Topic 95 Should government spend money exploring outer space? The word "Space adventure" has captured (захватили) a large number of people's heartThe word "Space adventure" has captured (захватили) a large number of people's heart. Many men have been attracted by the unknown world and have desired to live in space at some future time. The universe is the last and infinite un-explored region for human beings. However, space researches do not accomplish only by yearning (сильное желание). These researches cost hugely. Another way to express this is that spending money always has its opportunity cost. In other words, money spent on some venture (рискованное начинание) could have been used for financing some other alternative venture. Some people believe that money spent on space research benefits all of humanity. Other people believe that there are better opportunities for spending this fund (лучшие возможности для расходов этого фонда). She has a yearning to visit the village where she was born. — Ей очень хочется съездить в деревню, где она родилась. This first group of people claims that space researches have helped all of humanity's lives extremely. They point out that (Они указывают, что) researches on space have informed us about much environmental damage which we have caused to our planet. Similarly, they declare that (они заявляют, что) the present satellite system is due to the researches done in the past in space. There are also numerous new materials and inventions that can be traced directly (отнесены непосредственно) to space researches. These people hope to spend more money on researches, visit all the planets, and build space colonies. I haven't seen him either. — Я его также не видел. On the other hand, there are people who assert (утверждают) that money spent on space is a complete waste because it does not have sufficiently direct benefit to all the humanity. For instance, there is a sizable portion (saɪzəbl значительная часть) of the humanity does not have any access to food, education, sanitation (водопровод и канализация), health care and especially peace. Most of the members were aligned with the chairman; only a few disagreed. — Большинство участников думали так же, как и председатель; лишь несколько человек были не согласны. Personally, I find that I cannot align (присоединяться, поддерживать) myself completely with either group. I have some reservations (оговорка, замечание) about both positions. No one can deny that weather satellites and communication satellites are useful investments. But unrealistic researches like exploring Mars or Venus does not have any good bearing (отношение, аспект) on most peoples' development at the present. Some scientists may be interested in the composition of those planets, but the opportunity cost is extraordinary. In my opinion, it may cause lack of social infrastructures, if states inject immense funds (вливая огромные средства) into space researches in the limited budget.
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