大学英语精读听力第二册 2_un01

[00:00.00]College English Intensive Reading Book 2
[00:32.18]TAPE 1  Unit one
[00:40.54]Text
[00:43.10]It is a humorous essay.
[00:46.65]But after reading it you will surely find
[00:51.10]that the author is most serious in writing it.
[00:55.77]IS THERE LIFE ON EARTH?
[00:59.53]Art Buchwald
[01:02.59]There was great excitement on the planet of Venus this week.
[01:07.87]For the first time Venusian scientists managed
[01:13.43]to land a satellite on the planet Earth,
[01:17.58]and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since.
[01:24.24]The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan
[01:30.31](named after the great Venusian astronomer Prof.Manhattan,
[01:36.26]who first discovered it with his telescope 20,000 light years ago).
[01:42.71]Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals,
[01:49.19]Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information
[01:52.74]as to the feasibility of a manned flying saucer landing on Earth.
[01:59.09]A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.
[02:04.97]"We have come to the conclusion,
[02:08.81]based on last week's satellite landing,"Prof. Zog said,
[02:14.77]"that there is no life on Earth."
[02:18.42]"How do you know this?"the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.
[02:24.98]For one thing,Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan
[02:30.73]is composed of solid concrete and nothing can grow there.
[02:36.97]For another,the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide
[02:43.03]and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive."
[02:50.48]"What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?"
[02:56.35]We shall have to take our own oxygen with us,
[03:01.32]which means a much heavier flying saucer than we originally planned."
[03:07.56]"Are there any other hazards that you discovered in your studies?"
[03:12.89]Take a look at this photo.
[03:16.26]You see this dark black cloud hovering over the surface of Earth?
[03:21.72]We call this the Consolidated Edison Belt.
[03:26.86]We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble
[03:32.92]and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there."
[03:39.59]"Over here you will notice what seems to be a river,
[03:44.76]but the satellite findings indicate it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink.
[03:52.31]This means we shall have to carry our own water,
[03:57.17]which will add even greater weight to the saucer."
[04:01.92]"Sir,what are all those tiny black spots on the photographs?"
[04:07.69]"We're not certain.They seem to be metal particles that move along certain paths.
[04:14.75]They emit gases,make noise and keep crashing into each other.
[04:21.12]There are so many of these paths and so many metal particles
[04:27.08]that it is impossible to land a flying saucer without its being smashed by one."
[04:34.52]"What are those stalagmite projections sticking up?"
[04:39.56]They're some type of granite formations that give off light at night.
[04:45.73]Prof.Glom has named them skyscrapers since they seem to be scraping the skies."
[04:53.17]"If all you say is true,
[04:56.72]won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?"
[05:02.58]"Yes,but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds."
[05:10.52]"Prof.Zog,why are we spending billions and billions of zilches
[05:17.05]to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?"
[05:23.29]"Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmosphere,
[05:29.64]then we can live anywhere."