大学英语第二册精读：Unit201 IS THERE LIFE ON EARTH?
Unit One
Text
is a humorous essay. But after reading it you
will surely find that the author is most serious in writ-
ing it.
THERE LIFE ON EARTH?
Art Buchwald
was great excitement on the planet of Venus this week. For the
first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet
Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as. photographs ever
since.
5 satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan (named
after the great Venusian astronomer Prof. Manhattan, who first discovered
it with his telescope 20,000 light years ago).
of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals,
Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to the feasibility
10 of a manned flying saucer landing on Earth. A press conference was held
at the Venus Institute of Technology.
have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite land-
ing, "Prof. Zog said, "that there is no life on Earth. "
"How do you know this?" the science reporter of the Venus Evening
15 Star asked.
one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is composed
of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere
is filled with carbon monoxide and other deadly gases and nobody could
possibly breathe this air and survive. "
20 does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is con-
cerned?"
"We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much
heavier flying saucer than we originally planned. "
there any other hazards that you discdvered in your studies? "
25 "Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black cloud hovering
over the surface of Earth? We call this the Consolidated Edison Belt. We
don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and
we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there."
here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite
30 findings indicate it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink. This
means We shall have to carry our own water, which will add even greater
weight to the saucer. "
, what ara all those tiny black spots on the photographs? "
"We're not certain. They seem to be metal particles that move along
35 certain paths. They emit gases, make noise and keep crashing into each
other. There are so many of these paths and so many metal particles that
it is impossible to land a flying saucer without its being smashed by one. "
are those stalagmite projections sticking up?"
"They're some type of granite formations that give off light at night.
40 Prof. Glom has named them skyscrapers since they seem to be scraping the
skies. "
all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program
several years? "
"Yes, but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added
45 funds."
. Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to
land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there? "
"Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmospherh
sphere, then we can live anywhere. "
humorous /a. funny; that makes people laugh 幽默的
humor n.
essay / n. 散文，随笔
excitement n. the state or quality of being excited
Planet /n. large body in space that moves round a star,esp.
round the sun 行星
Venusian / a. of or having to do with the planet Venus金星的
n. supposed Venus being 金星人
satellite / n. spacecraft that goes round the planet earth and
sends back radio and television signals; heav-
enly body that goes round a planet (人造)卫星
signal / n. 信号; 暗号
astronomer / n. person who studies the science of the sun,
moon, stars and planets 天文学家
telescope / n. instrument with special glasses used for seeing
distant things
extremely / ad. very 极端, 非常
extreme a.
feasibility/ n. possibility of being carried out or don 可行性
feasible a.
manned / a. occupied by one or more persons 载人的
saucer / n. 浅碟；茶托
flying saucer n. 飞碟
conference / n. meeting
press conference n. meeting arranged by an important person to
which news reporters are invited to listen to
a statement or ask questions 记者招待会
technolo~y / n. 技术
conclusion / n. decision or opinion reached by reasoning 结论
conclude v.
reporter n. person who gathers news for a newspaper,magazine,
or radio or TV station 记者
compose / vt make up, form 组成, 构成
concrete / n. building material made by mixing cement with
sand, small stones and water 混凝土
atmosphere / n all tlie gases round the earth; air in a place
大气；空气
carbon / n. 碳
monoxide / n. 一氧化物
deadly a. causing death; likely to cause death 致命的
gas n. 气体
survive /savaiv/vi. remain alive; continue to live or exist 活下来;
幸存
vt. remain alive after; live longer than 经历…后还
活着；比…活得长
survival n
Program n. plan of what is to be done 计划
coricern / vt. be of importance or interest to; have an effect
on 涉及;关系到
oxygen / n. 氧；氧气
originally / ad. formerly 起初, 原来
original a.
hazard / n. danger
hover / vi. stay in or near one place in the air 盘旋
consolidated / a. united; combined 联合的
consolidate vt.
belt / n. area that has some special quality;zone(地)带
indicste / vt. show
indication n.
pollute / vt. make (air, water, soil, etc.) dirty with man-
made waste 污染
pollution n.
unfit / a. not good enough; not suitable
particle / n. 粒子；微粒
emit / vt. send out 散发 , 射击
emission n.
crash / v. fall or strike suddenly,violeritly and noisily
坠落；猛撞
smash / v. (cause to) break into pieces violently(使)碎裂
stalagmite / n 石笋
projection / n. sth.that stands out from a surface 凸出物
project v.
type / n. a particular kind, class or group 类型, 种类
granite / n. hard grey stone used for building 花岗岩
fotmation / n. sth.that is formed;way in which sth.is formed
形成（物）
skyscraper / n. very tall building 摩天大楼
scrape / vt. rub with sth. rough or sharp 刮, 擦
proceed / vi. contiriue after having stopped ( 停顿后 )
继续进行
fund / n. sum of money set apart or available for a
special purpose 资金 ; 基金
billion / n. one thousand million
zilch / n. zero; nothing at all
Phrases & Expressions
(be) known as also publicly called; named 以…闻名,通常名叫
name after . give the same name 以…名字命名
as to about, conceming 关于
base on / upon , use as a basis or foundation for 以…为基础 把…基于
for one thing…(for in the first place… (in the second place)
another)
be composed of have as members or parts 由…组成
as far as… be concerned to the degree that it matters to 就…而言
stick up stand upright; project 直立; 突出
give off emit; send out 发出 ; 散发出
set back delay the advance or development of 耽搁 ; 阻碍
Proper Names
Art Buchwald / 阿特·布奇沃德
Venus / 金星
Manhattan / 曼哈顿（纽约市中心区）
Zog / 佐格（姓氏）
Edison / 爱迪生（姓氏）
Glom / 格洛姆（姓氏）