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Unit 3你能证明地球是圆的吗?来试试看吧!你将依靠你自己的智力还是不得不引用专家的观点呢?我们为什么相信地球是圆的?乔治·奥韦尔记得在什么地方——我想是在《圣女贞德》序言中——肖伯纳评论说,今天我们比在中世纪时更加轻信,更加迷信。
而作为现代轻信的例证,他举出地圆说这一广为传播的信念。
肖伯纳说,普通人举不出一条理由来说明为什么相信地球是圆的。
他全盘接受这一理论,只是因为这一理论中有一种迎合20世纪心态的东西。
当然,肖伯纳是夸大其词了,但他说的也确实有些道理,这一问题值得进一步探讨,因为它会帮助人们看清现代知识的真实情况。
我们究竟为什么会相信地球是圆的呢?我说的不是数千位天文学家、地理学家之类的人,他们可以用观察到的事实或用理论上的根据来证实这一点,我指的是如同你我之辈的报纸的普通读者。
至于“地平说”,我相信我能够加以驳斥。
如果你在天气晴朗的日子站立海边,你可以看到船桅和烟囱沿着地平线移动而不见船体本身。
只有假设地球表面呈曲线状,这一现象才能得到解释。
但不能由此推断地球是球形的。
设想另一个称做“地球卵形说”的理论吧,这一学说声称地球形如蛋状。
对此,我能说什么加以反驳呢?面对“地球卵形说”者,我能打的第一张牌是,可以根据太阳和月亮来类推。
“地球卵形说”者立即回敬道,我无法根据自己的观察得知那些天体是球形的。
我只能得知他们是圆的,而它们完全可能呈扁平的圆盘状。
我对此无言以答。
此外,他还会说,我凭什么理由认为地球一定与太阳和月亮的形状相同?对此,我同样无法解答。
我的第二张牌是地球的影子: 月食期间,地球投在月亮上的影子看上去呈圆形物体状。
但“地球卵形说”者马上要问,我怎么知道月食是由地球的影子造成的呢?回答是,我并不知道,我只是照搬报刊文章和科普小册子上的说法而已。
小小交锋受挫,于是我打出一张王牌“Q”: 专家的看法。
英国格林威治皇家天文台台长总该是权威了,他告诉我说地球是圆的。
“地球卵形说”者用他的“K”牌压倒我的“Q”牌。
Lesson Three1. Translate 1) into Chinese(1) 专业的历史工作者(2) 基于常识的反应(3) 事物的这种状况(4) 意见不一的历史学家(5) 已经准备好了的现成的东西(6) 一个个人喜好不同的问题(7) 截然不同的观点(8) 民间故事(9) 书面文件(10) 过去的遗留物(11) 人的动机和行为(12) 复杂和精细(13) 商船(14) 一旦发生潜艇战(15) 一个粗糙的理论(16) 好战的行为；战争行为(17) 宣传机器(18) 德国外交部长(19) 实力平衡(20) （事物的）因果(21) 海岸炮兵(22) 终极关怀(23) （事物的）近因(24) 人们常说的一句话(25) 不会出错的解释(26) 绝对有效的模式(27) 永不停止的探索(28) 一个难以达到但又十分诱人的目标2）into English1) to gain new insights2) to revise one’s ideas3) to trace the cause4) to begin from this premise5) to to open fire on/at6) to give equal weight to sth7) to support a certain view8) to influence the government9) to destroy the balance of power10) to form a alliance11) to repay the loans12) to contemplate war13) to fill in the gaps14) to conclude the quest15) to view sth. from a certainperspective 16) to benefit from the comparison17) to eliminate differences18) to dig into the problem19) to be immersed in a vast sea20) to stem from a different point ofview21) to be destined to do sth22) to ignore the fact23) to make an assumption24) to defeat the enemy25) to win back one’s lost territory26) to sink a boat27) to intercept the secret message28) to piece together evidence29) to approximate the truth30) to master new techniques2. Give synonyms and antonyms of the following.1) synonyms(1) puzzling, baffling(2) fascinating(3) clear, plain, obvious, noticeable(4) final, last(5) to correct, to change, to alter, to modify, to rewrite(6) to dig into, to investigate, to look into(7) warlike, warring, aggressive, hostile(8) besides, apart from, plus(9) in the case of, should sth occur(10) nevertheless, in spite of that, just the same(11) to end (the search / probing)(12) to refer to(13) convincingly(14) on the whole, generally speaking(15) in addition, besides, apart from that, what’s more(16) through2) antonyms(1) to be praised(2) depressing(3) doubtful(4) unsoundness, weakness(5) conclusion(6) effect(7) disproportionate(8) anti-British(9) to take into account: to ignore(10) a well-developed (theory), a sophisticated (theory)(11) clear, clear-minded(12) non-professional, amateurish3. Replace the words in bold type with words and phrases you knowthat convey more or less the same meaning.1) simple/primitive; told; thick2) pondering/thinking about; future/fate; insignificant3) completely/entirely; different/opposite4) consider/regard; look at; angles/points of view5) knows very well; growing/increasing; complaints6) besides/apart from; easy; in the case of/if there is7) purposely paid no attention to8) generally/on the whole; however/but; come from/originate from9) absolutely reliable; wipe out/get rid of; bound to4. Translate1) The cause of the aircraft crash is so far unknown.2) The cause of global warming is still hotly debated among scientists.3) He devoted all his life to the cause of environmental protection.4) The river has caused us a lot of trouble in history.5) What do you think caused the upsurge in international terrorism?6) We must try and unite with those who have opposed us.7) There is always opposition to any progress and reform.8) Some people are always opposed to new things.9) A lot of those loans were never repaid. That high ratio of bad debts finally led tothe financial crisis in this second economic power in the world.10) The Busine ss Bank now offers a special loan to students who can’t pay for theireducation.11) The boy asked Mrs. Stow for the loan of her binoculars.12) She concluded her speech by saying that she hoped she could come againsome day and see more of the country.13) As soon as they concluded the investigation, they were to report to the SecurityCouncil.14) During his visit, he will conclude a new trade agreement with India.15) Based on those reasonable doubts, the jury had to conclude that the boy wasnot guilty.16) She is flying to New York by way of Tokyo.17) I’d like to say a few words about the situation in the sixties of the last century byway of an introduction to the movie.18) They decided to recall their ambassador by way of protest.5. Put the most appropriate words in the blanks.1) while/although; to2) over/about; with3) to; in4) led to/resulted in/caused5) with; lends/gives/brings6) from; in7) as to; of8) in the even of; survive9) to; to; study10) out; in11) in; weight/priority12) denote; of13) immersed/buried; more or less14) rather; the more15) at; stems from/comes from/originates from/results from16) base; filled in6. Show the difference between the following pairs or groups of works.1) (1) historic (2) historical (3) historical;historical 4) historic ( 5) historic2) (1) economic;economic (2) economical (3) economical (4) economical(5) economic3) (1) limited (2) limit (3) restricted (4) restricted (5) limited (6) restrict4) (1) cause (2) courses (3) course (4) course (5) cause;course5) (1) source (2) sauce (3) source (4) source;sauce6) (1) suppose/assume (2) supposed (3) presume/assume (4) Suppose(5) presumed7. Choose the best word or phrase for each blank from the four supplied in brackets.(1) only(2) tirelessly(3) motion(4) federal(5) Drastic (6) as(7) argued(8) which(9) the 1920s(10) sound(11) a(12) traced(13) lay(14) prepared(15) resulted1.Grammar in context1) (1) therefore: to show result(2) and: to add; however: to contrast(3) yet: to contrast(4) finally: to end a series(5) rather: to introduce a fact that is different from what has just been mentioned(6) at the same time: to indicate time(7) in other words: to explain(8) in the end: to conclude(9) but: to contrast; first: or enumerate; furthermore: to add(10) that is: to explain; but: to contrast; on the other hand: to contrast2. Put in appropriate transitional words or phrases.1) therefore2) therefore3) For example4) on the other hand5) furthermore 6) on the contrary7) In short8) At first, however9) Consequently10) even so11) moreover12) therefore13) however14) in fact15) that is3. Complete the sentences below with “one” or “a/an”.1) a,a2) one, a3) one4) a5) One, a 6) one7) a8) a, a9) One10) One, a11) A12) one13) a, one14) An, a15) a, an16) a, a17) One, a18) one19) One20) one4.translate the sentences1）Heroes and heroines are people with unusual qualities.2）Celebrities are people who become famous because of publicity through the media.3）In China's mainland, "sweetheart" often refers to a person's husband or wife.4）A fair-weather friend is one who will desert you as soon as you are in trouble.5）Broadly speaking, money refers to anything generally accepted in exchange for other goods and services.6）An armchair revolutionary is one who talks about revolution, but who doesn’t put what he says into practice.7）Professor Lu says that a good teacher is one who does all he/she can to make himself/herself unnecessary for the students.8）Economics is defined as the social science that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.9）DVD is a disk on which large amounts of information, esp. photographs and video can be stored in a computer.10）The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines "workaholic" as "a person who works most of the time and finds it difficult to stop working and do other things".5. Put in a preposition or an adverb in the blanks.1) after, in, of, from, of, down, in, for2) During/In, on3) In,except, of, with4)) for, by, with, At, to, by, With, in, up6. CCDAB DCBAC DCCAB。
