2004年9月上海市高級(jí)口譯筆試真題
The thought of travel to Mars is exhilarating. Surely men and women will someday walk upon that planet, and surely they will make wondrous discoveries about geology and the history of the solar system, perhaps even about the vary origin of life. Many times I have stared up at Mars in the evening sky — in the mountains, away from cities, you can almost see the red tint — and wondered what is there, or was there.
But the fact that a destination is tantalizing does not mean the journey makes sense, even considering the human calling to explore. And Mars as a destination for people makes absolutely no sense with current technology.
Present systems for getting from Earth's surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending or other important programs — or by raising taxes. Absent some remarkable discovery, astronauts, geologists and biologists once on Mars could do little mare than analyze rocks and feel awestruck beholding the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyze by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny fraction of the cost of sending people.
It is interesting to note that when President Bush unveiled his proposal, he listed these recent major achievements of space exploration: pictures of the rings of Saturn and the outer planets, evidence of water on Mars and the moon of Jupiter, discovery of more than 100 planets outside our solar system and study of the soil of Mars. All these accomplishments came from automated probes or automated space telescopes. Bush's proposal, which calls for "reprogramming" some of NASA's present budget into the Mars effort, might actually lead to a reduction in such unmanned science — the one aspect of space exploration that's working really well.
Rather than spend hundreds of billions of dollars to hurl tons toward Mars using current technology, why not take a decade — or two decades, or however much time is required — researching new launch systems and advanced propulsion? If new launch systems could put weight into orbit affordably, and if advanced propulsion could speed up that long, slow transit to Mars, then the dreams of stepping onto the Red Planet might become reality. Mars will still be there when the technology is ready.
The drive to explore is part of what makes us human, and exploration of the past has led to unexpected glories. Dreams must be tempered by realism, however. For the moment, going to Mars is hopelessly unrealistic.
16. According to the author, George Bush's comparison of Lewis and Clark's expedition and a Mars mission ________.
(A) shows that both are of the same and immediate value
(B) encourages the American people to venture into space
(C) displays the same spirit of discovery in space exploration
(D) lacks sound and solid basis in his reasoning
17. The author tells us that human travel to Mars ________.
(A) would be probably realized in the near future
(B) should not be treated as the first priority today
(C) will not bring any benefits to human community
(D) is not feasible in light of today's technology
18. According to the author, once on Mars, astronauts, geologists and biologists ________.
(A) could not make any remarkable discovery
(B) could only analyze the rocks there in detail
(C) could not find the mysteries of life in solar system
(D) could well understand the operation of the whole solar system
19. Bush listed major achievements of space exploration to support his proposal. The author introduced this in order to show that ________.
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