she?

27.at one’s service: willing to help somebody.

examples: If you need any help, let me know, I am always at your service.

“Would you fetch my glasses from the kitchen?” “At your service, Madam.”

28.arrangement: plan; preparation (usu. pl, followed by about/for)

examples: The personnel department only called me ,but made no arrangements to see me .

The president does not want any special arrangements for her visit.

29.…but I couldn’t as much as fall down if someone had pushed the chair out from under me: but I was so scared that I could not do anything ,could not even fall down if someone took my chair away. All I could do was sit and stare.30.

30. supreme: greatest in power, rank or degree.

examples: The Supreme Court has the final say in this case.

The king in China enjoyed supreme authority.

31. go to pieces: get so astonished or upset that he lose control of himself.

examples: When she heard her boyfriend was shot ,she really went to pieces.

32. come around: visit someone at their house.

examples: why did not you come around when you were in Beijing on business

33. leave…alone: allow one to be by oneself; allow sb.or sth, to remain untouched or unchanged.

examples: It’s useless to talk to her since she is so upset; just leave her alone.

I told you to leave that vase alone---now you’ve broken it .

34.   garbage: nonsense; rubbish. examples: He was talking a lot of garbage abo

ut education. Family members hauled bags of trash out to t

he garbage can, and ,once or twice a week, collection crews would dump them into garbage truck

35.  heave: raise or lift with great effort examples: The teacher heaved Mary to her fe

et and took her to the office. The have to heave the piano onto the stage.

36. wit: (also wits)quick understanding, intelligence

examples: He lacked the wit to respond in time.

Peter had not the wits to realize the danger. 37. make like: (informal)act as if one were;

pretend to be (used in the patterns: make like sb./ sth ; make like +clause)

examples: The old man made like a monkey to amuse the children.

Bob made like he wad a fish blowing bubbles.

38. knock down: cause someone to fall to the ground by pushing or hitting them.

examples: The old man died in hospital after being knocked down by a car

The driver was in serious trouble for knocking down a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing.

39.  catch sight of : see for a moment. examples: I happened to catch sight of John

as he was going past our office.

40.   fade out: disappear gradually. examples: My daughter’s interest in drawin

g has now almost completely faded out. As it was getting colder and colder ,their ent

husiasm for doing sports in the morning faded out.

Part V Related Knowledge 1.  Skin the whole text and divide it into

parts, and sum up the main ideas of each parts.

2.    Cultural Notes: (1) Venus: the second major planet in

order of distance from the Sun. Also known ass Hesperus, the evening star, or Phosphorus, the morning star, Venus can be the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon and follows a near-circular path some 106million kilometers from the Sun,taking225days to complete one orbit.

Brief introduction of the authorIsaac Asomov (1920~1992):

Russian-born American writer and scientists. He was a distinguished bio-chemist, but is more widely known as the author of many works of many works of science fiction, books on science for non-scientists, and essays on a wide variety of subjects. Among his best-known science fiction are I, Robot and the Foundation trilogy.

(3) extraterrestrial life: life forms that may have evolved on other planets. There is no hard evidence at present that life exists on the Earth. Most UFOs have been satisfactorily explained as become natural or man-made, and the

Viking missions to Mars ere inconclusive in testing for the existence o life in that planet. Nevertheless, searched have been and are being made for signs that life has arisen in other parts of the universe.

Certain knowledge either that life is confined to planet Earth or has been found elsewhere would have the profoundest philosophical implications for mankind.

(4) the congress: The Congress is one of the three branches of the US federal government, the legislative branch. Congress has two houses, the Senate and the House of Representative. The

main job of congress is making laws. Before a new law can be made ,both houses have to pass it, and it must then have the approval of the President.

(5) the Supreme Court: The judicial branch is one of the three branched of US federal government and operates the system of law courts. The Supreme Court in Washington.D.C. is the highest court in the US and is very powerful.

 

comprehension questions: 1.Why is Bart Cameron not approachable by

April14? 2. How did the flying saucer land in Earth? 3. What did the two men from space look

like? 4. How did the author feel at the sight of the

extraterrestrials? 5. How did Bart respond to the arrival of the

two strangers? 6. According to the two visitors, why did they

choose Twin Gulch as their first contact? 7.     What was the main purpose of the

extraterrestrials’ trip?

7. What was the main purpose of the extraterrestrials’ trip?

8. What was Bart’s response to the guests’request?

9.  what did Bart threaten to do to the two aliens?

10. How did the two men from Venus interpret the sheriff’s threat? Then what did they decide to do?

11. How did the author feel about the guests’ departure?

12. What was “the stupid error” made by Bart?

Keys: 1 He is by nature a very impatient man,

and before he finished working up his income tax, that is April14, he will be more impatient and thus unapproachable.

2.It looks like a shooting star first, but then the track of light broadened into two things that looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came down without a sound.

3.They look exact like a earthling, re. para12.

4.The author was scared.

5.He was rather reluctant to receive them and he appeared very impatient. re.para14

6. Because it is isolated and peaceful. 7. Let the earthlings join their organization. 8. At first, he thought it was funny and he w

as sardonic, later he became furious. 9. He claimed that he would put them in jail

for ever.

10.They thought they were very unpopular and should leave at once, and they intended to put a warning around Earth thus prevent others coming.

11.The author must feel very astonished and was extremely angry about the way the sheriff handling with the aliens.

12.He mistakenly took the aliens from Venus as people from Venice.

Venus Venus is the second

planet from the Sun . It is often called

Earth's twin because it is almost the same

size as Earth.  It is surrounded by thick clouds of hot poisonous gases. 

It is hotter on Venus than it is on Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. 

The narrator claims that no ET will ever land on earth (paras1~3)

An account of the encounter with ETs ,making it clear that they will never return.

Before the ET’s arrival(paras4~5)

The landing of the flying saucer.(paras611)

The meeting with the ET(paras12~34)

After the ET’s departure(paras35~48)

The text is arranged by time order

Part VI Text Structure

Part VII Translation: Directions: Translate the following

passage into English, using the words and phrases given below.

Adopt alike appearance catch sight of complicated fade out isolate mode nationality observation on account of organization wit work up

根据一个民间组织的一篇报道，中国人，无论是城里人还是农村人都对外国人有一种好奇心理。以前就更是如此了，据说那时人们会因为他们的外表和他们的与众不同的衣着而对他们退避三舍。如果街区里住着外国人，当地人要么“隔离”他们，要么就小心翼翼地观察他们。外国人在几乎用尽了一切办法后才得以同他们建立了融洽的关系，而这种现象也就慢慢消失了。

Keys: According to a report from an organization,

Chinese, townspeople and countrymen alike adopt a curious attitude toward the people from different nationalities. It is even so in more removed past, it is said that then whenever people caught sight of a foreigner, they would evade them on account of their different appearance and mode of dressing. And the situation then was far complicated than you might suppose. If there were foreigners living in the same block,

the local people would either isolate them or gingerly put them under close observation. The foreigners were at their wit’s end to work up a harmonious relationship with them, and gradually this phenomenon faded away.

Text B Key words exercises: Take…for granted be true of detect

reliable stable Orbit be apt to (do) evolution endur

e universe Dispose of existence in other words in t

heory in the process of In the connection with for one thing in p

articular for instance capable

1.The dentist could _________no decay in her teeth.

2.Tom is _________,he eats no fish and plays the game.

3.The country witnessed a flourishing economic development thanks to a______ political condition.

4.How many satellites have been put into ________ around the earth?

5. I can’t ________ seeing children and old people suffer.

6. You are________ of better work than this.

7.Please remember __________the garbage when you leave.

8.Previously, most people __________that the earth is flat.

9.The poor creature lived a miserable_________ miles from the nearest town.

10.Boys_________ play with machinery than girls.

11.In politics, Britain has preferred _______to revolution.

12.The whole meal was good but the wine___________ was excellent.

13. It sounds fine ________,but will it work? 14. I am writing to you ____________ your j

ob application. 15. Several of his friends came, Ben, Mike, J

udi, ________. 16. Many capabilities are involved _______

___ of this simple task. 17.  There is another_________ named And

romeda near our own . 18. This problem is well beyond me,______

___ I don’t understand it .

19.___________ I have no money; and for another I am too busy.

20.The principal is also _________ in this case.Keys: 1.detest 2.reliable 3.stable 4.orbit 5.endure 6.

capable 7.dispose of 8.take it for granted 9. existence 10.are apt to 11.evolution 12.in particular

13.in theory 14. in connection with 15. for instance 16.in the process of 17.universe

18. in other words 19.for one thing 20.true of

Comprehension questions: 1.According to the passage, is there

planets circling other stars? 2.Have any stars been found with a

planetary system? 3.How can people best detect a planet? 4.Does life exist on any world that is part

of another planetary system? 5. On what kind of planet can life exist? 6.Suppose there are lives on planets,

does it means that they can develop technology like ours?

7.If there is aliens, what come they did not approach us?

 

Keys: 1.There is no sound evidence whether there

is such a star, and nowadays instrument can’t give us evidence, but in theory yes.

2. No, we can’t until now. 3. To choose a star which is very close to us,

very small and at the same time with a large planet.

4.There is no hard evidence .Everything is just remains in our reasoning.

5.The planet must have a reasonably stable orbit, have a right size(not too small but also not too large),

the proper chemical composition, and what kind of star it is revolving about.

6. The chances are slim. 4.6 millions years passed before a simple life appeared on earth, it would need longer time for them to evolve into intelligent beings, and they must be luck enough to endure a long time.

7. Long distance maybe prevented them, and they might have come without our consciousness, and whatever reasons.

Text structure

(para2~6)Through reasoning we assume there are planets circling other stars.

(para7~17)analyze the conditions of the existence of life on the planets

(paras18~19)the author didn’t negate the possibility of the aliens

(Para2~19) analyze the problem logically

(Para1) raise the problem: Is there life in planets circling other stars?

Crop circles,manmade or Alien signs?

The ongoing debate among many crop circle investigators and skeptics has been: Are they manmade or not? While many designs are clearly and admittedly made by people (even veteran crop circle researcher Colin Andrew estimates that up to 80 percent of them are probably manmade), some researchers insist that many formations are not - in fact, cannot be - made by humans

Placement. While most crop circles can be found in readily accessible fields, some are not. Some have been found within restricted areas, numerous

accounts of crop circles appearing inside military installations that are fenced off (quite securely!) from the surrounding area. Weaving. Researchers have long contended that the plants in genuine circles are weaved together in a particular way when they are flattened. Hoaxers have supposedly not been able to duplicate this pattern. "The plants are masterfully overlapping each other, and gently spiking into the standing crop in a spoke effect creating the circle,"

Dried ground. The soil beneath crop circles often appears inexplicably dehydrated, even after heavy rain. Bent unbendable plants. Some plants just should not be able to be bent, say some researchers. "Crop circle formations often appear in canola (oil seed rape) fields," says Joseph Mason. "This plant has a consistency like celery. If the stalk is bent more than about 45-degrees, it snaps apart. Yet, in a

Figure 1 above is a photograph showing a normal plant stem and a stem found bent in a crop formation. The bent node of the plant from inside a crop formation is elongated yet undamaged. Plant stems bent by people via mechanical means appear damaged and do not have the elongated nodes.

Figures 2 and 3 above are photographs demonstrating the microscopic changes in a plant inside a crop circle compared to a control sample taken from the same field.

'genuine' crop circle formation, the stalks are often bent flat at 90-degrees.

Altered seeds. Tests by some researchers have shown that seeds planted from crops that were part of crop circles grow abnormally

Crop yield. At the other end of the spectrum,some farmers have experienced increased crop yield in fields in which formations have appeared:

Most serious crop circle researchers agree that a majority of the formations are not being made by the human specie, and seem to be symbolic messages from an unknown, high intelligence. The researchers include people with advanced degrees in science and engineering. The reason is that the evidence supports the theory that human beings could not have made many of the some 10,000 crop circles world wide. Of course people can make circles that look "genuine" at first site. That was demonstrated more than ten years ago. The evidence includes a number of factors.

Have UFO arrived the Earth?Unidentified Flying Objects

(UFOs) are any object in the sky that the viewer cannot recognize. Many are due to various natural phenomena (planets, meteors, aurora, high altitude clouds, flocks of birds) or human activity (satellites, balloons, aircraft). Some are hoaxes or mistaken observations. A few are unexplained.

Many people believe that UFOs are craft piloted by intelligent extraterrestrial life that are visiting the Earth. There is no evidence that this is so

extraterrestrial life that are visiting the Earth. There is no evidence that this is so

The EndThanks for your attention