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Directions: Read the text below and answer questions 33 to 48 according to the text.
TEXT
The search for life beyond Earth
We have always been fascinated by the thought of
alien life elsewhere in the universe. The idea has
provided the basis for a huge wealth of science fiction
stories that have been limited only by our imaginations.
5 But can other creatures exist in the vast reaches of
space or on other planets or moons? And are there
other intelligent forms of life out there—or are we more
likely to find something much simpler?
Where are all the aliens?
10 Our Sun is just one star among billions in our
galaxy. In the last few years, scientists have detected
thousands of planets around other stars and it seems
that most stars have planetary systems. It’s therefore
likely that there will be large numbers of habitable
15 planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond that are
capable of supporting intelligent life. Some of these
intelligent civilisations, if they’re out there, may have
even developed interstellar travel.
Are there other intelligent forms of life out there—or
20 are we more likely to find something much simpler?
But Earth hasn’t been visited by any intelligent
aliens (yet?). This apparent high probability of life,
combined with a lack of evidence for its existence, is
called the Fermi Paradox, named for the physicist
25 Enrico Fermi who first outlined¹ the argument back in
1950. This begs the question: where is everybody?
Back in 1961, astronomer Francis Drake tried to
rationalise this question by developing an equation that
takes into account² all the factors relevant to finding
30 alien civilisations and gives an estimate of the number
of civilisations out there in the galaxy that should be
able to communicate with us. It considers factors such
as the rate³ of new star formation, how many planets
around those new and existing stars might be able to
35 support life, the number of planets supporting intelligent
life, how many of those civilisations might have
technology we can detect, whether they’re likely to
communicate with us here on Earth, and so on.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence
40 Scientists and radio astronomers have started the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) in a
systematic manner. Several international organisations,
including the SETI Institute and the SETI League, are
using radio telescopes to detect signals that might have
45 been produced by intelligent life.
In 1995, the SETI Institute started Project Phoenix,
which used three of the most powerful radio telescopes
in the world: the Green Bank radio telescope in West
Virginia, USA; the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico;
50 and the Parkes radio telescope in NSW, Australia.
During its initial phase, Project Phoenix used the
Parkes telescope to search for signals coming from 202
Sun-like stars as distant as 155 light years away. By the
end of its operations, Project Phoenix had scanned a
55 total of 800 ‘nearby’⁴ (up to 240 light years away) stars
for signs of life. The project detected some cosmic
noises, but none of that could be attributed to aliens.
These days, anyone can become involved in the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence through their
60 personal computer.
While there’s currently excitement about sending
human crews to Mars, missions beyond the Red Planet
are at this stage pretty much not feasible⁵ the distances
and travel times involved are simply too great.
65 Basically, all exploration for life beyond Earth will need
to be done using robotic space probes⁶ and landing
rovers. These instruments can provide a huge wealth of
information and are capable of exploring as far away as
Pluto, perhaps even beyond our solar system. But as
70 for life beyond the solar system, the nearest stars are
several light years away, and even communications by
electromagnetic waves (which all travel at the speed of
light) are essentially going to be a one-way message.
While we probably won’t find intelligent life too close
75 to home, there’s a chance we may still find much
simpler life forms. Do we have neighbours beyond
Earth? Time will tell—and the search continues.
(Adapted from https://www.science.org.au/curious/space-time/search-life-beyond-earth – Access on 16/02/19)
Glossary:
1. to outline – describe or give the main fact about something
2. to take into account – consider something
3. rate – expansion
4. nearby – short distance away
5. feasible – appropriate; suitable
6. space probe – spy satellite
According to paragraph 2,
Directions: Read the text below and answer questions 33 to 48 according to the text.
TEXT
The search for life beyond Earth
We have always been fascinated by the thought of
alien life elsewhere in the universe. The idea has
provided the basis for a huge wealth of science fiction
stories that have been limited only by our imaginations.
5 But can other creatures exist in the vast reaches of
space or on other planets or moons? And are there
other intelligent forms of life out there—or are we more
likely to find something much simpler?
Where are all the aliens?
10 Our Sun is just one star among billions in our
galaxy. In the last few years, scientists have detected
thousands of planets around other stars and it seems
that most stars have planetary systems. It’s therefore
likely that there will be large numbers of habitable
15 planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond that are
capable of supporting intelligent life. Some of these
intelligent civilisations, if they’re out there, may have
even developed interstellar travel.
Are there other intelligent forms of life out there—or
20 are we more likely to find something much simpler?
But Earth hasn’t been visited by any intelligent
aliens (yet?). This apparent high probability of life,
combined with a lack of evidence for its existence, is
called the Fermi Paradox, named for the physicist
25 Enrico Fermi who first outlined¹ the argument back in
1950. This begs the question: where is everybody?
Back in 1961, astronomer Francis Drake tried to
rationalise this question by developing an equation that
takes into account² all the factors relevant to finding
30 alien civilisations and gives an estimate of the number
of civilisations out there in the galaxy that should be
able to communicate with us. It considers factors such
as the rate³ of new star formation, how many planets
around those new and existing stars might be able to
35 support life, the number of planets supporting intelligent
life, how many of those civilisations might have
technology we can detect, whether they’re likely to
communicate with us here on Earth, and so on.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence
40 Scientists and radio astronomers have started the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) in a
systematic manner. Several international organisations,
including the SETI Institute and the SETI League, are
using radio telescopes to detect signals that might have
45 been produced by intelligent life.
In 1995, the SETI Institute started Project Phoenix,
which used three of the most powerful radio telescopes
in the world: the Green Bank radio telescope in West
Virginia, USA; the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico;
50 and the Parkes radio telescope in NSW, Australia.
During its initial phase, Project Phoenix used the
Parkes telescope to search for signals coming from 202
Sun-like stars as distant as 155 light years away. By the
end of its operations, Project Phoenix had scanned a
55 total of 800 ‘nearby’⁴ (up to 240 light years away) stars
for signs of life. The project detected some cosmic
noises, but none of that could be attributed to aliens.
These days, anyone can become involved in the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence through their
60 personal computer.
While there’s currently excitement about sending
human crews to Mars, missions beyond the Red Planet
are at this stage pretty much not feasible⁵ the distances
and travel times involved are simply too great.
65 Basically, all exploration for life beyond Earth will need
to be done using robotic space probes⁶ and landing
rovers. These instruments can provide a huge wealth of
information and are capable of exploring as far away as
Pluto, perhaps even beyond our solar system. But as
70 for life beyond the solar system, the nearest stars are
several light years away, and even communications by
electromagnetic waves (which all travel at the speed of
light) are essentially going to be a one-way message.
While we probably won’t find intelligent life too close
75 to home, there’s a chance we may still find much
simpler life forms. Do we have neighbours beyond
Earth? Time will tell—and the search continues.
(Adapted from https://www.science.org.au/curious/space-time/search-life-beyond-earth – Access on 16/02/19)
Glossary:
1. to outline – describe or give the main fact about something
2. to take into account – consider something
3. rate – expansion
4. nearby – short distance away
5. feasible – appropriate; suitable
6. space probe – spy satellite
According to paragraph 2,
Resolução comentada
O parágrafo 2 indica que provavelmente não estamos sozinhos.
O parágrafo cita milhares de planetas detectados e provável grande número de planetas habitáveis, sugerindo que podemos não estar sozinhos.
Análise das alternativas
A) Errada: o texto diz haver bilhões de estrelas. C) Errada: diz que civilizações podem ter desenvolvido viagem interestelar, não os cientistas. D) Errada: o Sol é apenas uma entre bilhões de estrelas.
Referência: Texto, parágrafo 'Where are all the aliens?' (linhas 10-18).
Resolução comentada do VaiConcursos.