大学英语精读第四册 Unit Three:Why Do We Believe That the Ear

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Can you prove that the earth is round? Go ahead and try! Will you rely on your senses or will you have to draw on the opinions of experts?
WHY DO WE BELIEVE
THAT THE EARTH IS ROUND?

George Orwell
Somewhere or other — I think it is in the preface to saint Joan — Bernard Shaw remarks that we are more gullible² and superstitious³ today than we were in the Middle Ages, and as an example of modern credulity he cites the widespread belief that the earth is round. The average man, says Shaw, can advance not a single reason for thinking that the earth is round. He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth-century mentality⁵.
Now, Shaw is exaggerating, but there is something in what he says, and the question is worth following up, for the sake of the light it throws on modern knowledge. Just why do we believe that the earth is round? I am not speaking of the few thousand astronomers⁷, geographers⁹ and so forth¹⁰ who could give ocular proof, or have a theoretical knowledge of the proof, but of the ordinary newspaper-reading citizen, such as you or me.
As for the Flat Earth theory, I believe I could refute it. If you stand by the seashore on a clear day, you can see the masts and funnels¹¹ of invisible ships passing along the horizon. This phenomenon can only be explained by assuming that the earth's surface is curved. But it does not follow that the earth is spherical¹². Imagine another theory called the Oval Earth theory, which claims that the earth is shaped like an egg. What can I say against it?
Against the Oval Earth man, the first card I can play is the analogy of the sun and moon. The Oval Earth man promptly¹³ answers that I don't know, by my own observation, that those bodies are spherical. I only know that they are round, and they may perfectly¹⁴ well be flat discs. I have no answer to that one. Besides, he goes on, what reason have I for thinking that the earth must be the same shape as the sun and moon? I can't answer that one either.
My second card is the earth's shadow: When cast on the moon during eclipses, it appears to be the shadow of a round object. But how do I know, demands the Oval Earth man, that eclipses of the moon are caused by the shadow of the earth? The answer is that I don't know, but have taken this piece of information blindly from newspaper articles and science booklets.
Defeated in the minor¹⁵ exchanges, I now play my queen of trumps¹⁶: the opinion of the experts. The Astronomer⁶ Royal, who ought to know, tells me that the earth is round. The Oval Earth man covers the queen with his king. Have I tested the Astronomer Royal's statement, and would I even know a way of testing it? Here I bring out my ace¹. Yes, I do know one test. The astronomers can foretell¹⁷ eclipses, and this suggests that their opinions about the solar system are pretty sound. I am, to my delight, justified¹⁸ in accepting their say-so about the shape of the earth.
If the Oval Earth man answers — what I believe is true — that the ancient Egyptians, who thought the sun goes round the earth, could also predict eclipses, then bang goes my ace. I have only one card left: navigation. People can sail ship round the world, and reach the places they aim at, by calculations which assume that the earth is spherical. I believe that finishes the Oval Earth man, though even then he may possibly have some kind of counter.
It will be seen that my reasons for thinking that the earth is round are rather precarious¹⁹ ones. Yet this is an exceptionally elementary piece of information. On most other questions I should have to fall back on the expert much earlier, and would be less able to test his pronouncements. And much the greater part of our knowledge is at this level. It does not rest on reasoning or on experiment, but on authority. And how can it be otherwise, when the range of knowledge is so vast that the expert himself is an ignoramus as soon as he strays away from his own specialty²⁰? Most people, if asked to prove that the earth is round, would not even bother to produce the rather weak arguments I have outlined above. They would start off by saying that "everyone knows" the earth to be round, and if pressed further, would become angry. In a way Shaw is right. This is a credulous²¹ age, and the burden of knowledge which we now have to carry is partly responsible.

New Words
preface
n. an introduction to a book or speech 前言,序

gullible
a. easily deceived or cheated esp. into a false belief; credulous 易受骗的;轻信的

superstitious
a. full of superstition²²; believing in superstitions²³ 迷信的

credulity
n. a tendency to believe to readily 轻信

cite
vt. mention as an example; quote (a passage, book, etc.) 举出;引出

widespread
a. found or distributed over a large area 分布广的;普遍的

advance
vt. put or bring forward; offer 提出

appeal
vi. please, attract or interest 投合所好;有感染力;有吸引力

mentality
n. way of thinking, outlook; mental power or capacity 心理,思想;脑力

exaggerate
vt. think, speak or write of as greater than is really so; overstate 夸张;夸大

sake
n. end, purpose 缘故

geographer⁸
n. a specialist in geography

ocular
a. of, for, by the eyes; based on what has been seen 眼睛的;凭视觉的

theoretical
a. of or based on theory

citizen
n. 公民;市民

refute
vt. prove (a statement) to be untrue; prove (a person) to be mistaken 驳斥

mast
n. a long upright pole of wood or metal for carrying flags or sails on a ship 桅杆

funnel
n. a metal chimney for letting out smoke from a steam engine or steamship²⁴ (蒸汽机,轮船等的)烟囱

invisible
a. that can not be seen

horizon
n. the line where the sky seems to meet the earth or sea 地平线

phenomenon (pl. phenomena)
n. 现象

curve
vt. bend so as to form a line that has no straight part 使成曲线
n. a continuously bending line without angles 曲线

follow
vi. result or occur as a consequence, effect, or inference 结果产生;得出

spherical
a. shaped like a ball 球形的

oval
n.& a. (anything which is) egg-shaped 卵形的(东西), 椭圆的(东西)

card
n. 纸牌

analogy
n. comparison of things that have a certain likeness²⁵; similarity 类比; 相似

promptly
ad. quickly and willingly 敏捷地;迅速地

prompt a.

body
n. =celestial²⁶ body 天体

disc
n. 圆盘

cast
vt. throw or drop; cause (light or shadow) to appear (on) 扔,投; 投射

eclipse
n. the total or partial hiding of one celestial body by another (天文学)食

booklet
n. a small book, usu. with a paper cover 小册子

exchange
vt. give and receive (one thing in return for another) 交换

trump
n. 王牌

royal
a. for, belonging to, or connected with a king or queen 皇家的; 王室的

statement
n. expression in words; a written or spoken declaration, esp. of a formal kind 陈述;声明

ace
n. (纸牌中的)"A"牌,爱司

foretell
vt. tell beforehand; predict 预言

solar
a. of the sun

the solar system
the sun and the planets which revolve²⁷ round it

justify
vt. give a good reason for; show to be just, right or reasonable 证明……是正当的；为…辩护

say-so
n. an authoritative²⁸ pronouncement; one's unsupported assertion 权威性声明；无证据的断言

Egyptian
n.,a. (native) of Egypt 埃及人；埃及的

predict
vt. announce or tell beforehand; forecast 预言

bang
ad. with a sudden loud noise; with a sudden impact 砰地

navigation
n. the act or process of navigating²⁹ 航海

calculation
n. the act of adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing to find a result 计算

calculate vt.
calculator n. 计算器

counter
n. sth. of value in bargaining; a return attack, such as a blow in boxing 讨价还价的本钱；回击，反击

precarious
a. insecure; depending upon mere⁴ assumption 不安全的；根据不足的，靠不住的

exceptionally
ad. unusually

authority
n. power to influence; power to give orders and make others obey 权威；权力

ignoramus
n. an ignorant person 无知的人

stray
vi. wander away; (of thoughts or conversation) move away from the subject 走离；离题

specialty
n. a special field of work or study 专业

outline
vt. indicate the main ideas or facts of
n. a systematic³⁰ listing of the important points of a subject 提纲

press
vt. demand or ask for continuously 催促，逼迫

credulous
a. tending to believe sth. on little evidence, arising from credulity 轻信的

burden
n. sth. difficult to bear; load 重负；负荷

Phrases & Expressions
follow up
pursue or investigate closely; take further action after (sth.) 深入研究或调查；采取进一步行动

for the sake of
for the good or advantage of; for the purpose of 为了…的利益；为了

throw/shed light on
make clear; explain 使明白，使明朗；解释

and so forth
and so on

as for
with regard to, concerning 至于

may well (not)
be very likely (not) to 完全（不）可能

bring out
show; offer to the public 拿出；使显出；推出（新产品等）

aim at
have as one's target, objective, etc.

fall back on
turn to for support 求助于

rest on
depend on, rely on

stray away from
wander from; move from 偏离

start off
begin; depart

in a way
to a certain extent; a little; somewhat 在某种程度上

Proper Names
Saint Joan
圣女贞德

Bernard Shaw
萧伯纳

1 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

2 gullible   

adj.易受骗的；轻信的

参考例句：

• The swindlers had roped into a number of gullible persons.骗子们已使一些轻信的人上了当。
• The advertisement is aimed at gullible young women worried about their weight.这则广告专门针对担心自己肥胖而易受骗的年轻女士。

3 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

6 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

7 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 geographer   

n.地理学者

参考例句：

• His grandfather is a geographer.他的祖父是一位地理学家。
• Li Siguang is a famous geographer.李四光是一位著名的地理学家。

9 geographers   

地理学家( geographer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains. 地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Many geographers now call this landmass Eurasia. 许多地理学家现在把这块陆地叫作欧亚大陆。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

12 spherical   

adj.球形的；球面的

参考例句：

• The Earth is a nearly spherical planet.地球是一个近似球体的行星。
• Many engineers shy away from spherical projection methods.许多工程师对球面投影法有畏难情绪。

13 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 foretell   

v.预言，预告，预示

参考例句：

• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring.柳枝绽青报春来。
• The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。

18 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

19 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

20 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

21 credulous   

adj.轻信的，易信的

参考例句：

• You must be credulous if she fooled you with that story.连她那种话都能把你骗倒，你一定是太容易相信别人了。
• Credulous attitude will only make you take anything for granted.轻信的态度只会使你想当然。

22 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

23 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

24 steamship   

n.汽船，轮船

参考例句：

• The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
• It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大，汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。

25 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

26 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

27 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。

28 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

29 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

30 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。