托福阅读背景：二十年内人类将和外星人相遇

 　Russian scientists expect humanity to encounter alien civilizations within the next two decades, a top Russian astronomer¹ predicted on Monday.

　　"The genesis of life is as inevitable² as the formation of atoms... Life exists on other planets and we will find it within 20 years," Andrei Finkelstein, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Applied³ Astronomy Institute, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

　　Speaking at an international forum⁴ dedicated⁵ to the search for extraterrestrial life, Finkelstein said 10 percent of the known planets circling suns in the galaxy⁶ resemble Earth.

　　If water can be found there, then so can life, he said, adding that aliens would most likely resemble humans with two arms, two legs and a head.

　　"They may have different color skin, but even we have that," he said.

　　Finkelstein's institute runs a program launched in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War space race to watch for and beam out radio signals to outer space.

　　"The whole time we have been searching for extraterrestrial civilizations, we have mainly been waiting for messages from space and not the other way," he said.

　　俄罗斯一位权威天文学家周一预测，在未来二十年内，人类将能和外星人相遇。

　　俄罗斯国际文传电讯社引述俄社会科学院应用天文学研究所负责人安德烈?芬克尔斯坦的话说：“生命起源犹如原子的形成一样不可避免……其他星球上也存在生命，我们会在20年内找到它。”

　　芬克尔斯坦在一个以外星生命探索为主题的国际论坛上表示，银河系中绕恒星公转的已知行星中，有10%的行星与地球类似。

　　他指出，如果能在这些星球上找到水源，就可以找到生命。他还说，外星人很可能与人类相似，有两只胳膊，两条腿，一个脑袋。

　　他说，“他们可能有不同的肤色，但我们也如此。”

　　芬克尔斯坦所在的研究所在20世纪60年代冷战时期的太空竞赛高峰期发起了一个向外太空收发无线电信号的计划，该计划目前还在进行中。

　　他说道：“一直以来我们都在搜寻外星文明，不过基本上除了等待来自外太空的信息外，我们还别无他法。”

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。