2. 外语
  3. In a recent article, mathematician Aczel argues convincingly that the number of planets suit able for life is extremely large. T

In a recent article, mathematician Aczel argues convincingly that the number of planets suit able for life is extremely large. T

admin2013-04-08  61
问题     In a recent article, mathematician Aczel argues convincingly that the number of planets suit able for life is extremely large. There are about 300 billion stars in our galaxy (银河系) and possibly 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Some may quarrel with Aczel’ s claim that as many as half of these stars can be presumed to have planets, and that on average one in nine of those planets is suitable for life; but few, I think, will disagree with his conclusion that there are a very large number of planets suitable for life.
    The trouble starts when we come to estimate the probability that life will emerge on any of these planets. The problem is that we don’ t have a good theory of the origin of life on earth. Without one, it is anybody’ s guess how likely this event actually was. Out of thin air Aczel conjures (想像) the figure of 1 in a trillion for this likelihood and concludes that the probability of life existing on at least one other planet is virtually 1.
    Statistics are extremely powerful and important, and Aczel is a very clear and capable exponent (倡导者) of them. But statistics cannot substitute for empirical (经验主义的) knowledge about the way the universe behaves.  We now have no reasonable way of arriving at robust estimates for the probability of life arising spontaneously when the conditions are right. So, until we either discover extraterrestrial (外星球的) life or understand far more about how at least one form of life--terrestrial life--first appeared, we can do little more than guess at the likely hood that life exists elsewhere in the universe. And as long as we’ re merely guessing, we should not dress up our interesting speculations as mathematical certainties.
According to the passage, what we can do about the likelihood of extraterrestrial life is to ______.
选项 A、find a good way of reaching a conclusion
B、construct a good theory of the origin of life
C、replace statistics with empirical knowledge
D、find whether the conditions for life are right
答案B
解析 细节题。根据最后一段第四句“So，until we either discover extraterrestrial life or understand far more about how at least one form of life—terrestrial life—first appeared，we can do little more than guess at the likelihood that life exists elsewhere in the universe，”大意是：除非我们发现了外星生物，或至少了解一种地球生命的起源，否则我们对外星生命存在的可能性的判断都只能是猜测而已。可知我们现在所缺乏的是a good theory of the origin of life on earth，故答案为B。
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