Unit One   

     Text

                  It  is a  humorous essay. But  after reading it  you 
                      will surely find that the author is most serious in writ-
                      ing it.

  
                 IS THERE LIFE ON EARTH? 
                                                                                 
                                                                              Art Buchwald 

           
                                          
      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. 
5       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).
            Because  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.
            "We 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.
            "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. "
20         "What 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. " 
            "Are 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."
             "Over 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. " 
             "Sir, 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. " 
            "What 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. " 	
             "If  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."			
             "Prof .  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. "

      	               New Words

  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）