大学英语精读第四册第3课内容详解

　　导语：地球是一个不规则的球体，但是很多人误以为地球就是圆的，下面是一篇为什么我们相信地球是圆的的英语课文，欢迎大家学习。

　　Text　　Canyouprovethattheearthisround?Goaheadandtry!Willyourelyonyoursensesorwillyouhavetodrawontheopinionsofexperts?

　　WHYDOWEBELIEVE

　　THATTHEEARTHISROUND?

　　GeorgeOrwell

　　SomewhereorotherIthinkitisintheprefacetosaintJoanBernardShawremarksthatwearemoregullibleandsuperstitioustodaythanwewereintheMiddleAges,andasanexampleofmoderncredulityhecitesthewidespreadbeliefthattheearthisround.Theaverageman,saysShaw,canadvancenotasinglereasonforthinkingthattheearthisround.Hemerelyswallowsthistheorybecausethereissomethingaboutitthatappealstothetwentieth-centurymentality.

　　Now,Shawisexaggerating,butthereissomethinginwhathesays,andthequestionisworthfollowingup,forthesakeofthelightitthrowsonmodernknowledge.Justwhydowebelievethattheearthisround?Iamnotspeakingofthefewthousandastronomers,geographersandsoforthwhocouldgiveocularproof,orhaveatheoreticalknowledgeoftheproof,butoftheordinarynewspaper-readingcitizen,suchasyouorme.

　　AsfortheFlatEarththeory,IbelieveIcouldrefuteit.Ifyoustandbytheseashoreonaclearday,youcanseethemastsandfunnelsofinvisibleshipspassingalongthehorizon.Thisphenomenoncanonlybeexplainedbyassumingthattheearth'ssurfaceiscurved.Butitdoesnotfollowthattheearthisspherical.ImagineanothertheorycalledtheOvalEarththeory,whichclaimsthattheearthisshapedlikeanegg.WhatcanIsayagainstit?

　　AgainsttheOvalEarthman,thefirstcardIcanplayistheanalogyofthesunandmoon.TheOvalEarthmanpromptlyanswersthatIdon'tknow,bymyownobservation,thatthosebodiesarespherical.Ionlyknowthattheyareround,andtheymayperfectlywellbeflatdiscs.Ihavenoanswertothatone.Besides,hegoeson,whatreasonhaveIforthinkingthattheearthmustbethesameshapeasthesunandmoon?Ican'tanswerthatoneeither.

　　Mysecondcardistheearth'sshadow:Whencastonthemoonduringeclipses,itappearstobetheshadowofaroundobject.ButhowdoIknow,demandstheOvalEarthman,thateclipsesofthemoonarecausedbytheshadowoftheearth?TheansweristhatIdon'tknow,buthavetakenthispieceofinformationblindlyfromnewspaperarticlesandsciencebooklets.

　　Defeatedintheminorexchanges,Inowplaymyqueenoftrumps:theopinionoftheexperts.TheAstronomerRoyal,whooughttoknow,tellsmethattheearthisround.TheOvalEarthmancoversthequeenwithhisking.HaveItestedtheAstronomerRoyal'sstatement,andwouldIevenknowawayoftestingit?HereIbringoutmyace.Yes,Idoknowonetest.Theastronomerscanforetelleclipses,andthissuggeststhattheiropinionsaboutthesolarsystemareprettysound.Iam,tomydelight,justifiedinacceptingtheirsay-soabouttheshapeoftheearth.

　　IftheOvalEarthmananswerswhatIbelieveistruethattheancientEgyptians,whothoughtthesungoesroundtheearth,couldalsopredicteclipses,thenbanggoesmyace.Ihaveonlyonecardleft:navigation.Peoplecansailshiproundtheworld,andreachtheplacestheyaimat,bycalculationswhichassumethattheearthisspherical.IbelievethatfinishestheOvalEarthman,thougheventhenhemaypossiblyhavesomekindofcounter.

　　Itwillbeseenthatmyreasonsforthinkingthattheearthisroundareratherprecariousones.Yetthisisanexceptionallyelementarypieceofinformation.OnmostotherquestionsIshouldhavetofallbackontheexpertmuchearlier,andwouldbelessabletotesthispronouncements.Andmuchthegreaterpartofourknowledgeisatthislevel.Itdoesnotrestonreasoningoronexperiment,butonauthority.Andhowcanitbeotherwise,whentherangeofknowledgeissovastthattheexperthimselfisanignoramusassoonashestraysawayfromhisownspecialty?Mostpeople,ifaskedtoprovethattheearthisround,wouldnotevenbothertoproducetheratherweakargumentsIhaveoutlinedabove.Theywouldstartoffbysayingthateveryoneknowstheearthtoberound,andifpressedfurther,wouldbecomeangry.InawayShawisright.Thisisacredulousage,andtheburdenofknowledgewhichwenowhavetocarryispartlyresponsible.

　　NewWords　　preface

　　n.anintroductiontoabookorspeech前言,序

　　gullible

　　a.easilydeceivedorcheatedesp.intoafalsebelief;credulous易受骗的;轻信的

　　superstitious

　　a.fullofsuperstition;believinginsuperstitions迷信的

　　credulity

　　n.atendencytobelievetoreadily轻信

　　cite

　　vt.mentionasanexample;quote(apassage,book,etc.)举出;引出

　　widespread

　　a.foundordistributedoveralargearea分布广的;普遍的

　　advance

　　vt.putorbringforward;offer提出

　　appeal

　　vi.please,attractorinterest投合所好;有感染力;有吸引力

　　mentality

　　n.wayofthinking,outlook;mentalpowerorcapacity心理,思想;脑力

　　exaggerate

　　vt.think,speakorwriteofasgreaterthanisreallyso;overstate夸张;夸大

　　sake

　　n.end,purpose缘故

　　geographer

　　n.aspecialistingeography

　　ocular

　　a.of,for,bytheeyes;basedonwhathasbeenseen眼睛的;凭视觉的

　　theoretical

　　a.oforbasedontheory

　　citizen

　　n.公民;市民

　　refute

　　vt.prove(astatement)tobeuntrue;prove(aperson)tobemistaken驳斥

　　mast

　　n.alonguprightpoleofwoodormetalforcarryingflagsorsailsonaship桅杆

　　funnel

　　n.ametalchimneyforlettingoutsmokefromasteamengineorsteamship(蒸汽机,轮船等的)烟囱

　　invisible

　　a.thatcannotbeseen

　　horizon

　　n.thelinewheretheskyseemstomeettheearthorsea地平线

　　phenomenon(pl.phenomena)

　　n.现象

　　curve

　　vt.bendsoastoformalinethathasnostraightpart使成曲线

　　n.acontinuouslybendinglinewithoutangles曲线

　　follow

　　vi.resultoroccurasaconsequence,effect,orinference结果产生;得出

　　spherical

　　a.shapedlikeaball球形的

　　oval

　　n.&a.(anythingwhichis)egg-shaped卵形的(东西),椭圆的(东西)

　　card

　　n.纸牌

　　analogy

　　n.comparisonofthingsthathaveacertainlikeness;similarity类比;相似

　　promptly

　　ad.quicklyandwillingly敏捷地;迅速地

　　prompta.

　　body

　　n.=celestialbody天体

　　disc

　　n.圆盘

　　cast

　　vt.throwordrop;cause(lightorshadow)toappear(on)扔,投;投射

　　eclipse

　　n.thetotalorpartialhidingofonecelestialbodybyanother(天文学)食

　　booklet

　　n.asmallbook,usu.withapapercover小册子

　　exchange

　　vt.giveandreceive(onethinginreturnforanother)交换

　　trump

　　n.王牌

　　royal

　　a.for,belongingto,orconnectedwithakingorqueen皇家的;王室的

　　statement

　　n.expressioninwords;awrittenorspokendeclaration,esp.ofaformalkind陈述;声明

　　ace

　　n.(纸牌中的')A牌,爱司

　　foretell

　　vt.tellbeforehand;predict预言

　　solar

　　a.ofthesun

　　thesolarsystem

　　thesunandtheplanetswhichrevolveroundit

　　justify

　　vt.giveagoodreasonfor;showtobejust,rightorreasonable证明是正当的;为辩护

　　say-so

　　n.anauthoritativepronouncement;one'sunsupportedassertion权威性声明;无证据的断言

　　Egyptian

　　n.,a.(native)ofEgypt埃及人;埃及的

　　predict

　　vt.announceortellbeforehand;forecast预言

　　bang

　　ad.withasuddenloudnoise;withasuddenimpact砰地

　　navigation

　　n.theactorprocessofnavigating航海

　　calculation

　　n.theactofadding,subtracting,multiplying,ordividingtofindaresult计算

　　calculatevt.

　　calculatorn.计算器

　　counter

　　n.sth.ofvalueinbargaining;areturnattack,suchasablowinboxing讨价还价的本钱;回击，反击

　　precarious

　　a.insecure;dependinguponmereassumption不安全的;根据不足的，靠不住的

　　exceptionally

　　ad.unusually

　　authority

　　n.powertoinfluence;powertogiveordersandmakeothersobey权威;权力

　　ignoramus

　　n.anignorantperson无知的人

　　stray

　　vi.wanderaway;(ofthoughtsorconversation)moveawayfromthesubject走离;离题

　　specialty

　　n.aspecialfieldofworkorstudy专业

　　outline

　　vt.indicatethemainideasorfactsof

　　n.asystematiclistingoftheimportantpointsofasubject提纲

　　press

　　vt.demandoraskforcontinuously催促，逼迫

　　credulous

　　a.tendingtobelievesth.onlittleevidence,arisingfromcredulity轻信的

　　burden

　　n.sth.difficulttobear;load重负;负荷

　　Phrases&Expressions　　followup

　　pursueorinvestigateclosely;takefurtheractionafter(sth.)深入研究或调查;采取进一步行动

　　forthesakeof

　　forthegoodoradvantageof;forthepurposeof为了的利益;为了

　　throw/shedlighton

　　makeclear;explain使明白，使明朗;解释

　　andsoforth

　　andsoon

　　asfor

　　withregardto,concerning至于

　　maywell(not)

　　beverylikely(not)to完全(不)可能

　　bringout

　　show;offertothepublic拿出;使显出;推出(新产品等)

　　aimat

　　haveasone'starget,objective,etc.

　　fallbackon

　　turntoforsupport求助于

　　reston

　　dependon,relyon

　　strayawayfrom

　　wanderfrom;movefrom偏离

　　startoff

　　begin;depart

　　inaway

　　toacertainextent;alittle;somewhat在某种程度上

　　ProperNames　　SaintJoan

　　圣女贞德

　　BernardShaw

　　萧伯纳