Question

How would Frank Drake (line 56, Passage 2) most likely respond to the statement by the author of Passage 1 about humans colonizing other systems (line 26) ?

• A. The means to accomplish such a project may be beyond our reach.
• B. Interstellar colonization is as morally problematic as was colonization on Earth.
• C. We would do better to study indigenous life-forms rather than search for extraterrestrial creatures.
• D. Humans would be wise to consider that they themselves are subject to colonization.
• E. Funding for such an undertaking would pose a thorny political issue for any government.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

The means to accomplish such a project may be beyond our reach.

While discussing extraterrestrial, interstellar travel, Drake states that high-speed interstellar travel is very demanding of resources and hazardous that intelligent civilizations won't attempt it. In the context, Drake's reaction to the claim made by the author of passage 1 about humans colonizing other systems would be to state that the means and resources for such a project may not be within our reach. Thus A best befits the context.