大学英语精读第6册课文全文翻译-中英对照

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1、探寻外星人自从人类有历史记载以来，我们一直在思索着星 星，反复考虑是否只有人类存在，或者说在太空 深处的某个地方是否存在其他同我们一样在不停 地思索着的生命，也就是宇宙中跟我们一起思考 的人。这样的人可能对自己和宇宙算法不同。在 别的什么地方可能存在着非常奇异的生物、技术 和社会。我们在一种空间和时间都超出人类理解 的宇宙环境里感到有点孤独。我们深思着根本的 意义，我们这个渺小的但精巧的蓝色星。探寻外星人就是为人类寻找一个普遍能接受的宇 宙环境。从最深层次的意义来说，探寻外星人就 是寻找我们自己。在过去的几年中一一在我们人类生活在这个 星球上的百万分之一的时间里，一一我们已经具有了一种非凡的能

2、力。这种技术能力能使我们搜 寻到无比遥远的文明世界，即使他们和我们一样 不先进。这种技术能力叫做射电天文学。它涉及到单 架射望远镜、阵列射电望远镜、高灵敏度的无线 电探测器，用于处理接收的信息的先进计算机以 及全身心投入的科学家们的想象力和技能。射电 天文学在过去的十年中已经打开了 一个研究宇宙 的新窗口。如果我们充分发挥自己的聪明才智去 努力，它可能会帮助我们弄清楚宇宙生物世界。 一些研究外星人问题的科学家，包括我自己，都 已努力设法对银河系的先进技术文明社会的数目 进行了估计一一先进技术文明社会定义为具有射 民天文学能力的社会。这样的估计比猜想强不了 多少。它们要求将这些情况数字化，诸如星

3、球的数量和 年龄，有多少个行星系、生命起源的可能性有多 大，这些我们较少知道：还有智慧生物进化的可 能性和技术文明世界的寿命，这些我们近乎一无 所知。当我们进行计算时我们得出的这类数字是很有特 点的大约有一百万个文明世界。想象一下这百万 个文明世界的五花八门、这真令人兴奋，各种生 活方式以及商业，可是银河系有大约二千五百亿 个恒星，即使有一百万个文明世界，可每二十万大学英语精读第6册全文课文翻译THE QUEST FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCEThrough all of our history we have pondered the stars and

4、mused whether humanity is unique or if, somewhere else in the dark of the night sky, there are other beings who contemplate and wonder as we do, fellow thinkers in the cosmos. Such beings might view themselves and the universe differently. Somewhere else there might be very exotic biologies and tech

5、nologies and societies. In a cosmic setting vast and old beyond ordinary human understanding, we are a little lonely; and we ponder the ultimate significance, if any, of our tiny but exquisite blue planet.The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the search for a generally acceptable cosmic co

6、ntext for the human species. In the deepest sense, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is a search for ourselves.In the last few years - in one-millionth the lifetime of our species on this planet - we have achieved an extraordinary technological capability which enables us to seek out unim

7、aginably distant civilizations even if they are no more advanced than we. That capability is called radio astronomy and involves single radio telescopes, collections or arrays of radio telescopes, sensitive radio detectors, advanced computers for processing received date, and the imagination and ski

8、ll of dedicated scientists.Radio astronomy has in the last decade opened a new window on the physical universe. It may also, if we are wise enough to make the effort, cast a profound light on the biological universe.Some scientists working on the question of extraterrestrial intelligence, myself amo

9、ng them, have attempted to estimate the number of advanced technical civilizations -defined operationally as societies capable of radio astronomy - in the Milky Way Galaxy. Such estimates are little better than guesses. They require assigning numerical values to quantities such as the numbers and ag

10、es of stars; the abundance of planetary systems and the likelihood of the origin of life, which we know less well; and the probability of the evolution of intelligent life and the lifetime of technical civilizations, about which we know very little indeed.When we do the arithmetic, the sorts of numb

11、ers we come up with are, characteristically, around a million technical civilizations. A million civilizations is a breathtakingly large number , and it is exhilarating to imagine the diversity, lifestyles and commerce of those million worlds. But theMilky Way Galaxy contains some 250 billion stars,

12、 and even with a million civilizations, less than one star in 200,000 would have a planet inhabited by an advanced civilization. Since we have little idea which stars are likely candidates, we will have to examine a very large number of them. Such considerations suggest that the quest for extraterre

13、strial intelligence may require a significant effort.Despite claims about ancient astronauts and unidentified flying objects, there is no firm evidence for past visitation of the Earth by other civilizations. We are restricted to remote signaling and, of the long-distance techniques available to our

14、 technology, radio is by far the best. Radio telescopes are relatively inexpensive; radio signals travel at the speed of light, faster than which nothing can go;and the use of radio for communication is not a short-sighted or anthropocentric activity. Radio represents a large part of the electromagn

15、etic spectrum and any technical civilization anywhere in the Galaxy will have discovered radio early - just as in the last few centuries we have explored the entire electromagnetic spectrum from short gamma rays to very long radio waves. Advanced civilizations might very well use someothermeans of c

16、ommunication with their peers. But if they wish to communicate with backward or emerging civilizations, there are only a few obvious methods, the chief of which is radio.The first serious attempt to listen for possible radio signals from othercivilizations wascarriedout at theNationalRadio Astronomy

17、 Observatory in Greenbank, West Virginia, in1959 and1960.It wasorganizedby FrankDrake,nowat Cornel University, and wascalledProjectOzma, after the princess of the Land of Oz, a place very exotic,verydistantand verydifficult toreach. Drake examined two nearby stars for a few weeks with negative resul

18、ts. Positive results would have been because as we have seen, even rather optimistic estimates of the number of technical civilizations in the Galaxy imply that several hundred thousand stars must be examined in order to achieve success by random stellar selection.Since Project Ozma, there have been

19、 six or eight such programs, all at a rather modest level, in the United States, Canada and the Soviet Union. All results have been negative. The total number of individual stars examined to date in this way is less than a thousand. We performed something like one tenth of one percent of the require

20、d effort.astonishingotherhave个恒星中不到一个有文明世界的人居住的行星。既然我们几乎不知道哪些恒星可能存在文明世 界，我们将不得不搜寻大量的恒星。这样就意味 着探寻外星人可能需要作出极大的努力。尽管有人声称古代在太空人，见过不明飞行物， 然而却缺乏确凿的证据证明过去有其他文明世界 的人来过地球。我们只限于运用远距离的通信， 在目前我们的技术所能运用的长距离的技术手段 中，无线电肯定是最好的。无线电望远镜相对来 说价格便宜；无线电象光速那样快速发送信号， 而且前没有任何东西快过光速；把无线电用于通 讯不是一种短视的或以人类为宇宙中心的行为。无线电具有大部分的电磁波谱，

21、银河系中的任何 地方的任何技术文明世界该早就发现无线电，无 线电具有大部分的电磁波谱，银河系中的任何地 方的任何技术文明世界该早就发现无线电了一一正像在过去的几个世纪中我们对从短伽马射线到 长线电波的整个电磁波谱已经探索过了一样。先 进的文明社会要能使用其它的通讯方式同他们的 同辈进行联系。但是，假如他们想和落后的或新 兴的文明社会联系，很显然只有几种方法，其中 主要的方法就是无线电。在西旨吉尼亚州格林班克国家无线电天文台第一 次认真的尝试收听了来自其他文明的信号。在19 5 9年和1 9 6 0年。此项工作是由弗兰克德雷克主持的，他现在在康乃尔大学。这是以奥兹 国公主的名字命名的，叫作奥兹玛

22、项目。奥兹国 是个十分奇异、非常遥远，难以到达的地方。德 雷克在几个星期里对两个附近的恒星进行了探 测，没有取得积极的结果。假如取得了积极的结 果，那会令人吃惊的，因为，正象我们已经看到 的一样，即使非常乐观地估算一下银河系中的技 术文明社会的数目，要想不加选择地探测就取得 成功的话，必须探测几十万个恒星。自从奥兹玛项目以来，又有6到8个这样规模的 项目。都是这样的规模，无论是在美国，加拿大 和苏联。所有都未取得结果到目前为止用这种方 法探测过的恒星总数还不到一千个，也就是我们 大约只探测了需要探测的百分之一中的十分之 一。可是，种种迹象表明，人们可能在最近的将 来作出更大的努力。此外，随着最

23、近无线电技术 取得巨大进步，科学界和公众对外星人这一整个However , there are signs that much more serious efforts may be mustered in the reasonably near future. Besides,hand in hand with the recent spectacular advances in radio technology, there has been a dramatic increasein thescientific and public respectability of the entir

24、e subject of extraterrestrial life. A clear sign of the new attitude is the Viking missions to Mars, which are to a significant extent dedicated to the search for life on another planet.But along with the burgeoning dedication to a serious search, a slightly negative note has emerged which is nevert

25、heless very interesting. A few scientists have lately asked a curious question: If extraterrestrial intelligence is abundant, why have we not already seen its manifestations? Skeptics also ask why there is no clear evidence of extraterrestrial visits to Earth. We have already launched slow and modes

26、t interstellar spacecraft.A society more advance than ours should be able to ply the spaces between the stars conveniently if not effortlessly.Over millions of yearssuch societies should haveestablishedcolonies, which mightthemselves launchinterstellarexpeditions.Why arethey not here? Thetemptationi

27、s to deducethat thereare at most a fewadvancedextraterrestrialcivilizations-either becausestatistically we are one of the first technical civilizations tohave emerged or because it isthe fate of all suchcivilizations to destroy themselves before they are much further along than we.It seems to me tha

28、t such despair is quite premature. All such arguments depend on our correctly surmising the intentions of beings far more advanced than ourselves, and when examined more closely I think these arguments reveal a range of interesting human conceits. Why do we expect that it will be easy to recognize t

29、he manifestations of very advanced civilizations? Is our situation not closer to that of members of an isolated society in the Amazon basin, say, who lack the tools to detectthe powerfulinternational radio and television traffic that is all around them? Also, there is a wide range of incompletely un

30、derstood phenomena in astronomy. Might the modulation of pulsars or the energy source of quasars, for example, have a technological origin? Or perhaps there is a galactic ethic of noninterference with backward or emerging civilizations. Perhaps there is a waiting time before contact is considered ap

31、propriate, so as to give us a fair opportunity to destroy ourselves first, if we are so inclined. Perhaps all societies significantly more advanced than our own have achieved an effective personal immortality and lose the motivation for interstellar gallivanting, which may, for all we know, be a typ

32、ical urge only of adolescent civilizations. Perhaps maturecosmos. There is a课题的认识极大地提高了。这种新态度的一种显 著标志就是向火星发射的海盗”号。这些发射在很大程度上是专门寻找另一个行星上的生命的。 但是在人们正为认真探索奉献更多力量的同时， 一种略具否定意味却又十分有趣地声音出现了。有几名科学家最近提出了一个奇怪的问题：如果 有大量的外星人存在，为什么我们还没有看到它 存在的迹象？ 持怀疑态度的人还对为什么没有 明显证据证明外星人到过地球提出了疑问。我们 已经发射了速度慢、不太大的星际宇宙飞船。一 个比我们先进

33、的社会，如果不是毫不费力的话， 也应该能很方便地来往于星际之间。在几百万年 的时间中，这样的社会应该早已建立了殖民地， 他们本身可能进行星际远征探险。他们为什么没 到这里来？人们很自然地推断地球外最多有几个 先进的文明社会 一一这要么是因为从统计数据上 看我们是已经形成的首批技术文明社会之一，要 么由于命运不济，所有这样的文明社会在他们发 达得远远超过我们之前就自我来亡了。我认为这种绝望是相当幼稚的。所有这些论断取 决于我们对远比我们自己先进行得多的生物的动 机是否能作出正确判断：如果对这些论断进行更 为细致的审视的话，我认为它们表现出了人类一 种有趣的自负心态。我们为什么要指望会很容易 地找

34、出非常先进的文明社会存在的迹象呢？我们 的境况不是和亚马逊河流域的与世隔绝的社会中 的人很接近吗？这些人缺少工具来探测他们周围 功率强大的国际间的无线电和电视通讯。天文学 中也有大量没有完全理解的现象。肪冲星的调制 或者类星体的能量来源，例如，是不是可能源于某 种技术？或许银河系有一条不许干涉落后或新兴 文明社会的道德规范；或许要等一段时间再进行 接触才认为得体，以便给我们一个公平的机会来 先毁灭自己。假如我们想这么做的话。或许所有 比我们自己要先进得多的社会都已经有效地达到 了使每个成员长生不老的阶段，所以以就失去了 到星际间去邀游的愿望，而这种愿望可能可是早 期文明社会的一种典型的冲动，谁

35、知道呢。或许 成熟的文明社会不想污染宇宙。可以说出很多这 样的或许”，但没有几种我们能够肯定地作出估 计。在我看来，地球文明社会的问题还远未解决。 我个人认为理解在一个宇宙中只有我们这一个技civilizations do not wish toentirely open.Personally,I think it far more difficulttounderstanda universein which we are theonlytechnologicalcivilization,or one of a very few, thantoconceive of a cosmos bri

36、ning over with intelligentMany aspects of the problem are, fortunately, amenable tolife.experimentalverification.We can search for planetsof术文明是很困难的。或着少数几个宇宙与想象的 一个充满生命的宇宙想比也是一样。幸运的是， 这个问题的许多方面可以经得起实践的检验。我 们能够搜寻其它恒星，寻找象火星这样离我们很 近的行星上的简单生命形式，并且在实验室中可 以对生命起源的化学机理作更广泛的研究。我们 还可以更深入地研究生物和社会的进化原理。这 个问题需要人

37、们长期地、不带偏见地、系统地去 探索，而只有大自然才是什么可能、什么不可能 的唯一仲裁者。借书证一天早上，我上班到得早，便走进银行的门 廊，里面有一个黑人清洁工在拖地。我站在柜台 边，拿了一份孟菲斯商业呼声报，读起了免费 报纸。我最后翻到社论版，上面登了一篇写关于 一名叫H.L.门肯的人的文章。我听说门肯是美 国信使报的编辑。不过除此之外，对他毫无别 的了解。该文言辞激烈地遣责门肯，文章结尾时 用了一句辛辣的短句：门肯是个傻子。我在想这位门肯先生到底做了什么事以至于引得 南方对他嘲弄。我所听说过在南方唯一受到谴责 的人就是黑人。而此人不是黑人。那么门肯持有 什么样的观点使得象商业呼声这样的报纸

38、公 开攻击他？不用说，他一定是在宣扬南方所不喜 欢的思想。那么我怎样能够弄清楚门肯其人？江边有一大型 图书馆，但我知道，正如不许黑人进入城里的公 园和运动场一样，他们也同样不被允许进入图书 馆。我曾经几次去过那儿，帮正在干活的白人借 书。他们中有哪个人能帮我借书呢？我反复琢磨着这些白人的人品。有一个犹太人叫 唐，但我信不过他。他的情况并不比我好多少， 而且我知道他这个人总是不安分没有安全感。他 待我总是满不在乎、傲气十足，对我的轻视几乎 也不加掩饰。我不敢要他去帮我借书。他特别渴.I wasvery long list of such perhaps, few of which we are

39、in a position to evaluate with any degree of assurance.The question of extraterrestrial civilizations seems to meother stars, seek simple forms of life on such nearby planets as Mars, and perform more extensive laboratorystudies onthechemistryof the originof life. We caninvestigate more deeply the e

40、volution of organisms and societies.Theproblemcriesout for a long-term,open-minded, systematic search, with nature as the only arbiter of what is or is not likely.THE LIBRARY CARDOne morning I arrived early at work and went into the bank lobby where the Negro porter was mopping. I stood at a counter

41、 and picked up the Memphis CommercialAppeal and began my free reading of the press. I came finally to the editorial page and saw an article dealing with one H. L. Mencken. I knew by hearsaythat he was theeditor of the American Mercury, but aside from that I knew nothing about him. The article was a

42、furious denunciation of Mencken, concluding with one, hot, short sentence: Mencken is a fool.I wondered what on earth this Mencken had done to call down upon him the scorn of the South. The only people I had ever heard enounced in the South were Negroes, and this man was not a Negro. Then what ideas

43、 did Mencken hold that made a newspaper like the Commercial Appeal castigate him publicly? Undoubtedly he must be advocating ideas that the South did not like.Now, how could I find out about this Mencken? There was a huge library near the riverfront, but I knew that Negroes were not allowed to patro

44、nize its shelves any more than they were the parks and playgroundsof the city. I hadgone into the library several times to get books for the white men on the job. Which of them would now help me to get books?I weighed the personalities of the men on the job. There was Don, a Jew; but I distrusted hi

45、m. His position was not much better than mine and I knew that he was uneasy and insecure; he had always treated me in an offhand,afraid to ask him to help me to get books; his frantic desire to demonstrate a racial solidarity with the whites against Negroes might make him betray me.Then how about th

46、e boss? No, he was a Baptist and I had the suspicion that he would not be quiteable tocomprehendwhy a black boy would want to readMencken. There were other white men on the job whose attitudes showed clearly that they were Kluxers or sympathizers, and they were out of the question.There remained onl

47、y one man whose attitude did not fit into an anti-Negro category, for I had heard the white men refer to him as Pope lover. He was an Irish Catholic and was hated by the white Southerners. I knew that he read books, because I had got him volumes from the library several times. Since he, too, was an

48、object of hatred, I felt that he might refuse mebut would hardly betray me.Ihesitated, weighing and balancing the imponderable realities.One morning I paused before the Catholic fellows desk. I want to ask you a favor, I whispered to him.What is it?I want to read. I cant get books from the library.

49、I wonder if youd let me use your card? He looked at me suspiciously.My card is full most of the time, he said.I see, I said and waited, posing my question silently. Youre not trying to get me into trouble, are you, boy? he asked, staring at me.Oh, no, sir .What book do you want? A book by H. L. Menc

50、ken. Which one?I dont know. Has he written more than one?He has written several. I didnt know that. What makes you want to read Mencken? Oh, I just saw his name in the newspaper, I said.Its good of you to want to read, he said. But you ought to read the right things.I said nothing. Would he want to

51、supervise my reading? Let me think, he said. Ill figure out something.I turned from him and he called me back. He stared at me quizzically.Richard, dont mention his to the other white men, he said.I understand, I said. I wont say a word. A few days later he called me to him.Ive got a card in my wife

52、s name, he said. Heres mine. Thank you, sir .望表示自己在与白人团结一致反对黑人，这使他 有可能会出卖我。那么老板如何样呢？不成。他是个浸礼会教徒， 我有这样的怀疑，就是他可能不大会明白为什么 一个黑人孩子想去读门肯的书。上班的还什-些 别的白人，但他们的态度明确地表明他们要么是 三K党徒，要么是其支持者，要他们帮忙是不可 能的。仅剩一人了，他的态度小属于反黑人的范畴，因 为我曾经听白人们叫他为拍教皇马屁的人 工他是爱尔兰的天主教徒，南方白人不喜欢他。我知 道他常读书。因为我曾经有几次帮他去图书馆借 过书。因为他也是白人仇视的对象，我感到他也 许会拒

53、绝我但不大可能出卖我。我拿不准，只在 心里反复琢磨，反复权衡着这无法情计的事情。一天早上，我来到这位天主教徒的桌子边停下。我想请你帮个忙。”我低声对他说。什么忙？ ”我想借书。我从图书馆中借/、到书。我不知道你可否让我用一用你的借书证？”他满心怀疑地看着我。我的证大部分时间都借满了，”他说。我知道。我边说边等待着，用沉默来提出我的 问题。你不是想给我惹麻烦，对吗，小伙子？”他两眼瞪着我。噢，不，先生。”你想借什么书？ ”“ H.L门肯写的。“哪一本？ ”我不知道。他写过不止一本书吗？”他写了好几本。”我以前不知道。”你为什么想读门肯的书？ ”噢，我刚刚在报纸上看到他的名字。我说。你想读书是不错

54、的，”他说，不过，你应该读一些好的书。”我什么也没说。他会不会要监督我的阅读呢？ 让我想一下，我会想出办法的。 ”他说。我转过身走开，他把我叫了回来。有些不解地盯着我说：理查德，/、要对其他的白人讲此事。”我知道，我是一个字也不会说的。”几天后，他把我叫了过去。我用我妻子的名义搞了张借书证，他说。我的这张就给你了。 ”谢谢你，先生。”你认为自己能成功吗？ ”我会搞妥的。我说。如果他们怀疑上你，你就麻烦了。”他说。我会象你以前让我去借书时一样写张条子给图 书馆。”我告诉他说，我会签上你的名子的。” 他听后笑了起来。去吧。看看你能借到什么书。”那天下午，我竭尽全力造了一张假便条。但是，H.L.门肯

55、写的书的书名都是什么呢？我一点也不 知道。最后，我写了一张自认为万无一失的条子： 亲爱的夫人，请让这个小黑鬼我使用了 黑鬼”这个词是为了让图书管理员不认为我写这张 便条借几本H.L.门肯的书好吗？在便条上我 假冒了这个白人的签名。我象以往为白人跑腿借书时一样走进了图书馆， 但不知怎么搞的，我总觉得自己不知会在什么地 方出点岔子，最终暴露自己。我摘下帽子，毕恭 毕敬地站在离借书桌有一段距离的地方，显出一 副不会读书的样子，等着白人读者先借。桌边已 经空无一人了，我仍在等着。白人管理员看着我问道：你想干什么，伙计？ ”像不会说话一样我迈向前，一声也没作的把那张伪造的条子递了 过去。他想借门肯的书？

56、 ”她问。我不知道，夫人。”我躲开了她的双眼。这张卡是谁给你的？ ”福尔克先生。”他在哪儿？ ”他在工作。在 M 光学仪器公司，”我说， 我以前在这儿给他借过书。”我记得，”她说。但他从未写过象这样的条子。”噢，天啊！她有点怀疑了。也许她不会让我借这 些书了。如果当时她转过身去的话，我一定会低 头冲出门外，再也不回去了。这时，我想出了一 个大胆的主意。你可以打电话问问他，夫人，我说道，心里却紧张得砰砰狂跳。不是你自己用这些书吧？ ”她直率地问。噢，不会，夫人。我不会认字。”我不知道他要门肯的什么书？”她低声说道。此Do you think you can manage it? Ill mana

57、ge fine, I said.If they suspect you, youll get in trouble, he said.Ill write the same kind of notes to the library that you wrote when you sent me for books, I told him. Ill sign your name. He laughed.Go ahead. Let me see what you get, he said.That afternoon I addressed myself to forging a note. Now

58、, what were the name of books written by H. L. Mencken? I did not know any of them. I finally wrote what I thought would be a foolproof note: Dear Madam: Will you please let this nigger boy - I used the word nigger to make the librarian feel that I could not possibly be the author of the note - have

59、 some books by H.L. Mecken? I forged the white mans name.I entered the library as I had always done when on errands for whites, but I felt that I would somehow slip up and betray myself. I doffed my hat, stood a respectful distance from the desk, looked as unbookish as possible, and waited for the w

60、hite patrons to be taken care of. When the desk was clear of people, I still waited.The white librarian looked at me.What do you want, boy?As though I did not possess the power of speech, I stepped forward and simply handed her the forged note, not parting my lips.What books by Mencken does he want?

61、 She asked. I dont know, maam, I said, avoiding her eyes.Who gave you this card? Mr. Falk, I said.Where is he?Hes at work, at M - Optical Company, I said. Ive been in here for him before.I remember , the woman said. But he never wrote notes like this.Oh, God, shes suspicious. Perhaps she would not l

62、et me have the books? If she had turned her back at that moment, I would have ducked out the door and never gone back. Then I thought of a bold idea.You can call him up, maam, I said, my heart pounding.Youre not using these books, are you? she asked pointedly.Oh, no, maam. I cant read.I dont know wh

63、at he wants by Mencken, she said under her breath.I knew now that I had non; she was thinking of other things and the race question had gone out of her mind.She went to the shelves. Once or twice she looked over hershoulder at me, as though she was still doubtful. Finally she came forward with two b

64、ooks in her hand.Im sending him two books, she said. But tell Mr. Falk tocome in next time, or send me the names of the books he wants. I dont know what he wants to read.I said nothing. She stamped the card and handed me the books. Not daring to glance at them. I went out of the library,fearingthatthe womanwouldcallme back forfurther questioning. A block away from the library I openedone ofthebooks andread atitle: A B