2018高考英语一轮复习 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions单元检测卷 新人教版选修8.doc

Unit 3 Inventors and inventions Ⅰ.阅读理解 A space ambassador could be appointed by the United Nations to act as the first point of contact for aliens trying to communicate with Earth. Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist(天体物理学家), is set to be tasked with coordinating（协调） humanity’s response if and when extraterrestrials（天外来客） make contact. Aliens who landed on earth and asked: “Take me to your leader” would be directed to Mrs. Othman. She will set out the details of her proposed new role at a Royal Society conference in Buckinghamshire next week. The 58-year-old is expected to tell delegates that the proposal has been prompted by the recent discovery of hundreds of planets orbiting other stars, which is thought to make the discovery of extraterrestrial life more probable than ever before. Mrs. Othman is currently head of the UN’s little known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa). In a recent talk to fellow scientists, she said: “The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several institutes, sustains the hope that some day human-kind will receive signals from extraterrestrials.” 揥hen we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject.
The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination.?Opinion is divided about how future extraterrestrial visitors should be greeted. Under the Outer Space Treaty on 1967, which Unoosa oversees, UN members agreed to protect Earth against contamination(污染) by alien species by “sterilizing” them. Mrs. Othman is understood to support a more tolerant approach. But Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that alien interlopers（闯入者） should be treated with caution. He said: “I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. The outcome for us would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.? 1.The United Nations appointed