Unit Three 
Text
Can you prove that the earth is round? Go ahead
and try! Will you rely on your senses or will ynu 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 gullible and superstitious 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
5 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 mentality.
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
10 modern knowledge. Just why do we believe that the earth is round? I am not
speaking of the few thousand astronomers, geographers and so forth 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
15 by the seashore on a clear day, you can see the masts and funnels of invisi-
ble 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 spherical. Imagine another theory called the Oval Earth theory,
which claims that the earth is shaped like an egg. What can I say against
20 it?
Against the Oval Earth man, the first card I can play is the analogy of
the sun and moon. The Oval Earth man promptly 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 perfectly well be flat discs. I have no answer to
25 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
30 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 minor exchanges, I now play my queen of trumps : the
opinion of the experts. The Astronomer Royal, who ought to know, tells me
that the earth is round. The Oval Earth man covers the queen with his king.
35 Have I tested the Astronomer Royal's statement, and would I even know a
way of testing it? Here I bring out my ace. Yes, I do know one test. The
astronomers can foretell eclipses, and this suggests that their opinions
about the solar system are pretty sound. I am, to my delight, justified in
accepting their say-so about the shape of the earth.
40 If the Oval Earth man answers -- what I believe is true - that the an-
cient Egyptians, who thought the sun goes round the earth, could also pre-
dict eclipses, then bang goes my ace. I have only one card left : navigation.
People can sail ships round the world, and reach the places they aim at, by
calculations which assume that the earth is spherical. I believe that
45 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 precarious ones. Yet this is an exceptionally elementary piece
of information. On most other questions I should have to fall back on the
50 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 igno-
ramus as soon as he strays away from his own specialty? Most people, if
55 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 credulous age, and
the burden of knowledge which we now have to carry is partly
60 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 superstition; believing in super-
stitions 迷信的
credulity /n. a tendency to believe too readily 轻信
cite/sait/vt. mention as an example; quote (a passage,
book,etc. ) 举出; 引用
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 /seik/ n. end, purpose 缘故
geographer /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 steamship (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 / 现象
(pl. phenomena) n.
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
likeness; similarity 类比; 相似
promptly /ad. quickly and willingly 敏捷地;迅速地
prompt a.
body n. = celestial body 天体
disc /disk/ n. 圆盘
cast vt. throw or drop; cause (light or shadow) to
aphear (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
n . (a case of) the act of exchanging
trump /n. 王牌
royal /a. for,belonging to,or ronnected 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 /eis/ 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 revolve
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 authoritative pronounrement; 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
navigation /n. the act or process of navigating 航海
calculation /n. the act of adding, subtracting, multipl-
ying,or dividing to find a result 计算
calculate vt.
calculator n. 计算器
couriter 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 mere assumption
不安全的；根据不足的，靠不住的
exceptionally / unusually
ad.
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 /strei/ 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 /'autlain/vt. indicate the main ideas or facts of
n. a systematic 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 tbe sake of for the good or advantage of ; for the purpose of
为了…的利益; ~为了
throw / shed lf ght 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
brlng 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
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