【揽瓜阁 外刊精读7.0】Day6 2021.04.17【自然科学-天文、动物】

妥妥

  揽瓜阁俱乐部第七期

  Day6 2021.04.17

【自然科学-天文】The search for ET may soon yield an answer

(经济学人-619字 长精读)

Most scientific research has practical ends. But some still pursues goals better described by the field’s original name: “natural philosophy”. One of its most philosophical questions is, “Is there life elsewhere in the universe?”

It is philosophical for two reasons. One is its grand sweep. If there is life elsewhere, particularly of the intelligent sort, that raises the question of whether humans might ever encounter it, or its products. If there is not—if all the uncountable stars in creation waste their light on sterile, lifeless worlds—then life on Earth must be the result of a stroke of the most astronomically improbable good luck. As Arthur C. Clarke, a science-fiction author, is reputed to have said: “Two possibilities exist. Either we are alone in the cosmos or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

The other reason the question is philosophical is that there has, historically, been too little evidence to settle it. Arguments about life in the cosmos must extrapolate from a single example that is itself poorly understood. Biologists still lack a bulletproof theory of how earthly life began. Other planets are far away and hard to study. That leaves room for all sorts of theories. Perhaps life is rare. Perhaps it is common, but intelligence is not. Or perhaps even intelligent life is common, but the technology that lifts it up ends by destroying it (a popular line of thinking after the development of nuclear weapons).

This paucity of data will soon change. A variety of telescopes and spacecraft are, or soon will be, looking for signs of life in places ranging from the moons and planets of the solar system to other stars in Earth’s corner of the Milky Way. In particular, this search will employ powerful telescopes to try to find chemical signatures of life in the atmospheres of planets orbiting stars other than the sun. An alien astronomer looking at Earth, for instance, would be struck by the persistence of both oxygen and something that it reacts with in the atmosphere, and might conclude—correctly—that living organisms were responsible for keeping them there.

An unambiguous detection of alien life would count as one of the momentous discoveries in the history of science. Exactly what would happen next would depend on what was found. News of a “biosignature” on a planet dozens of light-years away would shake the world. It would be strong evidence that life is indeed common in the cosmos. That conclusion could upend humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe.

A few adventurous scientists might suggest using a radio telescope to beam a message, in the hope that, if anything intelligent lives there, it will, decades later, send a reply. Still, the sheer distances involved mean that there would be few immediate, practical consequences. By contrast, finding life closer to home—beneath the Martian regolith, say, or in the oceans under the frozen surfaces of the solar system’s icy moons—would lead to a flurry of action. A sample-return mission would give biologists the ability to compare earthly life with the unearthly sort, a process that could shed new light on the workings and origins of both.

And if nothing is found? That too would be a piece of data, albeit of a less dramatic sort. It would not prove that no life exists elsewhere in the cosmos, but it would be evidence that it is, at least, rather uncommon.

Half a century ago, returning from the arid and sterile lunar surface, the Apollo astronauts found a new appreciation for Earth’s joyous blooms of life and colour. If there are no aliens nearby, such sentiments might grow stronger. A jewel is all the more valuable for being rare.

【自然科学-动物】Social learning in animals is said to occur when direct or indirect

（ WSY -360 字 短精读）

【笔记格式要求】

同学们精读这 2 篇文章并进行笔记打卡

精读笔记格式要求：

1.总结文章中心大意

2.总结分论点或每段段落大意

3.摘抄印象深刻或者觉得优美的句子

4.总结文章中的生词

5.记录阅读时间、总结时间、总时间

这里也给大家三点学习小建议哦~

精读：如遇到读不懂的复杂句，建议找出句子主干，分析句子成分，也可以尝试翻译句子来帮助理解~

Ninalu986

Day6 2021.04.17

【自然科学-天文】The search for ET may soon yield an answer
(经济学人-619字 长精读)
精读笔记格式要求：
1.        总结文章中心大意
探究外星人是否存在的现状及趋势、价值

2.        总结分论点或每段段落大意
P1 提出问题：宇宙的其他地方是否存在生命?
P2这个问题具有哲理性的两个原因。One is its grand sweep.
P3 第二个原因是证据太少。
P4望远镜和宇宙飞船将使得数据的缺乏很快得到改变。
P5发现外星生命会颠覆人类对自身在宇宙中位置的认识。
P6用光波望远镜在地球远处寻找生命将需要几十年才能有反馈。如在离地球更近的星球寻找生命并进行样本分析，将为地球生命和非地球生命的产生原理和起源提供新的线索。
P7如果什么也没找，这本身就是一份数据，它可以证明生命至少是不常见的。
P8 物以稀为贵。如未发现外星生命，人民对地球上生命会更有喜悦之情。

3.        摘抄印象深刻或者觉得优美的句子
A jewel is all the more valuable for being rare.

4.        总结文章中的生词
End目标 sterile不育的  extrapolate推断 alien astronomer外星天文学家   unambiguous 不含糊的  momentous 重大的  Martian regolith火星地表  flurry慌张   albeit 尽管
5.        记录阅读时间、总结时间、总时间
Totally 40m（ skimming 7m，精读和笔记单词等33m）

Ninalu986

【自然科学-动物】Social learning in animals is said to occur when direct or indirect
（ WSY -360 字 短精读）

精读笔记格式要求：
1.        总结文章中心大意
鸟类与哺乳类动物对新行为的社会学习是否不同

2.        总结分论点或每段段落大意
P1动物之间会通过社会互动对一种新的行为进行社会学习，以学习新食物的偏好为例。
P2 鸟类的社会学习与哺乳动物可能不同。
P3  通过对母鸡的观察，并不支持禽类通过社会学习习得避免有毒食物，他们只是习得如何获得美味食物，这与哺乳动物没有不同。
3.        摘抄印象深刻或者觉得优美的句子
N/A
4.        总结文章中的生词
Aversion反感  vigorous精力充沛的  unpalatability不适口性  
5.        记录阅读时间、总结时间、总时间
6.        Totally 20m（ skimming 4m，精读和笔记单词等16m）

糖糖822

day 6 打卡

CCCGO

The search for ET may soon yieldan answer

1.总结文章中心大意

   Thesearch for ET may soon yield an answer - they do exist, or we are the only valuable.  

2.总结分论点或每段段落大意

  Scientific research about life in theuniverse is philosophical without practical ends.

  

  Why philosophical?

  Reason 1: Alone or not alone, that isterrifying.

  Reason 2: We know little about life – lack ofdata.

  

  There will be more scientific methods to getdata of life in space.

  

  If found something: wow!

  If found nothing: life is rather uncommon. Weare so valuable!

     

3.摘抄印象深刻或者觉得优美的句子

   Two possibilities exist. Either we are alonein the cosmos or we are not. Both are equally terrifying

4.总结文章中的生词

  Sterile adj. 不育的；无菌的；贫瘠的；不毛的；枯燥乏味的

  Paucity n. 缺乏；少数；少量

  Regolith n. [地质] 风化层；表皮土；土被

  Arid adj. 干旱的；不毛的，[农] 荒芜的

5.阅读时间: 5min

   总结时间: 15min

Social learning in animals is saidto occur when direct or indirect

1.总结文章中心大意

   Bird can develop their preference for palatablefood but not the aversion of toxic food from social learning.

2.总结分论点或每段段落大意

  Social learning in animals is said to occur.

  

  Example of evidence: get the preference of novelfoods from social learning.

  

  Different animals get different type ofpreference of novel foods from social learning.

  Mammals: get beneficial food.

  Birds: avoid toxic food, from color orcontainer.

  Non-avian: cannot avoid toxic food.

  Conclusion: birds social learning isdifferent from that of mammals.

  à Refuted by S – birds are notnecessary to get the aversion of toxic food from social learning.

  

  S’s conclusion: birds can develop preference forpalatable food form social learning.

3.摘抄印象深刻或者觉得优美的句子

   Shewin’s research team speculated thatecological or social constrains …of ingestion were minimal.

4.总结文章中的生词

  Avian adj. 鸟的；鸟类的

            n. 鸟

  Aversion n. 厌恶；讨厌的人

  Unpalatability n. 不适口性

  Palatable adj. 美味的，可口的；愉快的

5.阅读时间: 4min

   总结时间: 15min

再战请勿拦

不是第一次读这个文章了，但即使这次总结出了分论点，更觉得信息点散，逻辑蛮迷的了。明天大家聊聊难吃和有毒的问题鸭？

求点评作业能分享一篇最准确的大神作业~

英俊子遥想明天

day6

LouisTan

417打卡

vivianjy

第一篇
阅读时间：12min
精读时间：40min
Q: life in universe？
2 reasons:
1.grand sweep; √ humans might encounter wt? x  life on earth—good luck; both terrifying.
2.too little evidence-lack of date.
data change by telescope & spacecraft---signs of life in places-- chemical signatures
A.what was found—what happen next?-upend humanity’s understanding；using a radio telescope to beam a message—远/近
B.nothing is found不等于no life=evidence；A jewel is all the more valuable for being rare.

unambiguous明确
momentous重大的
upend颠倒
sheer纯粹的
Albeit=although尽管

第二篇

Social learning in animals facilitates the acquisition of a novel behavior.
Mammals-beneficial food/birds-avoid toxic substancs. e.g. blackbirds-color/container; sparrows-red food
Non-avian species-not the same/results different from mammals
BUT hens/avian develop preferences for palatable food via social learning.

阅读10min
精读 20min

Facilitates促进
Acquisition获得
Noxious有毒的
Avian禽类
Speculate推测
Aversion厌恶
Notion概念
novel food新颖的食物
unpalatability难吃

2020实力保佑！

打卡！