Zog said, "that there is no life on Earth."

"How do you know this?" the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.

"For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is composed of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breather this air and survive."

"What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?"

"We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much heavier flying saucer than we originally planned."

"Are there any other hazards that you discovered in your studier?"

"Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black深黑色 cloud hovering over the surface of Earth? We call this the Consolidated Edison Belt. We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there."

"Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite findings indicate it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink. This means we shall have to carry our own water, which will add even greater更加重 weight to the saucer."

"Sir, what are all those tiny black spots on the photographs?"

"We're not certain. They seem to be metal particles that move along certain paths. They emit gases, make noise and keep crashing into each other. There are so many of these paths and so many metal particles that it is impossible to land a flying saucer without its being smashed by one."

oxygen
n. 氧，氧气
originally
ad. formerly 起初，原来
original originality独创性
a.原始的
hazard
n. danger=risk
hover
vi. stay in or near one place in the air 盘旋
consolidated
a. untied; combined 联合的
consolidate
vt.
belt
n. area that has some special quality; zone （地）带
indicate
vt. Show 显示出
indication
n.
pollute
vt. make (air, water, soil, etc.) dirty with manmade waste 污染
pollution
n.
unfit
a. not good enough; not suitable
particle
n. 粒子；微粒
emit
vt. send out 散发，射出
emission
n.
crash
v. (cause to) break into pieces violently 坠落；猛撞