【課文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What has modified out traditional view of Galileo in recent times?
In his own lifetime Galileo was the centre of violent controversy; but the scientific dust has long since settled, and today we can see even his famous clash with the Inquisition in something like its proper perspective. But, in contrast, it is only in modern times that Galileo has become a problem child for historians of science.
The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated. He was, above all, a man who experimented: who despised the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians, who put his questions to nature instead of to the ancients, and who drew his conclusions fearlessly. He had been the first to turn a telescope to the sky, and he had seen their evidence enough to overthrow Aristotle and Ptolemy together. He was the man who climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped various weights from the top, who rolled balls down inclined planes, and then generalized the results of his many experiments into the famous law of free fall.
But a closer study of the evidence, supported by a deeper sense of the period, and particularly by a new consciousness of the philosophical undercurrents in the scientific revolution, has profoundly modified this view of Galileo. Today, although the old Galileo lives on in many popular writings, among historians of science a new and more sophisticated picture has emerged. At the same time our sympathy for Galileo's opponents has grown somewhat. His telescopic observations are justly immortal; they aroused great interest at the time, they had important theoretical consequences, and they provided a striking demonstration of the potentialities hidden in instruments and apparatus. But can we blame those who looked and failed to see what Galileo saw, if we remember that to use a telescope at the limit of its powers calls for long experience and intimate familiarity with one's instrument? Was the philosopher who refused to look through Galileo's telescope more culpable than those who alleged that the spiral nebulae observed with Lord Rosse's great telescope in the eighteen-forties were scratches left by the grinder? We can perhaps forgive those who said the moons of Jupiter were produced by Galileo's spyglass if we recall that in his day, as for centuries before, curved glass was the popular contrivance for producing not truth but illusion, untruth; and if a single curved glass would distort nature, how much more would a pair of them?
MICHAEL HOSKIN Galileo Reborn from The Listener
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
controversy n. 爭議，爭論
dust n. 糾紛，騷動
clash n. 沖突
Inquisition n. (羅馬天主教的)宗教法庭
perspective n. 觀點，看法
despise v. 蔑視
generalize v. 歸納
undercurrent n. 潛流
apparatus n.器官, 機構(gòu),儀器
theoretical adj. 理論上的
potentiality n. 潛能
intimate adj. 詳盡的
familiarity n. 熟悉的
culpable adj. 應(yīng)受遣責的
Aristotelian n. 亞里士多德學派的人
Aristotle n. 亞里士多德(公元前384-322，古希臘哲學家)
Ptolemy n. 托勒密(公元90-168，古希臘天文學家)
Leaning Tower of Pisa 比薩斜塔
spiral adj. 螺旋狀的
nebula n. 星云
scratch n. 擦痕
contrivance n. 器械
distort v. 歪曲
【課文注釋】
1.violent controversy 激烈論戰(zhàn)
controversy n. 爭議, (公開的)爭論
例句：The remark touched off a heated controversy.
這句話引起了熱烈的爭論。
【詞義辨析】
controversy, argument, conflict, debate, dispute, quarrel, strife 這組名詞均有“爭執(zhí)、不和”之意。
controversy: 側(cè)重指深刻的意見分歧，多指對引起廣泛興趣或非常重要的問題的辨論。
argument: 指辯論雙方均以事實或理由來說服對方的辨論。
conflict: 指雙方堅持已見、互不妥協(xié)，懷有敵意的爭論，多暗示分歧極為嚴重，有時用語言無法解決，只得訴諸武力。
debate: 通常指經(jīng)過仔細組織和計劃的個人或團體之間的辯論。
dispute: 普通用詞，側(cè)重指長時間，言詞激烈，針鋒相對的爭辯。
quarrel: 普通用詞，既可指言詞激烈的爭吵，也可指溫和的言詞上的不和。
strife: 指因不可緩和的矛盾而引起的爭吵或斗毆。
2.something like 多少，大約
3.a problem child 做定語，修飾child。這是一種比喻修辭法，意思是“新出現(xiàn)的問題”。
4.a man who... who...who...who...,這里一連用了4個定語從句，均用who引導(dǎo)，構(gòu)成了排比結(jié)構(gòu)，起加強語氣的作用。
5.despise vt. 輕視
例句：I despise his refusing to accept responsibility.
他拒不承擔責任，我鄙視他。
You must not despise a man because he is poor.
你不可因一個人貧窮而輕視他。
【詞義辨析】
despise, scorn, look down upon 這些動詞或短語動詞均表示“輕視，蔑視”之意。
despise: 指由于卑鄙、軟弱，渺小或無價值等而被輕視。
scorn: 語氣較強，指極端的蔑視，常伴有憤怒或惱怒的情感。
look down upon: 指自視地位優(yōu)越而蔑視他人或事。
6.overthrow v. *, *, *
例句：The rebels have overthrown the government.
反叛者已*了政府。
【詞義辨析】
conquer, overcome, overthrow, defeat, beat, subdue 這些動詞均含“征服，戰(zhàn)勝”之意。
conquer : 側(cè)重戰(zhàn)勝和控制。書面用詞。
overcome : 多指戰(zhàn)勝或克服非物質(zhì)的東西，如困難和不良習慣等。語氣較弱也可指在斗爭或競爭中戰(zhàn)勝或壓倒對方。
overthrow : 指徹底擊敗對手，使其喪失力量和地位。
defeat : 普通用詞，多指在戰(zhàn)爭、比賽、競選或辯論中戰(zhàn)勝對手，側(cè)重勝利的暫時性。
beat : 口筆語均可用，可與defeat換用。
subdue : 正式用詞，與conquer同義，但強調(diào)失敗后的臣服狀態(tài);也可用作借喻，表克制、壓抑感情、欲望等。
7.generalize v. 概括, 歸納, 使一般化
例句：It is dangerous to generalize about people.
以偏概全地談?wù)撊耸俏ｋU的。
8.at the time 當時
9.use a telescope at the limit of its powers 用望遠鏡的極限放大率。
10.intimate adj.
①精通的,深入的,詳細的
例句：He has an intimate knowledge of American literature.
他精通美國文學。
②親密的，私人的
例句：Both of them felt that they had become very intimate.
他倆都感到他們已經(jīng)相當親密了。
11.culpable adj. 該責備的, 有罪的
例句：None of this necessarily means that Gap is a bad company, or culpable in the Saipan case.
這都不意味著蓋普是個差勁的公司，或者在西潘事件中是有罪的。
12.distort vt. 歪曲, 扭曲, 變形
例句：You have distorted my motives.
你曲解了我的動機。
The bias of a reporter can easily distort the news.
記者的偏見很容易歪曲新聞的報導(dǎo)。
【參考譯文】
伽利略在世時是激烈論戰(zhàn)的中心。但是，自他逝世以來，那場科學上的紛爭早已平息了下來，甚至他和宗教法庭的沖突，我們今天也能正確如實地看待。但是相比之下，對于科學史家來說，伽利略只是在現(xiàn)代才變成了一個新的難題。
令人高興的是，過去對伽利略的看法并不復(fù)雜。他首先是個實驗工作者，他蔑視亞里士多德學派的偏見和空洞的書本知識。他向自然界而不是向古人提出問題，并大膽地得出結(jié)論。他是第一個把望遠鏡對準天空的人，觀察到的論據(jù)足以把亞里士多德和托勒密一起*。他就是那個曾經(jīng)爬上比薩斜塔，從塔頂向下拋擲各種重物的人;他是那個使球體沿斜面向下滾動，然后將多次實驗結(jié)果概括成的自由落體定律的人。
但是，對那個時代的深化了解，尤其是以科學家革命中哲學潛流的新意識為依據(jù)，進一步仔細研究，就會極大地改變對伽利略的看法。今天，雖然已故的伽利略繼續(xù)活在許多通俗讀物中，但在科學史家中間，一個新的更加復(fù)雜的伽利略形象出現(xiàn)了。與此同時，我們對伽利略的反對派的同情也有所增加。伽利略用望遠鏡所作的觀察確實是不朽的，這些觀察當時引起人們極大的興趣，具有重要的理論意義，并充分顯示出了儀表和儀器的潛在力量。但是，如果我們想到，使用一架倍數(shù)有限的望遠鏡需要長期的經(jīng)驗和對自己儀器的熟悉程度，那么我們怎么能去責備觀察了天空但沒有看到伽利略所看到的東西的那些人呢?某位哲學家曾拒絕使用伽利略的望遠鏡去觀察天空;到了19世紀40年代，有人硬把羅斯勛爵高倍望遠鏡觀測到的螺旋狀星云說成是磨鏡工留下的磨痕。難道反對伽利略的哲學家比詆毀羅斯勛爵造謠者應(yīng)受到更大的譴責嗎?如果我們回想一下伽利略之前幾個世紀期間，曲面鏡一直是一種用于產(chǎn)生幻影而不是產(chǎn)生*的把戲裝置，那么我們就會原諒那些當時把伽利略觀察到的木星衛(wèi)星說成是伽利略用他的小望遠鏡變出來的人們，何況一片曲面鏡就可歪曲自然，那么伽利略的兩片曲面鏡對自然的歪曲又該多大呢?
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What has modified out traditional view of Galileo in recent times?
In his own lifetime Galileo was the centre of violent controversy; but the scientific dust has long since settled, and today we can see even his famous clash with the Inquisition in something like its proper perspective. But, in contrast, it is only in modern times that Galileo has become a problem child for historians of science.
The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated. He was, above all, a man who experimented: who despised the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians, who put his questions to nature instead of to the ancients, and who drew his conclusions fearlessly. He had been the first to turn a telescope to the sky, and he had seen their evidence enough to overthrow Aristotle and Ptolemy together. He was the man who climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped various weights from the top, who rolled balls down inclined planes, and then generalized the results of his many experiments into the famous law of free fall.
But a closer study of the evidence, supported by a deeper sense of the period, and particularly by a new consciousness of the philosophical undercurrents in the scientific revolution, has profoundly modified this view of Galileo. Today, although the old Galileo lives on in many popular writings, among historians of science a new and more sophisticated picture has emerged. At the same time our sympathy for Galileo's opponents has grown somewhat. His telescopic observations are justly immortal; they aroused great interest at the time, they had important theoretical consequences, and they provided a striking demonstration of the potentialities hidden in instruments and apparatus. But can we blame those who looked and failed to see what Galileo saw, if we remember that to use a telescope at the limit of its powers calls for long experience and intimate familiarity with one's instrument? Was the philosopher who refused to look through Galileo's telescope more culpable than those who alleged that the spiral nebulae observed with Lord Rosse's great telescope in the eighteen-forties were scratches left by the grinder? We can perhaps forgive those who said the moons of Jupiter were produced by Galileo's spyglass if we recall that in his day, as for centuries before, curved glass was the popular contrivance for producing not truth but illusion, untruth; and if a single curved glass would distort nature, how much more would a pair of them?
MICHAEL HOSKIN Galileo Reborn from The Listener
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
controversy n. 爭議，爭論
dust n. 糾紛，騷動
clash n. 沖突
Inquisition n. (羅馬天主教的)宗教法庭
perspective n. 觀點，看法
despise v. 蔑視
generalize v. 歸納
undercurrent n. 潛流
apparatus n.器官, 機構(gòu),儀器
theoretical adj. 理論上的
potentiality n. 潛能
intimate adj. 詳盡的
familiarity n. 熟悉的
culpable adj. 應(yīng)受遣責的
Aristotelian n. 亞里士多德學派的人
Aristotle n. 亞里士多德(公元前384-322，古希臘哲學家)
Ptolemy n. 托勒密(公元90-168，古希臘天文學家)
Leaning Tower of Pisa 比薩斜塔
spiral adj. 螺旋狀的
nebula n. 星云
scratch n. 擦痕
contrivance n. 器械
distort v. 歪曲
【課文注釋】
1.violent controversy 激烈論戰(zhàn)
controversy n. 爭議, (公開的)爭論
例句：The remark touched off a heated controversy.
這句話引起了熱烈的爭論。
【詞義辨析】
controversy, argument, conflict, debate, dispute, quarrel, strife 這組名詞均有“爭執(zhí)、不和”之意。
controversy: 側(cè)重指深刻的意見分歧，多指對引起廣泛興趣或非常重要的問題的辨論。
argument: 指辯論雙方均以事實或理由來說服對方的辨論。
conflict: 指雙方堅持已見、互不妥協(xié)，懷有敵意的爭論，多暗示分歧極為嚴重，有時用語言無法解決，只得訴諸武力。
debate: 通常指經(jīng)過仔細組織和計劃的個人或團體之間的辯論。
dispute: 普通用詞，側(cè)重指長時間，言詞激烈，針鋒相對的爭辯。
quarrel: 普通用詞，既可指言詞激烈的爭吵，也可指溫和的言詞上的不和。
strife: 指因不可緩和的矛盾而引起的爭吵或斗毆。
2.something like 多少，大約
3.a problem child 做定語，修飾child。這是一種比喻修辭法，意思是“新出現(xiàn)的問題”。
4.a man who... who...who...who...,這里一連用了4個定語從句，均用who引導(dǎo)，構(gòu)成了排比結(jié)構(gòu)，起加強語氣的作用。
5.despise vt. 輕視
例句：I despise his refusing to accept responsibility.
他拒不承擔責任，我鄙視他。
You must not despise a man because he is poor.
你不可因一個人貧窮而輕視他。
【詞義辨析】
despise, scorn, look down upon 這些動詞或短語動詞均表示“輕視，蔑視”之意。
despise: 指由于卑鄙、軟弱，渺小或無價值等而被輕視。
scorn: 語氣較強，指極端的蔑視，常伴有憤怒或惱怒的情感。
look down upon: 指自視地位優(yōu)越而蔑視他人或事。
6.overthrow v. *, *, *
例句：The rebels have overthrown the government.
反叛者已*了政府。
【詞義辨析】
conquer, overcome, overthrow, defeat, beat, subdue 這些動詞均含“征服，戰(zhàn)勝”之意。
conquer : 側(cè)重戰(zhàn)勝和控制。書面用詞。
overcome : 多指戰(zhàn)勝或克服非物質(zhì)的東西，如困難和不良習慣等。語氣較弱也可指在斗爭或競爭中戰(zhàn)勝或壓倒對方。
overthrow : 指徹底擊敗對手，使其喪失力量和地位。
defeat : 普通用詞，多指在戰(zhàn)爭、比賽、競選或辯論中戰(zhàn)勝對手，側(cè)重勝利的暫時性。
beat : 口筆語均可用，可與defeat換用。
subdue : 正式用詞，與conquer同義，但強調(diào)失敗后的臣服狀態(tài);也可用作借喻，表克制、壓抑感情、欲望等。
7.generalize v. 概括, 歸納, 使一般化
例句：It is dangerous to generalize about people.
以偏概全地談?wù)撊耸俏ｋU的。
8.at the time 當時
9.use a telescope at the limit of its powers 用望遠鏡的極限放大率。
10.intimate adj.
①精通的,深入的,詳細的
例句：He has an intimate knowledge of American literature.
他精通美國文學。
②親密的，私人的
例句：Both of them felt that they had become very intimate.
他倆都感到他們已經(jīng)相當親密了。
11.culpable adj. 該責備的, 有罪的
例句：None of this necessarily means that Gap is a bad company, or culpable in the Saipan case.
這都不意味著蓋普是個差勁的公司，或者在西潘事件中是有罪的。
12.distort vt. 歪曲, 扭曲, 變形
例句：You have distorted my motives.
你曲解了我的動機。
The bias of a reporter can easily distort the news.
記者的偏見很容易歪曲新聞的報導(dǎo)。
【參考譯文】
伽利略在世時是激烈論戰(zhàn)的中心。但是，自他逝世以來，那場科學上的紛爭早已平息了下來，甚至他和宗教法庭的沖突，我們今天也能正確如實地看待。但是相比之下，對于科學史家來說，伽利略只是在現(xiàn)代才變成了一個新的難題。
令人高興的是，過去對伽利略的看法并不復(fù)雜。他首先是個實驗工作者，他蔑視亞里士多德學派的偏見和空洞的書本知識。他向自然界而不是向古人提出問題，并大膽地得出結(jié)論。他是第一個把望遠鏡對準天空的人，觀察到的論據(jù)足以把亞里士多德和托勒密一起*。他就是那個曾經(jīng)爬上比薩斜塔，從塔頂向下拋擲各種重物的人;他是那個使球體沿斜面向下滾動，然后將多次實驗結(jié)果概括成的自由落體定律的人。
但是，對那個時代的深化了解，尤其是以科學家革命中哲學潛流的新意識為依據(jù)，進一步仔細研究，就會極大地改變對伽利略的看法。今天，雖然已故的伽利略繼續(xù)活在許多通俗讀物中，但在科學史家中間，一個新的更加復(fù)雜的伽利略形象出現(xiàn)了。與此同時，我們對伽利略的反對派的同情也有所增加。伽利略用望遠鏡所作的觀察確實是不朽的，這些觀察當時引起人們極大的興趣，具有重要的理論意義，并充分顯示出了儀表和儀器的潛在力量。但是，如果我們想到，使用一架倍數(shù)有限的望遠鏡需要長期的經(jīng)驗和對自己儀器的熟悉程度，那么我們怎么能去責備觀察了天空但沒有看到伽利略所看到的東西的那些人呢?某位哲學家曾拒絕使用伽利略的望遠鏡去觀察天空;到了19世紀40年代，有人硬把羅斯勛爵高倍望遠鏡觀測到的螺旋狀星云說成是磨鏡工留下的磨痕。難道反對伽利略的哲學家比詆毀羅斯勛爵造謠者應(yīng)受到更大的譴責嗎?如果我們回想一下伽利略之前幾個世紀期間，曲面鏡一直是一種用于產(chǎn)生幻影而不是產(chǎn)生*的把戲裝置，那么我們就會原諒那些當時把伽利略觀察到的木星衛(wèi)星說成是伽利略用他的小望遠鏡變出來的人們，何況一片曲面鏡就可歪曲自然，那么伽利略的兩片曲面鏡對自然的歪曲又該多大呢?