A：I'm reading an interesting report on Mars.

我在看一篇很有意思的有关火星的报道。

B：Oh, what does it say? Does it say water could still exist under the surface of Mars?

上面说什么?说没说火星地表下面可能会有水存在?

A：Absolutely! It says there is water on Mars buried beneath the surface. It's just a matter of how deep it is.

当然啦!报道中说火星的地下埋藏着水。只不过是一个深浅的问题。

B：Then could the soil on Mars somehow be fertile enough to groh simple plants?

那么火星土壤的肥沃程度够不够种植一些简单的作物呢?

A：The soil would need quite a bit of fertilizer to grow anything. And it would need to be protected from the UV radiation.

火星土壤得需要很多肥料才能长东西。而且还必须防止紫外线对作物的辐射。

B：Actually, we are doing a project in school that involves landing a ship and staying on Mars for an extended period of time. Doef NASA have any type of portable habitats that could be used to stay on the planet?

其实，现在我们正在学校里搞一个项目，内容包括让飞船在火星上登陆并停留相当长的时期。不知道航空航天局有没有供人们在火星上留居的移动式房屋?

A：I'm not sure NASA has built any porteble habitats for extended stays on Mars , but they have looked at various designs.

这我不是很清楚。但是他们考察了许多设计方案。

B：One of the most exciting things about Mars is that there could have bean life on it. What are your personal opinions on the life on Mars theory?

有关火星，最激动人心的事情就是火星或许曾经有过生命。你对火星生命论有何高见?

A：Well, I'm not really an expert in this area, but my understanding is that anything is possible. It's just that it is so hard to determine what went on 4.5 billion years ago.

我不是这方面的专家，不过我的观点是什么事情都有可能。只是想要弄清楚45亿年前发生过什么事情实在是不容易。

B：But maybe there is a chance of gradually improving the surface and atmosphere of Mars so it may be inhabitable by humans.

但是，也许我们可以逐步地改善火星的土质和大气层，使它能变得适合人类居住。

A：I'm skeptical. Mars is made of rocks containing silicon，iron, and various minerals. It also has an atmosphere of carbon dioxide. It is so different from what we have on earth, you know.

我对此表示怀疑。火星的地面是由含硅、铁及其他矿物的岩石构成的。另外，它的大气层的主要成分是二氧化碳。这都与地球的环境大不相同。

B：I'd still like to hope that some day we could set up a human colony there.

我还是希望有朝一日我们能在火星上建立人类的留居地。

A：But there are still other big problems we need to solve such as prolonged weightlessness, food storage, and a series of physiological effects.

那样的话，需要解决的问题还很多。像长期失重、食物短缺等等，以及一系列的生理反应问题。