大学英语精读9单元

It is a humorous essay. But after reading it you will surely find that the author is most serious in writing it.这是一篇幽默小品。但你读完以后一定会发现，作者写这篇文章是极为严肃的。There 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. 本周金星上异常群情激动。金星上的科学家首次把一颗卫星成功地送上了地球，此后卫星便不断地发回信号和照片。The 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). 卫星对准发射的地区叫曼哈顿（是以金星上伟大的天文学家曼哈顿教授命名的，在两万光年之前该教授用望远镜首次发现了这个地区）。Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals,Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to the feasibility of a manned flying saucer landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology. 由于天气条件极为有利，信号极为清晰，金星科学家们从而获得了有关载人飞碟能否在地球上着陆的宝贵资料。于是，在金星理工学院举行了一次记者招待会。“We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing, “Prof. Zog said, “that there is no life on Earth.“ “根据上周发射的卫星所提供的资料，”佐格教授说，“我们已经得出结论：地球上没有生命。”“How do you know this?” the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked. “这您是怎么知道的呢?”《金星晚报》的科学记者问。“For 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.”“首先，曼哈顿地区的地球表面均由坚固的混凝土构成，那里什么东西也无法生长。另外，大气层中充满了一氧化碳和其他致命的气体，任何人呼吸了这种空气都不可能幸存下来。”“What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?”“这对我们的飞碟计划来说又意味着什么呢?”“We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much heavier flying saucer than we originally planned.”“这意味着我们必须随身携带我们所需要的氧气，这样一来，飞碟就要比我们原先计划的重很多。”“Are there any other hazards that you discovered in your studies?”“你们在研究中有没有发现其他什么危险呢?”“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.”“请看这张照片。诸位看到在地球表面上方飘浮的这片深黑色的云层吗?我们把它叫做爱迪生联合电气公司带。虽然我们还不知道它含有什么成分，但是它很可能会给我们带来许多麻烦，我们还必须做更多的试验，然后才能把金星人送往地球。“Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite 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.”“这边，诸位可以看到像是一条河似的东西，不过卫星探测的结果表明它已被污染，河水不适于饮用。这意味着我们必须自己带水，这就会给飞碟增加更多的重量。”“Sir, what are all those tiny black spots on the photographs?”“先生，照片上那些小小的黑点是什么？”“We're not certain They seem to be metal particles that move along 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.”“我们也不清楚。它们好像是一些沿着某些轨道运动的金属微粒。它们排放气体，发出噪音，而且不断地相互碰撞。那儿有很多这样的轨道，很多这样的金属微粒，要使飞碟在那儿着陆而不被某一颗微粒撞毁是很难办到的。”“What are those stalagmite projections sticking up?”“那些笔直竖立的石笋状凸出物是什么东西？”“They're some type of granite formations that give off light at night. Prof. Glom has named them skyscrapers since they seem to be scraping the skies.”“它们是某种夜间会发光的花岗岩结构。格洛姆教授把它们叫做摩天大楼，因为他们好像已经擦到了天。”“If all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?”“如果您所说的都是事实，那飞碟计划不就要推迟好多年吗？”“Yes, but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds.”“是的，但一俟格拉布贷款基金会把追加的资金拿给我们，我们就会立即实施这一计划。”“Prof. Zog, Why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?”“佐格教授，既然地球上没有生命，那我们为什么还要花费亿万个零元向那儿发射飞碟呢？”“Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmosphere, then we can live anywhere.”“因为如果我们金星人能学会在地球的大气层中呼吸的话，那我们就可以在任何地方生存了。”