Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.
A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.
Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.
Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.
So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.
But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.
Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.
Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.
Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."
【小题1】By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____.

Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.

A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.

Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.

Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.

So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.

But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.

Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.

Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.

Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."

1.By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____.

A．keep silent        B．give up           C．expect so         D．be afraid

2.Dr Smith concludes there probably aren’t any aliens because other planets _____.

A．are too far away from the earth

B．are different from the Earth in size

C．don’t have rich natural resources

D．don’t have a suitable living environment

3.Researchers from the University of London are mentioned to show that ______.

A．they have better explanations about aliens

B．aliens certainly exist on many planets

C．they disagree with Dr Smith’s suggestion

D．aliens can pick up signals from the earth

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A．There must be other life forms in the universe.

B．We can communicate with aliens in decades.

C．The chances of finding aliens are slight.

D．Many other planets are quite different from the Earth.

Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.
A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.
Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.
Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.
So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.
But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.
Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.
Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.
Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."

1. 1.

   By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____

   1. A.
      keep silent
   2. B.
      give up
   3. C.
      expect so
   4. D.
      be afraid
2. 2.

   Dr Smith concludes there probably aren’t any aliens because other planets _____

   1. A.
      are too far away from the earth
   2. B.
      are different from the Earth in size
   3. C.
      don’t have rich natural resources
   4. D.
      don’t have a suitable living environment
3. 3.

   Researchers from the University of London are mentioned to show that ______

   1. A.
      they have better explanations about aliens
   2. B.
      aliens certainly exist on many planets
   3. C.
      they disagree with Dr Smith’s suggestion
   4. D.
      aliens can pick up signals from the earth
4. 4.

   What’s the main idea of the text?

   1. A.
      There must be other life forms in the universe
   2. B.
      We can communicate with aliens in decades
   3. C.
      The chances of finding aliens are slight
   4. D.
      Many other planets are quite different from the Earth

Some days you wake up and right when you are going to begin your work, you feel a presence within you that stops you from doing so. You don’t want to work today and you don’t feel motivated to do anything but just escape. Without this motivation, you feel a little hopeless, lost, and stuck. But sometimes even if there is no motivation, you can still feel inspired.

Connect the Dots

Steve Jobs has never finished college. After studying in college for 6 months, he couldn’t see the value in it and dropped out. Not knowing where to go in life, he decided to take a class in calligraphy (书法). Ten years later, he designed something that has affected the different types of typography (排版) that we use today. If he hadn’t dropped out in college, he would never have taken that calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography.

Sometimes when you’re trying to reach a goal, it’s impossible to connect the dots where you currently are. Somehow you just have to trust yourself, and have faith that you will reach your dreams, despite not having the slightest clue or perfectly laid-out road to where you are going. Nobody can connect the dots looking forward; you only can connect them when you’re looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future; you have to trust in something, whether it’s destiny (天数，命运) or not, but trusting yourself is the first step towards feeling inspired and having the motivation to move forward.

Perfect Your Environment

Look around your room right now or your workspace. Does it inspire you? Does it give you motivation? Is it noisy or quiet? Sometimes the hardest thing we do to ourselves is try to force ourselves to work in an area that is subconsciously telling us, “I can’t work here.”

And when you are constantly trying to discipline yourself, you will feel worse and be less productive. Instead try to build your ideal workplace and ideal time. Perhaps add a piece of artwork or a quote of your favorite person nearby you on the wall. Maybe add a beautiful plant in the corner to give you inspiration. If you feel more energy and enthusiasm during the night, schedule your day to work at midnight if you can. If you can realize the power of having a productive environment, you will naturally feel inspired and motivated to get work done.

Don’t Work So Hard

If you’re trying to force your way into taking action, it could be a sign that you are working too hard. Most people won’t wake up and waste an hour imagining, thinking further, or confirming, and the first thing they think about is asking “what do I need to do today?” And when they get the answer, they feel miserable, as if their work suddenly weighs them down. But if you spend time focusing on your goals, you’ll receive good feelings—feelings that help you feel inspired and motivated to take real action.

Don’t try to paddle upstream. That just basically equals saying to yourself that you need to force yourself to work hard every day. Instead, paddle along the stream of the river. Trust yourself, let your environment work in your favor, and spend some a little bit of time putting yourself in a state before you work. Inspiration will come to you from different ways—inside and outside—and give you the motivation to guide yourself towards reaching your dreams.

Some days you wake up and right when you are going to begin your work, you feel a presence within you that stops you from doing so. You don’t want to work today and you don’t feel motivated to do anything but just escape. Without this motivation, you feel a little hopeless, lost, and stuck. But sometimes even if there is no motivation, you can still feel inspired.

Connect the Dots

Steve Jobs has never finished college. After studying in college for 6 months, he couldn’t see the value in it and dropped out. Not knowing where to go in life, he decided to take a class in calligraphy (书法). Ten years later, he designed something that has affected the different types of typography (排版) that we use today. If he hadn’t dropped out in college, he would never have taken that calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography.

Sometimes when you’re trying to reach a goal, it’s impossible to connect the dots where you currently are. Somehow you just have to trust yourself, and have faith that you will reach your dreams, despite not having the slightest clue or perfectly laid-out road to where you are going. Nobody can connect the dots looking forward; you only can connect them when you’re looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future; you have to trust in something, whether it’s destiny (天数，命运) or not, but trusting yourself is the first step towards feeling inspired and having the motivation to move forward.

Perfect Your Environment

Look around your room right now or your workspace. Does it inspire you? Does it give you motivation? Is it noisy or quiet? Sometimes the hardest thing we do to ourselves is try to force ourselves to work in an area that is subconsciously telling us, “I can’t work here.”

And when you are constantly trying to discipline yourself, you will feel worse and be less productive. Instead try to build your ideal workplace and ideal time. Perhaps add a piece of artwork or a quote of your favorite person nearby you on the wall. Maybe add a beautiful plant in the corner to give you inspiration. If you feel more energy and enthusiasm during the night, schedule your day to work at midnight if you can. If you can realize the power of having a productive environment, you will naturally feel inspired and motivated to get work done.

Don’t Work So Hard

If you’re trying to force your way into taking action, it could be a sign that you are working too hard. Most people won’t wake up and waste an hour imagining, thinking further, or confirming, and the first thing they think about is asking “what do I need to do today?” And when they get the answer, they feel miserable, as if their work suddenly weighs them down. But if you spend time focusing on your goals, you’ll receive good feelings—feelings that help you feel inspired and motivated to take real action.

Don’t try to paddle upstream. That just basically equals saying to yourself that you need to force yourself to work hard every day. Instead, paddle along the stream of the river. Trust yourself, let your environment work in your favor, and spend some a little bit of time putting yourself in a state before you work. Inspiration will come to you from different ways—inside and outside—and give you the motivation to guide yourself towards reaching your dreams.