单元检测（四十七） The Conquest of the Universe

　　Ⅰ.阅读理解

　　A

　　Stephen Hawking Warns Humans

　　Must Leave Earth Soon

　　Professor Stephen Hawking recently came out with a serious warning for people. While at the Starmus Festival, a festival in Trondheim, Norway, celebrating science and the arts, Hawking warned people that the human race is in serious danger.

　　Hawking criticized President Donald Trump for denying climate change. Then the physicist warned the audience, "I am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, unlike Donald Trump, who may just have taken the most serious and wrong decision on climate change this world has seen."

　　Hawking proposed that the leading countries should send astronauts to the Moon before 2020 to restart a movement of more exploration in space. The BBC reported that Hawking suggested that we "build a lunar base in 30 years' time and send people to Mars by 2025"．

　　According to the BBC, Professor Hawking said, "Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity." He continued, "I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal to face the common challenge for us all." The physicist shared more ideas to motivate the younger generation to continue exploring space. Hawking stated, "A new and ambitious space program would excite (young people), and stimulate interest in other areas, such as astrophysics (天体物理学) and cosmology (宇宙学)．"

　　Hawking also revealed his vision of other forms of energy that could move us to a new planet. He warned the audience, "The Earth is under threat from so many areas that it is difficult for me to be positive." He continued, "Our natural resources are being drained at an alarming rate. We have given our planet the disastrous gifts of climate change, rising temperatures, reduction of the polar ice caps, deforestation (滥伐森林), and decimation (大批杀死) of animal species. We can be an ignorant and unthinking (考虑不周的) lot."

　　The professor warned the audience that doing nothing would lead nowhere. He said, "If we succeed we will send a probe (航天探测器) to Alpha Centauri within the lifetime of some of you alive today. It is clear that we are entering a new space age. We are standing at the threshold (开端) of a new era. Human colonization and moving to other planets is no longer science fiction, and it can be science fact." Hawking advised the audience to move to other worlds because we are running out of space.

语篇解读：文章引用了世界知名物理学及天文学家霍金的观点，阐明了人类必须离开地球在太空中找一处新家的原因。