新概念第四册 Lesson 35 Space odyssey

　　Arthur C. Clark once suggested a revolutionary idea passes through three phases:

　　1 'It's impossible -- don't waste my time.'

　　2 'It's possible, but not worth doing.'

　　3 'I said it was a good idea all along.'

　　The idea of colonising Mars -- a world 160 times more distant time the Moon -- will move decisively from the second phase to the third, when a significant number of people are living permanently in space. Mars has an extraordinary fascination for would-be voyagers. America, Russia and Europe are filled with enthusiasts -- many of them serious and senior scientists -- who dream of sending people to it. Their aim is understandable. It is the one world in the Solar System that is most like the Earth. It is a world of red sandy deserts (hence its name -- the Red Planet), cloudless skies, savage sandstorms, chasms wider than the Grand Canyon and at least one mountain more than twice as tall as Everest. It seems ideal for settlement.

　　7 DAYS, February 19, 1989

　　New words and expressions 生词和短语

　　hub

　　n. （活动的）中心

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