Lesson 55 From the earth:Greetings来自地球的问候 虚拟语气的省略

Recent developments in astronomy have made it possible to detect planets in our own Milky Way and in other galaxies.

detect ^{v.to discover or notice sth, especially sth that is not easy to see, hear, etc. 发现，觉察}

• The tests are designed to detect the disease early.
• an instrument that can detect small amounts of radiation 

the Milky Way = the Galaxy ^银河

• How many of you have seen the Milky Way, the Milky Galaxy in the sky? ^{你们有多少人见过银河，天上的银河系？}
• Supernovas in the Milky Way are the likeliest source for most of the cosmic rays reaching Earth. ^{银河系中的超新星最有可能是大多数宇宙射线到达地球的来源。}
• Isn't that strange that the Milky Way is the galaxy that the planet earth is in, and most of us have never seen it? ^{银河系是地球所在的星系，而我们大多数人从未见过它，这不是很奇怪吗？}
• The Galaxy consists of 100 billion stars. ^{银河系由1千亿颗恒星组成。}

This is a major achievement because, in relative terms, planets are very small and do not emit light.

in relative terms ^{compared with other, similar things 相对来说}

• Students have less money in relative terms, but spend more on books. 
• They can only be our enemies in relative terms.“敌人”只不过是相对而言而已。
• This is a major achievement because,in relative terms这是一个重要的成就，因为相对来说

Finding planets is proving hard enough, but finding life on them will prove infinitely more difficult.

prove (to be) + adj. / n. ^{被证明是…}

• The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place 20 miles away in the evening.

infinitely ^{adv. very much ― used esp. when comparing things （尤其与比较级连用）…得多}

• Your English is infinitely better than my German.
• Travel is infinitely more comfortable now than it used to be. 

far / much / even / still / yet + 比较级 ^…得多

The first question to answer is whether a planet can actually support life. ^主系表

support ^{v. to provide the right conditions, such as enough food and water, for life （提供合适的条件以）维持生命，使活下去}

• The land is so poor here that it cannot support any crops. 
• Because of pollution, this lake is now too acid to support fish.

In our own solar system, for example, Venus is far too hot and Mars is far too cold to support life.

sth. be far too adj. and sth. be far too adj. to do ^{具有两个过度的特点，导致做某件事变得不合适或无法完成（负面表达）}

• The box is far too heavy and the hallway is far too narrow to carry it through.  ^{箱子太重了，而且走廊太窄，根本无法把它搬过去。}
• The weather is far too cold and the roads are far too icy to go hiking today. ^{天气太冷了，而且路面结冰，今天根本不适合去远足。}
• This project is far too complex and the deadline is far too tight to complete it on time. ^{这个项目太复杂了，而且截止日期过于紧迫，不可能按时完成。}
• The movie is far too long and the plot is far too boring to keep the audience engaged. ^{这部电影太长了，而且剧情太无聊，无法让观众保持兴趣。}
• The dress is far too expensive and the size is far too small to be worth buying. ^{这件衣服太贵了，而且尺码太小，不值得购买。}

Only the Earth provides ideal conditions, and even here it has taken more than four billion years for plant and animal life to evolve.

it takes … (for …) to do sth. ^{对某人来说做某事花了多少时间}

• It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the dark.
• It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave.

Whether a planet can support life depends on the size and brightness of its star, that is its 'sun'. 

that is (to say)  ^{or more exactly 也就是说，确切地说（引出同位语）}

• The fare is reduced for children, that is anyone under 15 years old.
• One solution would be to change the shape of the screen, that is, to make it wider. 
• Languages are taught by the direct method, that is to say, without using the student's own language.
• I loved him ― that is, I thought I did.
• I'll meet you in the city, that is, I will if the trains are running.
• One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre, that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.

i.e ^{“也就是说、即：”}

• The film is only open to adults, i.e. people over 18.
• The hotel is closed during low season, i.e. from October to March. 
• The price must be more realistic, i.e. lower.

“也就是说”

• She has worked at the bank for many years, nine to be exact. ^（后置）
• He was economical with the truth ― in other words, he was lying. 
• It's fairly risky. Or to put it another way, don't try this at home.

Imagine a star up to 20 times larger, brighter and hotter than our own sun.

Imagine ^{引导祈使句}

• Imagine life without hot water. 
• Imagine that you have just won a million pounds.
• Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash! 

up to sth. ^{含义1： as much or as many as a certain amount or number but not more 多达 …}

• The Olympic Stadium will hold up to 80,000 spectators. ^多达
• The temperature went up to 35℃. ^{上限（最高）}

up to sth. ^{含义2： = up till （时间） 英文解释：for the whole of a period until a certain time or date 直到…}

• Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town.
• Up to now, historians have assumed that calendars came into being with the advent of agriculture, for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons.

Alternatively, if the star were small, the life-supporting planet would have to have a close orbit round it and also provide the perfect conditions for life forms to develop.

alternatively ^{adv.used to introduce a suggestion or to mention sth. different to what has just been stated 或者}

• The agency will make travel arrangements for you. Alternatively, you can organize your own transport.
• We could go to the Indian restaurant, or alternatively, we could try that new Italian place. 

life-supporting ^{复合形容词}

• the planet which supports life ⇒ the life-supporting planet

复合形容词简化定语从句

• animals which eat insects ⇒ insect-eating animals 
• silverware which is made by hands ⇒ hand-made silverware
• diseases which are related to stress ⇒ stress-related diseases 
• state-owned enterprises ^国有企业
• flower-selling girls ^卖花女孩
• epoch-making masterpieces ^{划时代的作品}
• cancer-causing substances ^致癌物质

Alternatively, if the star were small, the life-supporting planet would have to have a close orbit round it and (would) also (have to) provide the perfect conditions for life forms to develop. ^{并列句的省略}

for…to do ^{引出动词不定式的逻辑主语（介词后用宾格）}

• He opened a door and stood aside for her to pass.
• Her circumstances had never been good enough for her hopes to be realized. 

But how would we find such a planet? ^{虚拟语气的省略}

But how would we find such a planet if there were such a planet? ^课文补全

At present, there is no telescope in existence that is capable of detecting the presence of life. ^{双定语修饰“telescope”}

in existence ^存在

• The organization has been in existence for 25 years. ^{介词短语做表语}
• This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence. ^{这是现存最古老的希伯来语手稿。}

presence ^{n.  the existence of sb. or sth. in a particular place 存在}

• The somewhat acid flavour is caused by the presence of lactic acid. ^{略有的酸味是由乳酸的存在造成的。}
• He barely registered our presence. ^{他几乎没有注意到我们的存在。}
• The cameras were not an intrusive presence. ^{这些摄像机的存在不会造成干扰。}

The development of such a telescope will be one of the great astronomical projects of the 21st century.

develop ^{v. to design or make a new idea, product, system etc. over a period of time 开发，研制}

• Scientists are developing new drugs to treat arthritis.
• Local entrepreneurs developed fashionable restaurants, bars and discotheques in the area. ^{当地的企业家在这个地区开办了时尚的餐馆、酒吧和迪斯科舞厅。}
• He claims that several countries have developed nuclear weapons secretly. ^{他声称几个国家已经秘密开发了核武器。}

development ^{n. he process of creating a new product or method 开发，研制}

• His work is mainly in software development.
• The funds will be used for product development.
• The talks will focus on economic development of the region. ^{会谈将聚焦于该地区的经济开发。}

正规书面语中名词更正式^{(中文喜欢用动作、英文喜欢用名词)}

GRE范文

The resolution of some problems of today is urgent and critical for the survival of a society.
Overemphasis upon some existing problems could cause harmful effects.
The efforts to solve problems of the future is sometimes of paramount importance for the avoidance of potential threats or even catastrophes we can anticipate.

• His acceptance of bribes led to his arrest. 
• My arrival coincided with his departure.

It is impossible to look for life on another planet using earth-based telescopes.

-based ^{含义1： combines with nouns referring to places to mean sth. positioned or existing mainly in the place mentioned, or operating or organized from that place 位于（常用语构成复合形容词的词根）}

• …… a Washington-based organization
• land-based missiles
• earth-based telescopes 

-based ^{含义2：used with some names to make adjectives describing the main substance in a product 主要成分为…}

• lead-based paints 
• carbon-based fuels
• nitrogen-based fertilizer
• pasta and other wheat-based products

Our own warm atmosphere and the heat generated by the telescope would make it impossible to detect objects as small as planets. ^{虚拟语气的省略}

Our own warm atmosphere and the heat generated by the telescope would make it impossible to detect objects as small as planets if we looked for life on another planet using earth-based telescopes. ^课文补全

Even a telescope in orbit round the earth, like the very successful Hubble telescope, would not be suitable because of the dust particles in our solar system. ^{虚拟语气的省略}

Even a telescope in orbit round the earth, like the very successful Hubble telescope, would not be suitable because of the dust particles in our solar system if we looked for life using a telescope in orbit round the earth. ^课文补全

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ^{哈勃望远镜：Hubble Edwin Powell 1889-1953. American astronomer who discovered (1929) that the velocities of nebulae increase with distance}

The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope in orbit around the Earth.
Its position outside the Earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely sharp images, and since its launch in 1990, it has become one of the most important telescopes in the history of astronomy. 
It has been responsible for many ground-breaking observations and has helped astronomers achieve a better understanding of many fundamental problems in astrophysics.

particle ^{n. a very small piece of sth. 微粒}

• dust particles
• tiny particles of soil

elementary particle ^{n.one of the types of pieces of matter including electrons, protons, and neutrons that make up atoms 基本粒子}

• A proton is an elementary particle of matter that possesses a positive charge. ^{质子是带正电荷的物质的基本粒子。}
• Elementary particle masses are thought to come about from the interaction with the higgs field. ^{物理学家认为基本粒子的质量来自于粒子与希格斯场的交互作用。}

A telescope would have to be as far away as the planet Jupiter to look for life in outer space, because the dust becomes thinner the further we travel towards the outer edges of our own solar system. ^{虚拟语气的省略}

A telescope would have to be as far away as the planet Jupiter to look for life in outer space if we looked for life in outer space, because the dust becomes thinner the further we travel towards the outer edges of our own solar system. ^课文补全

“越…越…” 比较 ^{两个the 分别放在句首，前半句从句，后半句是主句，从前往后翻译}

• The harder they worked the hungrier they became. 
• The more he gets, the more he wants
• The harder you work, the greater progress you will make.

主句倒装

• The younger the child is （从句）, the more is the child’s need of sleep. ^{（主句，倒装）}
• The more democracy spreads, the stronger become the forces of peace. 

谓语动词是be动词 ^可省略

• The younger the child is, the more is / will be the child’s need of sleep.
• The younger the child, the more the child’s need of sleep. ^{（be动词省略）}
• The higher the standard of living, the greater the amount of paper used. ^{（be动词省略）}
• The higher the standard of living is, the greater is / will be the amount of paper used.

Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay.
Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes is, the higher will be the premium you will have to pay. 

“越…越…” 比较 ^{第一句the加比较级放在句中，第二句the加比较级放在句首，只能先翻译后半句，再翻译前半句}

• They became (the) hungrier the harder they worked.^前主后从
• A telescope would have to be as far away as the planet Jupiter to look for life in outer space, because the dust becomes thinner the further we travel towards the outer edges of our own solar system.
• We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigour with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. 

Once we detected a planet, we would have to find a way of blotting out the light from its star, so that we would be able to 'see' the planet properly and analyse its atmosphere.

way of doing sth. ^{做某事的方式}

• a new way of storing information
• Is there any way of stretching shoes? ^{有什么办法能把鞋撑大吗？}
• I've worked out a new way of doing it. ^{我想出了做这事的一个新方法。}
• I'm not happy with this way of working. ^{我不喜欢这种工作方法。}

blot ^{n.a mark or dirty spot on sth., esp. made by ink 污点，墨迹}

• ink blots
• This is a serious blot on your career. ^{（派生：污点）}

so (that)  ^{作连词时的两种用法}

• The one with the money got such a fright that he dropped the bag. ^{结果状语从句}
• The ball struck him so hard that he nearly fell into the water. ^{结果状语从句}
• This time he was barking so that someone would let him out! ^{目的状语从句}

properly ^{adv. (BrE) completely, fully, thoroughly 完全地，彻底地}

• Is the chicken properly defrosted?
• He got properly beaten by the world champion.

In the first instance, we would be looking for plant life, rather than 'little green men'. ^{虚拟语气的省略}

If we looked for life on a planet, in the first instance, we would be looking for plant life, rather than 'little green men'. ^课文补全

in the first instance ^{(fml.)  as the first part of a series of actions 首先，第一}

• In the first instance, notify the police and then contact your insurance company. 
• Anyone wishing to join the society should apply in the first instance to the secretary. 
• In the first instance, increasing the temperature is out of the question. ^{在第一种情况下，提高温度是不可能的。}

Little green men ^{【idiom】is a popular expression used to describe extraterrestrial life.}

• Little green men from space.^{来自太空矮绿种人。}
• You believe in little green men? ^{你相信有小绿人？}
• Are little green men bagging the best sunbeds by the hotel pool? ^{是小绿人正在享受酒店泳池边最好的日光浴床么？}

The life forms most likely to develop on a planet would be bacteria. ^{虚拟语气的省略}

The life forms most likely to develop on a planet would be bacteria if the planet could support life. ^课文补全

It is bacteria that have generated the oxygen we breathe on earth. ^强调句

Bacteria have generated the oxygen we breathe on earth. ^不强调

For most of the earth's history they have been the only form of life on our planet.

As Earth-dwellers, we always cherish the hope that we will be visited by little green men and that we will be able to communicate with them.

dweller ^居民

• The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort.
• The number of city dwellers is growing. ^{城市居民的数量日渐增长。}

cherish ^{v. to keep hopes, memories or ideas in your mind because they are important to you and bring you pleasure 长期怀有某种感情}

• Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.
• He cherished the hope of winning an Olympic medal. 
• He cherished the memory of his late wife.
• He cherished the illusion that the girl was in love with him.

But this hope is always in the realms of science fiction.

realm(s) ^{（单复数含义类似）}

• an idea that belongs in the realm(s) of science fiction
• I suppose it's not beyond the realm(s) of possibility. 
• This is not really within the realm(s) of my experience.

science fiction (also informal sci-fi) ^{n. [U] a type of book, film/movie, etc. that is based on imagined scientific discoveries of the future, and often deals with space travel and life on other planets 科学幻想（科幻）}

• He loves science fiction in particular. ^{他特别喜爱科幻小说。}
• In this section you'll find horror and science fiction. ^{你可以在这一部分找恐怖和科幻小说。}
• The idea of cloning extinct life forms still belongs to science fiction. ^{对绝种的生命形式进行克隆的想法仍然属于科学幻想。}

If we were able to discover lowly forms of life like bacteria on another planet, it would completely change our view of ourselves.

lowly ^{adj. low in rank, importance, or social class 卑微的，低等的}

• He was a lowly assistant gardener.
• Certainly the metabolism function will be also lowly.^{当然新陈代谢机能也会低下。}
• The lowly-ranked often feel misjudged, and say so.^{低排名的总是感觉被无牌，而且他们也是这样说的。}
• Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts.^{我微小，被人藐视。却不忘记你的训词。}

low ^{adj. & adv. 低的（地）}

• bow low to the Queen ^adv.
• That plane's flying too low! ^adj.
• We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district. ^adv.

As Daniel Goldin of NASA observed, 'Finding life elsewhere would change everything. No human endeavour or thought would be unchanged by it.' ^{虚拟语气的省略}

Finding life elsewhere would change everything if life were found elsewhere. If life were found elsewhere, no human endeavour or thought would be unchanged by it. ^课文补全

observe ^{v. (fml.) to make a written or spoken comment about someone or something （评论）说}

• "I've always found German cars very reliable," he observed. 
• She observed that it would soon be time to stop for lunch.

observation ^{n. a spoken or written remark about something you have noticed 言论，评论}

• A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow.
• She has good powers of observation. ^{她有很强的观察力。}
• Is that a criticism or just an observation? ^{那是一种批评呢，还是一种观察评论而已？}
• The diaries are a mixture of confession and observation. ^{这些日记混合着自白和一些观察。}

elsewhere ^{adv. in, at, or to another place 在别处，到别处}

• The answer to the problem must be sought elsewhere.
• Our favourite restaurant was full, so we had to go elsewhere.

Daniel Goldin ^人物介绍

Daniel Saul Goldin (born July 23, 1940) served as the 9th and longest-tenured Administrator of NASA from April 1, 1992, to November 17, 2001. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush and served under three presidential administrations.

NASA ^{n.National Aeronautics and Space Administration a US government organization that controls space travel and the scientific study of space （美国）国家航空航天局}

• NASA is now going to put the telescope right, so it will soon be sending up four astronauts to repair it.
• NASA is an abbreviation for "National Aeronautics and Space Administration."