Passage 1
Personally, I have always been driven by the desire understand something new about the universe that would change our cosmic perspective and stimulate our aspirations for space. I assign meaning to my life by using the spectator perspective of an astronomer to motivate new challenges for our civilization on the cosmic stage. Given our many engineering accomplishments on Earth, a broader perspective could lead us to develop new technologies and modify our larger habitat through "space engineering."
Among all astronomical data, the discovery of alien life could have the greatest impact on our broad outlook. The first traces of primitive life might be found as soon as the NASA and ESA rovers excavate the surface of Mars in 2021. In parallel, enigmatic signals or artificial infrastructure produced by technological civilization might be detected remotely from a much larger search volume through "space archaeology."
A hypothetical example for a revelation that would assign new meaning to our existence is the finding that life was planted artificially Earth by another civilization After all my colleagues at Harvard are getting close to producing synthetic life in the laboratory, and once they do so, exporting it on a spacecraft could be a simple matter. IF.we originated from such a process of directed panspermia then our life's purpose must have been defined in the blueprint of the technological project that led to our synthetic origins. We were produced to address a goal. If so what was the purpose and have we fulfilled exasperation?
But even in the more likely case that life was the random outcome of natural circumstances in a soup of chemicals on isolated Earth, we might acquire a new meaning for it thanks to a communication from another civilization. If we ever establish contact with another intelligence species, the new perspective that it will bring could change our outlook. It is likely that we are not the smartest kid on the block. since their scientific research and development could have lasted billions of years. a factor of 10 million longer than ours, The main benefit from an encounter with superior beings would be the opportunity to ask them the fundamental question that had been bothering us for ages "What's the meaning of life? I hope to live long enough and be around for their answer, stemming from numerous millenarian of acquired scientific knowledge. But at the same time, I worry that the response will be dead silence because they have not figured out the answer yet.
31. Which statement below is incorrect? ( )
A.A broader perspective could lead us to develop new technology and modify our larger habitat through "space engineering"
B. Colleagues of the author's at Harvard produced synthetic in the laboratory and will export it on a spacecraft.
C. The influence of individuals is negligible on the cosmic scale.
D. Within the next decade, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will deliver 500 petabytes of images from our cosmic environment.
【答案】B。是非题，选择错误的一项。时态错误，第三段中 After all my colleagues at Harvard are getting close to producing synthetic life in the laboratory, and once they do so, exporting it on a spacecraft could be a simple matter.可知原文中时态为进行时和将来时，而选
项中为过去时态。ACD 在原文都有所涉及。故本题正确答案选 B。
32. The author's attitude towards getting answer of fundamental question that had bothering for ages from superior beings could be? ( )
A. positive
B. optimistic
C. sarcastic
D. negative.
【答案】D。态度题。由题干中的 getting answer of fundamental question that had bothering for ages from superior beings 可以定位到最后一段。要特别关注关联词 But 后面的内容，But at the same time, I worry……yet.可知作者对于从 superior beings 那里得到答案的态度是消极的，认为他们给不出答案。故本题正确答案选 D。
33. Which could be the most influential factor in broaden-our vision? ( )
A. NASA and ESA rovers excavate the surface of Mars.
B. Detect enigmatic signals or artificial infrastructure produced by technological Civilizations.
C. The discovery of alien life.
D. Search a much larger volume though "space archaeology".
【答案】C。细节题。通过题目中的关键词 the most influential factor，broaden-our vision可以定位到原文第二段开头……the discovery of alien life could have the greatest impact on our broad outlook.由此可知 C 选项符合题意。the greatest impact 与 the most influential factor 是同义替换。故本题正确答案选 C。
34. What should we do when looking at the universe with the perspective of a spectator?( )
A. Try to serve as one of its leading actors.
B. Refuse to be awed while watching the rich spectacle of events on Earth.
C. Subscribe to a streaming media service to broadcasting the universe.
D. Use our telescopes to capture the images from the cosmic environment.
【答案】D。细节题。通过题目中的关键词 look at the universe，the perspective of a spectator可以定位到原文第一段中。第一段最后一句说到人类有许多工程成就，可以让我们的视野看得更宽广，由此可以得知使用望远镜可以让我们看到更清楚的宇宙环境。故本题正确答案选D。
35. What is the author's occupation? ( )
A. astronomer
B. journalist
C. science fiction writer
D. philosopher
【答案】A。根据原文中第一段 I assign …… by using the spectator perspective of an astronomer to …….可知作者的职业最有可能是一名天文学家。B 选项是新闻记者，C 选项是科幻小说作家，D 选项是哲学家。故本题正确答案选 A。
