英语文章阅读恒星

"我要模考网"里面的"英语阅读训练营"和"原版英文阅读"考友群里有很多生活类的原版文章."英语阅读训练营"里面的文章大部分是双语的.

自从人类第一次抬头望星空，就开始对星星产生了兴趣。有些行星有自己的运行轨道。如果是那样的，那么其中一颗星球上可能会有生命迹象。问题是离我们最近的星球也有四光年的距离。换句话说，以光速从它驶向地球需要4年的时间。或许地球上没有人会登陆那个星球，因为乘火箭的话，需要1000000年才能到达。

考研英语阅读理解汉语翻译

考研英语阅读不仅需要大量的词汇量，更需从答案着手，“慧眼识珠”，消除干扰答案，更加快速高效的做出选择。下面是我给大家准备的考研英语阅读理解真题及汉语翻译，欢迎大家阅读练习!

The marvelous telephone and television network that has now enmeshed the whole world, making all men neighbours, cannot be extended into space. It will never be possible to converse with anyone on another planet. Even with today's radio equipment, the messages will take minutes—sometimes hours—on their journey, because radio and light waves travel at the same limited speed of 186, 000 miles a second.

Twenty years from now you will be able to listen to a friend on Mars, but the words you hear will have left his mouth at least three minutes earlier, and your reply will take a corresponding time to reach him. In such circumstances, an exchange of verbal messages is possible—but not a conversation.

To a culture which has come to take instantaneous communication for granted, as part of the very structure of civilized life, this “time barrier” may have a profound psychological impact. It will be a perpetual reminder of universal laws and limitations against which not all our technology can ever prevail. For it seems as certain as anything can be that no signal—still less any material object—can ever travel faster than light.

The velocity of light is the ultimate speed limit, being part of the very structure of space and time. Within the narrow confines of the solar system, it will not handicap us too severely. At the worst, these will amount to twenty hours—the time it takes a radio signal to span the orbit of Pluto, the outer-most planet.

It is when we move out beyond the confines of the solar system that we come face to face with an altogether new order of cosmic reality. Even today, many otherwise educated men—like those savages who can count to three but lump together all numbers beyond four—cannot grasp the profound distinction between solar and stellar space. The first is the space enclosing our neighbouring worlds, the planets; the second is that which embraces those distant suns, the stars, and it is literally millions of times greater. There is no such abrupt change of scale in the terrestrial affairs.

Many conservative scientists, appalled by these cosmic gulfs, have denied that they can ever be crossed. Some people never learn; those who sixty years ago scoffed at the possibility of flight, and ten years ago laughed at the idea of travel to the planets, are now quite sure that the stars will always be beyond our reach. And again they are wrong, for they have failed to grasp the great lesson of our age—that if something is possible in theory, and no fundamental scientific laws oppose its realization, then sooner or later it will be achieved.

One day we shall discover a really efficient means of propelling our space vehicles. Every technical device is always developed to its limit and the ultimate speed for spaceships is the velocity of light. They will never reach that goal, but they will get very near it. And then the nearest star will be less than five years voyaging from the earth.[514 words]

11.For light to travel across the solar system, it will take_______.

[A] a year [B] nearly a day [C] two months [D] thirty minutes

12.The fact that it will never be possible to converse with someone on another planet shows that________

[A] radio messages do not travel fast enough

[B] no object can ever travel faster than light

[C] western culture has a special idea of communication

[D] certain universal laws cannot be prevailed against

13.Confronted with the new order of cosmic reality, many educated men________.

[A] become ignorant savage again [B] find the “time barrier” unbearable

[C] will not combine solar and stellar space[D] cannot adapt to the abrupt change of scale

14.Conservative scientists who deny that cosmic gulfs can ever be crossed will________

[A] laugh at the very idea of flight [B] learn a lesson as they did ten years ago

[C] find space travel beyond their reach[D] oppose the fundamental scientific laws

15.The author of the passage intends to show__________.

[A] the limitations of our technology [B] the vastness of the cosmic reality

[C] the prospect of planetary travel [D] the psychological impact of time and space

>>>>>>答案解析<<<<<<

核心词汇

enclose vt. *① [常用被动态] to surround sth., especially with a fence or wall, in order to make it separate(尤指用篱笆或围墙)围起来 例：A high wall enclosed the courtyard. 一堵高墙把院子围了起来。 ② 随信附上，随信装入 例：Please enclose a check with your order. 请您随定单附上支票。

en-?是构成动词的前缀，表示 ① “使处于某种状态，使有某种特征，使成为……”例：danger使陷入危险中，危害，危及，enlarge使变大，扩大，enslave使成为奴隶，奴役 ②“把……包住;包涵”例：encircle围绕，环绕，包围，encase把……放入箱(盒、袋等)内

lump n. ① a small piece of something solid, without a particular shape(不定形的)块例：There were lumps in the sauce. 酱汁中有块状的东西。②方糖 例：One lump or two? 要一块还是两块方糖?vt. to accept a situation or decision you do not like because you cannot change it 无奈地接受 例： I?m going to that party! Like it or lump it! 我打算去参加那个聚会!不管喜欢还是不喜欢!

[短语搭配] *lump sth. together 把……合在一起考虑;算在一起 例：Pacifists, atheists and journalists were all lumped together as “troublemakers”. 和平主义者、无神论者和记者都被归为“捣乱分子”。

超纲词汇

enmesh vt. *① 用网捕捉，使陷入网中;文中指“以电话和电视网络将整个世界联系起来” ② 使陷入，使卷入 例：be enmeshed in difficulties陷入困难中

stellar a.*① 恒星的，与星有关的 ② 极好的 例：the company?s stellar growth公司的良好发展

terrestrial a. ① 陆地的 *② 地球上的

长难句分析

1. The marvelous telephone and television network that has now enmeshed the whole world, makingall men neighbors, cannot be extended into space.

该句主干是一个被动句The marvelous telephone and television network... cannot be extended into space。其中that引导的定语从句做后置定语修饰network;分词短语making all men neighbors当结果状语，修饰整个定语从句。

2. To a culture which has come to take instantaneous communication for granted, as part of the very structure of civilized life, this “time barrier” may have a profound psychological impact.

该句主干是This “time barriers” may have a profound psychological impact。介词短语to a culture which... 充当状语成分，修饰句子主干，其中which引导的定语从句修饰a culture;介词短语as... 与前面的动词take构成“动词+复合宾语”的结构take sth. as sth.(把……看作……)。

3. Those who sixty years ago scoffed at the possibility of flight, and ten years ago laughed at the idea of travel to the planets, are now quite sure that the stars will always be beyond our reach.

该句主干是Those... are now quite sure that... 。who引导的定语从句修饰主语those;连词and 连接的两个动词短语scoffed...和laughed... 是并列关系，一起充当定语从句的谓语。that引导的从句充当表语。

语篇分析

本文题材涉及星际通信。作者告诉读者虽然人类在宇宙中的交流受到速度的限制，但是跨越宇宙鸿沟的可能性是存在的。它是一篇现象解释型文章，按照“指出现象—解释现象—提出新观点”脉络展开论述，可分成三部分。

第一、二段为第一部分，指出现象：星际之间的通信受到速度的限制。

第一段：开篇指出，地球上的通信系统无法延伸到太空中，因此人类无法实现星际之间的对话。接着分析原因：无线电波和光波传播速度的限制(the same limited speed)使信息需要花很长时间才能到达(the messages will take minutes—sometimes hours—on their journey)。

第二段：以火星为例，具体说明星际之间无法实现通常意义上的“对话”(a conversation is impossible)。由此可以推知，未来星际之间的交流将采用延时通信(communication delay)的方式。

第三、四段，分析现象带来的影响。

第三段：指出“时间障碍”对人们造成的心理影响(a profound psychological impact)，即人们意识到技术不能战胜宇宙的普遍规律和限制(universal laws and limitations against which not all our technology can ever prevail)。

第四段：指出速度限制在狭小的太阳系内(the narrow confines of the solar system)不会给人们带来不便(will not handicap us too severely)，并且以冥王星为例说明速度的限制在太阳系内最多造成20个小时的延迟。

第五至七段：作者就星际之间的通信问题提出新的观点。

第五段：提出观点一，即，人们应该认识到太阳系之外的宇宙更浩瀚，天体规模的变化更突然(greater， abrupt change of scale)。该段批评了一些人对宇宙的无知(like savages，cannot grasp the profound distinction)，并且对太阳系和恒星系两个概念给予了界定。

第六段：批评那些否认跨越宇宙鸿沟的可能性(appalled by these cosmic gulfs, denied that they can ever be crossed)的保守的科学家。从理论上进行论证：人类的发展证明，只要是理论上证明可能的事情，人类迟早能够实现(If something is possible in theory, then sooner or later it will be achieved)。

第七段：提出观点二，即，技术的发展将使跨越宇宙鸿沟变为可能。该段指出未来的航天器驱动方式(a really efficient means of propelling our space vehicles)将会接近速度的极限。全文最后以展望星际旅行的前景结束。

文章总体特点：全文内容分为两大部分，前面部分围绕“宇宙速度限制”展开，后面部分围绕“跨越宇宙鸿沟的可能性”展开。前面部分是铺垫，后面部分才是作者观点的论述，即全文的重心。

试题命制分析

通过对文章的整体分析，我们可以从以下几个方面命题，考查考生的阅读理解能力。

1. 事实细节题

(1) 文中出现多处数字，包括：无线电波或者光波的传播速度都是每秒186, 000英里;无线电信号达到冥王星的时间是20小时;未来乘坐航天器达到最近的恒星需要大约5年的时间。针对这些细节可以命制数字细节题，参见试题11。

(2) 第一段含有两个层次的因果关系：人类无法实现星际之间的对话是因为信号传送时间长;信号传送时间长是因为无线电波或者光波传播速度的限制。这里可以命制因果细节题，参见试题12。

(3) 结合第三段和第四段考查“速度限制或时间障碍”造成的影响。如：[A] 人类不再盲目崇拜技术;[B] 给人类生活带来诸多不便;[C] 星际之间无法进行交流;[D] 诱发人类一些心理疾病。(答案：[A])

2. 推理引申题

(1) 针对第二段关于与火星上的人交流的描述考查未来星际之间的交流方式。

(2) 针对第四段末句考查太阳系内通信延迟的时间最长可以达多久。

3. 人物观点、态度题

第五段和第六段提到了两类保守的人，根据文中的描述，可以命制人物观点题，参见试题13和14。也可以考查他们看待时间障碍问题的态度，如：[A] 肯定的;[B] 否定的;[C] 中立的;[D] 含糊不清的.。(答案：[A])

4. 作者观点、态度题

(1) 考查作者对文中提到的两类人的态度，如：[A] 褒扬;[B] 批判;[C] 同情;[D] 厌恶。(答案：[B])

(2) 根据第五段至第七段，考查作者观点，如：[A] 人类在浩瀚的宇宙中十分渺小;[B] 人们应该了解太阳系之外的宇宙;[C] 技术的力量是无穷无尽的;[D] 宇宙速度的限制迟早会被突破。(答案：[B])

5. 词义句意题

(1) 考查第五段lump together的含义。

(2) 根据上文推测第六段末句If something is possible in theory... then sooner or later it will be achieved的含义，如：[A] 未来的人类终将跨越宇宙鸿沟;[B] 任何设想都不要违背自然规律;[C] 保守的人永远不能正确预见未来;[D] 理论与实际的距离只是时间问题。(答案：[A])

试题精解

11.光穿过太阳系需要多长时间?

[A] 一年。 [B] 将近一天。 [C] 两个月。 [D] 30分钟。

[精解] 答案B本题考查考生的数字推理能力。原文中没有直接的回答，但是第一段末句指出：“无线电和光的传播速度相同。”第四段最后一句又指出，无线电传到太阳系中最远的冥王星，要20小时。所以[B]项正确。

12.人无法和另外一个星球的人进行对话这一事实表明_____。

[A] 无线电的传播速度不够快 [B] 没有物体能比光的速度快

[C] 西方文化有特别的交流观念[D] 某些普遍规律不能被战胜

[精解] 答案A本题考查事实细节。第一段后两句指出，“永远不可能和另一个星球人进行对话。即使有今天的无线电设备，信息传播也需要好几分钟，甚至好几个小时，因为无线电和光波都是以有限速度传播。”第二段中举了一个和火星人交流的例子，得出的结论是：“交换语言信息是可能的，但是不可能对话。”[A]项指的是传播速度的限制，为正确项。[B]是第三段末句的改写，是事实，但它与无法实现星际对话没有必然的联系。[C]项在第三段提到，但“认为即刻交流是理所当然的文化”是人思维局限的表现，而“人无法和另外一个星球的人进行对话”是自然规律事实，后者不能表明前者。该段也提到，“时间的局限性”(即无法和外星人进行对话)提醒我们不是所有的技术都能战胜普遍规律和限制，因此这里说明的是“技术的局限性”，而不是[D]项中的“规律的不可战胜性”。

13.面对宇宙现实的新秩序，许多受过教育的人士________。

[A] 又变成无知的野人 [B] 发现“时间局限性”不可容忍

[C] 将不会把太阳系和恒星系结合起来[D] 不能适应这种突然的大规模的变化

[精解] 答案D本题考查事实细节。文章第五段第二句提到，“许多在别的方面受过教育的人，像只能数到三的野人，无法明白太阳系和恒星系的巨大不同。……(后者比前者)确实大几百万倍，地球上的事物在规模上没有这样巨大的变化。”可见，他们无法适应如此巨大的规模变化，选择[D]。[A]项拘泥于字面含义，没有理解文中举出“野人”只是为了说明那些受过教育的人在变化面前的无知，而不是真的变成了野人。[B]项文中未提，[C]项中“结合”应换成“区分”，才符合文意。

14.否认人们可能跨越巨大宇宙鸿沟的那些保守科学家将会_______。

[A] 嘲笑飞行的想法 [B] 像10年前一样吸取教训

[C] 发现太空旅行非他们所能及[D] 反对基本的科学规律

[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。倒数第二段谈到这些保守科学家时，作者指出：“一些人从来不吸取教训;他们60年前怀疑飞行的可能性，10年前耻笑飞往其他行星的想法，现在又满有把握地说恒星是我们永远不能及的。”据此，最为相近的答案应该是[C]。

15.从课文中，我们可以推出作者的意图是要说明_______。

[A] 我们技术的局限性 [B] 宇宙现实的广阔性

[C] 星际旅行的前景 [D] 时间和空间对心理上的影响

[精解] 答案C本题考查写作目的。综观全文，作者从无线电和光速谈起，批评了很多持保守态度的人，进而论证人类终将跨越宇宙鸿沟。文章最后描述未来星际旅行标志了人类跨越宇宙鸿沟的实现。可见，[C]是作者要说明的问题。

全文翻译

神奇的电话和电视网络将整个世界连结在一起，使所有的人都成了邻居，但是却不能延伸到宇宙中。你永远不可能和另一个星球上的人进行对话。即使有今天的无线电设备，信息传播也需要好几分钟，有时候甚至好几个小时，因为无线电和光波都是以每秒186, 000英里的有限速度传播。

20年后你能够听来自火星上的朋友说话，但是话从他口中说出至少要经过三分钟你才可以听到，你的回答也将经过相同的时间才能到达他耳中。在这样的状况下，交换语言信息是可能的，但是不可能对话。

对于一个认为即刻交流理所当然，并将其视为文明生活完整结构的一部分的文化来说，这种“时间障碍”可能会有深刻的心理影响。时间障碍(即无法和外星人进行对话)永远提醒我们不是所有的技术都能战胜普遍规律和限制。看起来非常确定的事情是：没有信号，更不用说物质，可以比光传播的速度快。

作为时空结构的一部分，光速是终极速度极限。在太阳系狭小的范围内，它不会给我们带来太严重的不便。最糟糕的情况也就是20小时，即无线电信号越过最远的冥王星的轨迹的时间。

正是当我们走到太阳系的界限之外的时候，我们开始面对着一个全新的宇宙秩序。即使在今天，许多在别的方面受过教育的人，像只能数到三而把三以上的数字都统称为四的野人，他们无法明白太阳系和恒星系的巨大不同。前者是围绕我们邻近的世界即行星的宇宙，后者是围绕那些遥远的恒星的宇宙。(后者比前者)确实大几百万倍，地球上的事物在规模上没有这样巨大的变化。

许多保守的科学家惊讶于这些宇宙鸿沟之大，因此否认跨越它们的可能性。有些人永远也不会进步：他们60年前怀疑飞行的可能性，10年前耻笑飞往其他行星的想法，现在又满有把握地说恒星是我们永远不能及的。他们再一次地错了，因为他们没有领悟我们这一时代的教训——如果某些东西从理论上说是可能的，并且没有一些基本的科学法则反对它的实现的话，它早晚都会实现。

有一天，我们会发现一种真正有效的航天器驱动方式。每一个技术发明都会发展到极限，而宇宙飞船的最终速度是光速。它们永远不会达到这个速度，但是它们将会与这个速度非常接近。那时，离地球最近的恒星用不了5年就可以到达。

在世界经济全球化及中国加入WTO的形势下,社会需要大量能够用英语在国际上进行科技、经贸、法律和 文化 等方面交流的专业人才。下面是我带来的英语 文章 阅读带翻译，欢迎阅读!英语文章阅读带翻译篇一 In the public interest The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from high-handed or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries like Denmark, Norway, Finland, and New Zealand. Even countries with large populations like Britain and the United States are seriously considering imitating the Swedes. The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is 'Justiteombudsman', but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the 'J.O.' or 'Ombudsman'. The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and he examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work. A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaint was justified and the Chief of Police stoutly denied the accusation. It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his lawyers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in he official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts. The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed. 斯堪的纳维亚半岛各国实行开明的社会政策，受到全世界的推崇。在瑞典，已逐渐形成了一种完善的制度以保护每个公民不受专横的和不称职的政府官员的欺压。由于这种制度行之有效，已被其他国家采纳。 是瑞典人首先认识到政府工作人员如文职人员、警官、卫生稽查员、税务人员等等也会犯错误或者自以为在为公众服务而把事情做过了头。早在1809年，瑞典论会就建立一个保护公民利益的制度。议会内有一个代表各政党利益的委员会，由它委派一位称职的人选专门调查个人对国家的意见。此人官衔为“司法特派员”，但瑞典人一般管他叫“J.O.”，即“司法特派员”。司法特派员不受任何政治压力的制约。他听取社会各阶层的各种大小意见，并进行调查。由于意见均需用书面形式提出，司法特派员每年平均收到1,200封信。他有8位律师作他的助手协助工作，每封信都详细批阅。司法特派员的工作没有什么秘密可言，他的信件是公开的，供公众监督。如果公民的意见正确，司法特派员便为他伸张正义。司法特员采取的行动因意见的性质不同而有所不同。他可以善意地批评某位官员，也可以甚至向议会提议修改某项法律。下述事件是司法特派员工作的一个典型例子。 一个住在瑞典乡村的外国人写信给司法特派员，抱怨说他受到警察的虐待，原因就是因为他是个外国人。司法特派员立即写信给当地警察局长，请他寄送与此事有关的材料。材料中没有任何文字记载证明外国人所说的情况符合事实，警察局长矢口否认这一指控。司法特派员难以处理。但是，当他又收到住在同一村庄的另一个外国人写的一封内容类似的投诉信时，他立即派出一位律师前去调查。律师证实有个警察确实多次粗鲁地对待外国人。警察歧视外国人的事在官方档案中不可能加以记载，司法特派员只有派他的代表去核对事实才能了解真相。当事的警察受到严厉的斥责，并被告知，如果再有人投诉他，他将受到起诉。司法特派员及时采取的行动，迅速制止了这一起不愉快的事件，不然这件事可能因未得到人们注意而不了了之。 英语文章阅读带翻译篇二 Instinct or cleverness? We have been brought up to fear insects. We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good. Man continually wages war on item, for they contaminate his food, carry diseases, or devour his crops. They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat against our lighted windows. We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. Reading about them increases our understanding with out dispelling our fears. Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch. No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinaing. We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives. We enjoy staring at them entranced as they go about their business, unaware (we hope) of our presence. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing home an enormous dead beetle ? Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree. The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house. I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches. During the summer, I noticed that the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither. Clusters of tiny insects called aphides were to be found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a laop colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them. I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though it failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape , making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphides. The tape was so sticky that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment. I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it. I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity. The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods! 我们自幼就在对昆虫的惧怕中长大。我们把昆虫当作害多益少的无用东西。人类不断同昆虫斗争，因为昆虫弄脏我们的食物，传播疾病，吞噬庄稼。它们无缘无故地又叮又咬;夏天的晚上，它们未经邀请便飞到我们房间里，或者对着露出亮光的窗户乱扑乱撞。我们在日常生活中，不但憎恶如蜘蛛、黄蜂之类令人讨厌的昆虫，而且憎恶并无大害的飞蛾等。阅读有关昆虫的书能增加我们对它们的了解，却不能消除我们的恐惧的心理。即使知道勤奋的蚂蚁生活具有高度组织性的社会里，当看到大群蚂蚁在我们精心准备的午间野餐上爬行时，我们也无法抑制对它们的反感。不管我们多么爱吃蜂蜜，或读过多少关于蜜蜂具有神秘的识别方向的灵感的书，我们仍然十分害怕被蜂蜇。我们的恐惧大部分是没有道理的，但去无法消除。同时，不知为什么昆虫又是迷人的。我们喜欢看有关昆虫的书，尤其是当我们了解螳螂等过着一种令人生畏的生活时，就更加爱读有关昆虫的书了。我们喜欢入迷地看它们做事，它们不知道(但愿如此)我们就在它们身边。当看到蜘蛛扑向一只苍蝇时，一队蚂蚁抬着一只巨大的死甲虫凯旋归时，谁能不感到敬畏呢? 去年夏天，我花了好几天时间站在花园里观察成千只蚂蚁爬上我那棵心爱的桃树的树干。那棵树是靠着房子有遮挡的一面暖墙生长的。我为这棵树感到特别自豪，不仅因为它度过了几个寒冬终于活了下来，而且还因为它有时结出些甘甜的桃子来。到了夏天，我发现树叶开始枯萎，结果在树叶背面找到成串的叫作蚜虫小虫子。蚜虫遭到一窝蚂蚁的攻击，蚂蚁从它们身上可以获得一种蜜。我当即动手作了一项试验，这项试验尽管没有使我摆脱这些蚂蚁，却使我着迷了24小时。我用一条胶带把桃树底部包上，不让蚂蚁接近蚜虫。胶带极粘，蚂蚁不敢从上面爬过。在很长一段时间里，我看见蚂蚁围着大树底部来回转悠，不知所措。半夜，我还拿着电筒来到花园里，满意地(同时惊奇地)发现那些蚂蚁还围着胶带团团转。无能为力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看见蚂蚁已因无望而放弃了尝试，结果却发现它们又找到一条新的路径。它们正在顺着房子的外墙往上爬，然后爬上树叶。我懊丧地感到败在了足智多谋的蚂蚁的手下。蚂蚁已很快找到了相应的对策，来对付我那套完全不科学的办法! 英语文章阅读带翻译篇三 From the earth: greatings Radio astronomy has greatly increased our understanding of the universe. Radio telescopes have one big advantage over conventional telescopes in that they can operate in all weather conditions and can pick up signals coming from very distant stars. These signals are produced by colliding stars or nuclear reactions in outer space. The most powerful signals that have been received have been emitted by what seem to be truly colossal stars which scientists have named 'quasars'. A better understanding of these phenomena may completely alter our conception of the nature of the universe. The radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in England was for many years the largest in the world. A new telescope, over twice the size, was recently built at Sugar Grove in West Virginia. Astronomers no longer regard as fanciful the idea that they may one day pick up signals which have been sent by intelligent beings on other worlds. This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. Highly advanced civilizations may have existed on other planets long before intelligent forms of life evolved on the earth. Conversely, intelligent being which are just beginning to develop on remote worlds may be ready to pick up our signals in thousands of years' time, or when life on earth has become extinct. Such speculations no longer belong to the realm of science fiction, for astronomers are now exploring the chances of communicating with living creatures (if they exist) on distant planets. This undertaking which has been named Project Ozma was begun in 1960, but it may take a great many years before results are obtained. Aware of the fact that it would be impossible to wait thousands or millions of years to receive an answer from a distant planet, scientists engaged in Project Ozma are concentrating their attention on stars which are relatively close. One of the most likely stars is Tau Ceti which is eleven light years away. If signals from the earth were received by intelligent creatures on a planet circling this star, we would have to wait twenty-two years for an answer. The Green Bank telescope in West Virginia has been specially designed to distinguish between random signals and signals which might be in code. Even if contact were eventually established, astronomers would not be able to rely on language to communicate with other beings. They would use mathematics as this is the only truly universal language. Numbers have the same value anywhere. For this reason, intelligent creatures in any part of the universe would be able to understand a simple arithmetical sequence. They would be able to reply to our signals using similar methods. The next step would be to try to develop means for sending television pictures. A single picture would tell us more than thousands of words. In an age when anything seems to be possible, it would be narrow-minded in the extreme to ridicule these attempts to find out if there is life in other parts of the universe. 天文学方面最新发展使得我们能够在银河系和其他星系发现行星。这是一个重要的成就，因为相对来说，行星很小，而且也不发光。寻找行星证明相当困难，但是要在行星上发现生命会变得无比艰难。第一个需要解答的问题是一颗行星是否有能够维持生命的条件。举例来说，在我们的太阳系里，对于生命来说，金星的温度太高，而火星的温度则太低。只有地球提供理想的条件，而即使在这里，植物和动物的进化也用了40亿年的时间。 一颗行星是否能够维持生命取决于它的恒星——即它的“太阳”——的大小和亮度。设想一下，一颗恒星比我们的太阳还要大，还要亮，还要热20倍，那么一颗行星为了维持生命就要离开的它的恒星非常远。反之，如果恒星很小，维持生命的行星就要在离恒星很近的轨道上运行，而且要有极好的条件才能使生命得以发展，但是，我们如何才能找到这样一颗行星呢?现在，没有一台现存的望远镜可以发现生命的存在。而开发这样一台望远镜将会是21世纪天文学的一个重要的研究课题。 使用放置在地球上的望远镜是无法观察到其他行星的生命的。地球周围温暖的大气层和望远镜散出的热量使得我们根本不可能找到比行星更小的物体。即使是一台放置在围绕地球的轨道上的望远镜——如非常成功的哈勃望远镜——也因为太阳系中的尘埃微粒而无法胜任。望远镜要放置在木星那样遥远的行星上才有可能在外层空间搜寻生命。因为我们越是接近太阳系的边缘，尘埃就越稀薄。一旦我们找到这样一颗行星，我们就要想办法将它的恒星射过来的光线遮暗，这样我们就能彻底“看见”这颗行星，并分析它的大气层。首先我们要寻找植物，而不是那种“小绿人”。行星上最容易生存下来的是细菌。正是细菌生产出我们在地球上呼吸的氧气。在地球上发展的大部分进程中，细菌是地球上唯一的生命形式。作为地球上的居民，我们总存有这样的希望：小绿人来 拜访 我们，而我们可以和他们交流。但是，这种希望总是只在科幻小说中存在。如果我们能够在另一颗行星上找到诸如细菌的那种低等生命，那么这个发现将彻底改变我们对我们自己的看法。正如美国国家航空和宇宙航空局的丹尼尔.戈尔丁指出的“在其他地方发现生命会改变一切。任何人类的努力和想法都会发生变化。”