Module5TheConquestoftheUniverse【导读】在图谋哈里吉尔伯特的科幻小说《星际动物园》中，16岁名为蜂鸟的主角为了逃避和牛子结婚而逃离她的行星时发现了令她非常吃惊的东西，究竟是什么呢？TheStarZoo(excerpt)Icouldn'tbelievewhatI'ddone.I'drunaway－me！I'mnotverybraveandIlovemyparentsverymuch.IneverthoughtIcouldeverdisobeythem.Iwasafraid.AndIfeltsadformyparents.Poormotherandfather!ButIhadtolivemyownlife.Icouldn'tgetmarriedtoahorribleoldmanlikeBuffalo!IknewtheywouldfollowmequicklysoItoldthespaceshiptotakemetoaveryquietpartoftheGalaxy，alongwayfromanyplanetswithpeopleon.Thespaceshipwent.HowcanaspaceshiptravelacrosstheGalaxyinnotimeatall?Well，Ilearnttheanswertothatinschool.Therearealotoflittleblackholesinspace.Theyareaboutasbigasapotato.AspaceshipgoesintooneblackholeandcomesoutofanotherblackholeontheothersideoftheGalaxy.Don'taskmehowabigthinglikeaspaceshipcangointoathingassmallasapotato.Iwasprobablyasleepwhentherobotteachertoldmetheanswertothat!Nobodycouldfindmenow.IwasinthemiddleoftheGalaxyinemptyspace.Therewerestarsabovemyhead，starsbelowmyfeet，starsonmylefthand，starsonmyrighthand.Strange，Iknewallthesestarswerealong，longwayawaybuttheydidn'tlookfaraway.Theylookedveryclose；Iwantedtoreachoutmyhandandtouchthem.Andthesilence.Sovery，very，veryquiet.TheBookofRememberingsayshowIfelt：‘Theirheartswereempty.’Myheartwasempty.IsawmillionsofstarsbuttherewasnolifeintheGalaxyexceptushumans.Well，therearepotatoesandwheatandricebutyoucan'ttalktovegetables.Wearealone.TheBookofRememberingsayswedidit.WepollutedEarthandsokilledalltheanimals.WeranawayfromEarthandwe'restillrunning.Thatwastwentythousandyearsagoandwestillcan'tforget.TheBookofRememberinggivesnamesforthousandsofanimals.Fantastic！Couldtherereallybethousandsofanimals？Theideaofanimalsissostrange.Whatdidtheylooklike？TheBookofRememberinghasnopictures，butsaystherearebirdsthatfly，andfishthatswim.Thereareanimalswithnolegs，andanimalswithlotsoflegs－ugh！Whatahorribleidea!Cananybodybelievestorieslikethat?AndnowIwasrunningawaytoo.PerhapsIwaswrongtorunaway.Suddenlythespaceshipwent‘PING！’‘Yes.whatisit？’Iasked.‘Thereissomethingnearus.’‘Oh！’Isaid.‘Ithoughtwewerealongwayfromanythingouthere.Takemecloser.’Wemovedcloser，butIcouldn'tseeanything.Thenonestardisappeared，thenanotherstar，andanother.Itwastoodarktoseewhatthethingwas.Itwasjustabigblackshapebetweenmeandthestars.Itwasprobablyjustabigoldrock，whichhadbrokenoffamoonoraplanet.Well，perhapsitcontainedgoldorsomething.ThenIcouldshowtheStarCouncilIwasdoingimportantwork.PerhapsthatwouldbeagoodreasonnottomarryBuff.Isaid，‘Findoutwhatitismadeof.’Thespaceshipshotalaseratthethingandsaid，‘Itisnotnatural.Itmaybeaspaceship，althoughitismovingtooslowlytoarriveatastar.Itismadeofplastic.’Aspaceshipmadeofplastic？Youcan'tmakespaceshipsoutofplastic！Andspaceshipsdon'ttravelslowly.Iwasalittleafraid，butthiswassomethingreallyimportant；nobodycouldmakemegetmarriedafterIhaddiscoveredsomethingasstrangeasthis.Iwasafraidbutalsoexcited.Mostgirlsjustgetmarriedonceayearandhaveanotherbaby.That'senoughexcitementforthem.Notme!Iwasgoingtovisitthisspaceshipandmeet—thepeopleinsideit.《星际动物园》节选我的所作所为真是难以置信。我跑掉了——天啊！我的胆子不是很大，我也非常爱我的父母。我从没想过我会不听他们的。我害怕。我为我的父母感到难过。可怜的妈妈、爸爸！但我要过自己的生活。我不能嫁给水牛那样的糟老头子！我...
