1-encompass 包含

2-metaphysical 玄学的，形而上学的

For centuries human beings have wondered, although the ways in which we have gone about this have varied, encompassing spiritual and metaphysical questions as well as scientific ones.

3-extraterrestrial 外星人

Questions about extraterrestrials have become a subject for science rather than science fiction or philosophy.

4-configure 装配，设定

Data from the VLA's 28 giant radio telescopes, configured so as to scan a vast expanse of sky, will be fed through a special supercomputer that will search for distant signals.

5-eccentric 古怪的

6-margin 边缘

Scientists who work at the Seti institute said the announcement means their research, for a long time confirmed to the eccentric margins of respectable science, are almost mainstream.

7-exoplanet 太阳系外行星

While once it was thought that our solar system could be unique, since the discovery of the first exoplanet in the 1990s, thousands more have been located.

8-on one's own 独立地，依靠自己地

Are earth's 7.5 billion human inhabitants along with the billions of other animals and plants we share our home with, on our own, in the universe?

9-undimmed 不弱的，不模糊的

10-biosphere 生物圈

As investigations of Mars continue, our interest in the possibility of alien life appears undimmed- even as conditions in our own biosphere appear even more unstable.