L55-3:From the earth: Greetings
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. 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. In the first instance, we would be looking for plant life, rather than 'little green men'. The life forms most likely to develop on a planet would be bacteria. It is bacteria that have generated the oxygen we breathe on earth. 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. But this hope is always in the realms of science fiction. If we were able to discover lowly forms of life like bacteria on another planet, it would completely change our view of ourselves. As Daniel Goldin of NASA observed, 'Finding life elsewhere would change everything. No human endeavour or thought would be unchanged by it.'
Jupiter 木星
blot /blɑːt/ 遮暗，污渍;污点;墨渍
blot out 遮住、遮蔽;抹去（记忆）
analyse /ˈænəlaɪz/ 分析
in the first instance 首先、最初
instance /ˈɪnstəns/ 例子;事例;实例
bacteria /bækˈtɪriə/ 细菌
oxygen /ˈɑːksɪdʒən/ 氧气
cherish /ˈtʃerɪʃ/ 抱有(信念、希望); 珍惜;珍爱;钟爱;
realm /relm/ 领域
in the realms of science fiction 在科幻小说中存在
fiction /ˈfɪkʃn/ 小说
endeavour /ɪnˈdevər/ 努力
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