《新编大学英语》综合教程（第三版第一册）B1U6_Self-market_Reading Material_B1U6课文背景材料

Unit 6 A World of Mystery Useful Information We humans have found countless mysteries of the universe over the centuries.We not only ask questions about what something is but we also want to know why it is so.Ancient people invented mythological explanations to account for the mysterious things they saw.Both the sky with its heavenly bodies and vastness and the seas with their great depths and power used to,and still are filling people with feelings of awe and wonder. As ancient humans looked at the sky above them,one sight that was most fascinating was the Milky Way.They,of course,didn't know that the broad and bright band of light across the sky is in fact composed of countless stars and planets located so far from the Earth that they cannot be seen by naked eyes.To the ancient Chinese,it appeared as a bright river,which they called the River of Heaven or the Silver Stream.It was also the setting of one of the oldest and best-known folk stories in China,"The Cowherd and the Girl Weaver".Though today we know what the Milky Way is,it remains equally mysterious in many ways because it is so far away from us.No wonder that for those who believe in UFOs,it seems a likely place from which the UFOs could have come.After all,we know so little about the heavenly bodies.Who can say that there is or isn't life on other planets? The power of the ocean is equally impressive.We hear of tidal waves that crash onto land, destroying everything in their path;we read accounts of lost ships over the centuries;we read stories about mysterious creatures such as mermaids that were once thought to live in the sea. Now,even in the 21st century as we fly across the Pacific,we can't help but feel overwhelmed by the vast body of water below us. Humans have explored the mysterious whenever possible.The moon was a goal once thought unreachable for exploration,but humans have stepped on the moon.Now the planet Mars is a target for exploration.For centuries brave people risked their lives to explore the North and South Poles,or set out to find sea passages that would make trade between Europe,the Americas and Asia easier.Finding a northern passage to Asia was a dream of many explorers.Although he died in the effort,John Franklin is known for his effort in proving the existence of the Northwest Passage,a Canadian Arctic waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.Only modern technology has been able to solve the mystery of why John Franklin and his crew died Also, despite all our modern technology,the extremely cold temperatures and ice in the far north and far south still make it very dangerous for sea transportation. The Bermuda Triangle is a section of the North Atlantic Ocean off North America,where many ships and airplanes are said to have mysteriously disappeared over the years.While there are many theories about their disappearances,they have yet to be proven.This mysterious triangular-shaped area of ocean has countless stories and some people believe its mystery will never be satisfactorily explained.Even if it is,there will still be many things in this world of mystery that will keep us asking,"Why?" 1

1 Unit 6 A World of Mystery Useful Information We humans have found countless mysteries of the universe over the centuries. We not only ask questions about what something is but we also want to know why it is so. Ancient people invented mythological explanations to account for the mysterious things they saw. Both the sky with its heavenly bodies and vastness and the seas with their great depths and power used to, and still are filling people with feelings of awe and wonder. As ancient humans looked at the sky above them, one sight that was most fascinating was the Milky Way. They, of course, didn’t know that the broad and bright band of light across the sky is in fact composed of countless stars and planets located so far from the Earth that they cannot be seen by naked eyes. To the ancient Chinese, it appeared as a bright river, which they called the River of Heaven or the Silver Stream. It was also the setting of one of the oldest and best-known folk stories in China, “The Cowherd and the Girl Weaver”. Though today we know what the Milky Way is, it remains equally mysterious in many ways because it is so far away from us. No wonder that for those who believe in UFOs, it seems a likely place from which the UFOs could have come. After all, we know so little about the heavenly bodies. Who can say that there is or isn’t life on other planets? The power of the ocean is equally impressive. We hear of tidal waves that crash onto land, destroying everything in their path; we read accounts of lost ships over the centuries; we read stories about mysterious creatures such as mermaids that were once thought to live in the sea. Now, even in the 21st century as we fly across the Pacific, we can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the vast body of water below us. Humans have explored the mysterious whenever possible. The moon was a goal once thought unreachable for exploration, but humans have stepped on the moon. Now the planet Mars is a target for exploration. For centuries brave people risked their lives to explore the North and South Poles, or set out to find sea passages that would make trade between Europe, the Americas and Asia easier. Finding a northern passage to Asia was a dream of many explorers. Although he died in the effort, John Franklin is known for his effort in proving the existence of the Northwest Passage, a Canadian Arctic waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Only modern technology has been able to solve the mystery of why John Franklin and his crew died. Also, despite all our modern technology, the extremely cold temperatures and ice in the far north and far south still make it very dangerous for sea transportation. The Bermuda Triangle is a section of the North Atlantic Ocean off North America, where many ships and airplanes are said to have mysteriously disappeared over the years. While there are many theories about their disappearances, they have yet to be proven. This mysterious triangular-shaped area of ocean has countless stories and some people believe its mystery will never be satisfactorily explained. Even if it is, there will still be many things in this world of mystery that will keep us asking, “Why?