2024届高考英语外刊阅读天天练 综合训练十七

高考英语外刊阅读天天练 综合训练十七 I.阅读理解 Kentucky city beams ad inviting UFOs to come for blues, bourbon 【USA Today(January 19, 2023)】 First, it was MoonPie attempting to lure extraterrestrials to Earth with the promise of a tasty treat. Now, it’s the self-styled “horse capital of the world” that aims to attract the attention of interstellar travelers. Lexington’s visitors and tourism bureau is hoping that its new advertising campaign will convince extraterrestrials to see the Kentucky city as an ideal getaway for a relaxing vacation. With the help of scientists and scholars,VisitLex recently beamed an interstellar travel ad into space inviting aliens to hop on their flying saucers for a quick 235 trillion-mile trip to planet Earth. “We believe Lexington is the best place on Earth,” VisitLEX President Mary Quinn Ramer said in a statement. “It’s the ideal location for extraterrestrial.” The message beamed into the stars with a modified infrared laser has invited aliens to come enjoy the city’s iconic bluegrass fields, bourbon and blues music. The message contains a bitmap key with symbols representing a sequence of prime numbers proving it originated from an intelligent civilization. The team also included chemical symbols of water, ethanol and dopamine to showcase that, well, Lexington is filled with bourbon and happiness. If aliens can’t interpret the molecular structure of the alcoholic beverage, perhaps the images underneath them of horses, rolling grass fields and a grid spelling out the city’s invitation will make it clear just what Lexington has to offer. The unusual campaign may sound like all fun and games, but the otherworldly tourism outreach was crafted based on research of potentially habitable planets. Robert Lodder, a professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky, consulted with experts in engineering, digital media, linguistics, philosophy and science fiction on how best to market Lexington to extraterrestrials. Together, the experts decided to aim the