What are the beings like on other planets, physically¹?

Take your pick. There are as many varieties of be-ings as there are species of life on your planet.

Actually, more.

Are there beings who look very much like us?

Of course, some look exactly like you—given minor² variations.

How do they live? What do they eat? How are they dressed? In what way do they communicate? I want to learn all about E.T.s here. C’mon, out with it!

I understand your curiosity, yet these books are not being given to you to satisfy curiosity. The purpose of our conversation is to bring a message to your world.

Just a few questions. And they’re more than curiosities. We may have something to learn here. Or, more accurately³, to re-member.

That really is more accurate. For you have nothing to learn, but merely to remember Who You Really Are.

You made that wonderfully clear in Book 1. Do these beings on other planets remember Who They Are?

As you might expect, all beings elsewhere are in various stages of evolution. But in what you have here termed highly evolved cultures, yes, the beings have re-membered.

How do they live? Work? Travel? Communicate?

Travel as you know it in your culture does not exist in highly evolved societies. Technology has advanced far beyond the necessity of using fossil fuels to drive en-gines embedded⁴ in huge machines that move bodies around.

In addition to what has been provided by new physical technologies, understandings of the mind, and of the very nature of physicality itself, have also ad-vanced.

As a result of the combination of these two types of evolutionary⁵ advances, it has become possible for HEBs to disassemble and reassemble their bodies at will, al-lowing most beings in most highly evolved cultures to “be” wherever they choose—whenever they choose.

Including light-years across the universe?

Yes. In most cases, yes. Such long distance” travel across

点击收听单词发音  

1 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 minor
adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修
参考例句：
The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。 I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 accurately
adv.准确地，精确地
参考例句：
It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。 Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

4 embedded
a.扎牢的
参考例句：
an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术 He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

5 evolutionary
adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的
参考例句：
Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。 These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

6 galaxies
星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）
参考例句：
Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。 We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

7 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 labor
n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
参考例句：
We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。 He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

10 appreciation
n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨
参考例句：
I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。 I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

11 degradation
n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变
参考例句：
There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。 Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

12 awareness
n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智
参考例句：
There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。 Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 jealousy
n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌
参考例句：
Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。 I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

14 killing
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
参考例句：
Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。 Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 insistence
n.坚持；强调；坚决主张
参考例句：
They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。 His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

16 unity
n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调
参考例句：
When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。 We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 misery
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。 He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

18 platitudes
n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子
参考例句：
He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

20 equitably
公平地
参考例句：
We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。 Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。

21 hoarding
n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )
参考例句：
After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

22 squandering
v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的现在分词 )
参考例句：
You're faced with ending it all, of squandering what was given. 把到手的东西就这样随随便便弄掉。 来自辞典例句 I see all this potential And I see squandering. 你们的潜力都被浪费了。 来自互联网

23 depressed
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。 His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

24 intensity
n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度
参考例句：
I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。 The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

25 awakening
n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的
参考例句：
the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣 People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

26 embody
vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录
参考例句：
The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。 Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

27 egos
自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。 The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

28 metropolitan
adj.大城市的，大都会的
参考例句：
Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。 Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

29 primitive
adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物
参考例句：
It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。 His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

30 detrimental
adj.损害的，造成伤害的
参考例句：
We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。 He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

31 reverting
恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还
参考例句：
The boss came back from holiday all relaxed and smiling, but now he's reverting to type. 老板刚度假回来时十分随和，满面笑容，现在又恢复原样了。 The conversation kept reverting to the subject of money. 谈话的内容总是离不开钱的事。

32 judgments
判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判
参考例句：
A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。 He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

33 mythology
n.神话，神话学，神话集
参考例句：
In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。 He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

34 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

35 relegated
v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类
参考例句：
She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。 I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

36 mechanisms
n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用
参考例句：
The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

37 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

38 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

39 carving
n.雕刻品，雕花
参考例句：
All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。 He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

40 barbarian
n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的
参考例句：
There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。 The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

41 barbarians
n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人
参考例句：
The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

42 simplicity
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。 The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

43 complexity
n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物
参考例句：
Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。 The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

44 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

45 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。