科技英语阅读答案UNIT 8.doc

Appendix I Reference Answers Unit 8 Space Exploration Part I EST Reading Reading 1 Section A Pre-reading Task Warm-up Questions: Work in pairs and discuss the following questions. 1. How much do you know about the space? Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction.[1] Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of the boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime. In mathematics one examines spaces with different numbers of dimensions and with different underlying structures. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe although disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework. 2. How do you understand the title “Does God Play Dice”? The science of chaos is forcing scientists to rethink Einsteins fundamental assumptions regarding the way the universe behaves. Chaos theory has already shown that simple systems, obeying precise laws, can nevertheless act in a random manner. Perhaps God plays dice within a cosmic game of complete law and order. Does God Play Dice? reveals a strange universe in which nothing may be as it seems. Familiar geometric shapes such as circles and ellipses give way to infinitely complex structures known as fractals, the fluttering of a butterflys wings can change the weather, and the gravitational attraction of a creature in a distant galaxy can change the fate of the solar system. 3. What is determinism? Determinism (specifically causal determinism) is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state (of an object or event) is, to some large degree, determined by prior states. 4. How do you understand “the world must have seemed pretty arbitrary and rand