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 there 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 Balileo's opponents has grown somewhat. His telescopic observation 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 spy-glass 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?

New words and expressions 生词短语

Galileo 意大利物理及天文学家
Italian
He is the founder of modern physics. Sun Center/ Earth Center
Roman Catholic
heretic 异教徒governing body
All roads lead to Rome.
controversy n. 争论，争议=argument/quarrel/debate/clash
I had words with my wife.吵架
They two are controversial.因观点不同而争论
universiade debating 大学生辩论会
controversial
beyond controversy 毫无疑问=beyond question
dust n. 纠纷，骚动
to raise dust
Dust are you from, back to dust you will go.
rib 肋骨/steak 排骨
He always licks the dust.卑躬屈膝
eat dust 忍辱负重，卧薪尝胆
The emperor of Yue ate dust for several years. Finally he turned against and also he successed.
raise a dust/ kick up a dust 引起争论
His rude remarks raise a dust.
clash n. 冲突
mental conflict

confrontation
If you go to America, you will find very surprising and shocking clash between western and
oriental cultures.中西文化的强烈冲突
the Inquisition n. （罗马天主教的）宗教法庭
thirty days grace/confess
perspective n. 观点，看法=view/stand/stance/proposition
My view/stand/stance/proposition is that...我的观点是…
prejudice n. 偏见
《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)全书第一句是：It is a truth well-known to the world that an
unmarried man in possession of a big fortune must be in want of a wife.有钱的单身汉总想娶位
太太，这已成为一条举世公认的真理。
arranged marriage 包办婚姻
be prejudiced against
He has a prejudice against me.他对我有偏见。
be discriminate against
Blacks are discriminated against.黑人受歧视。
racial discrimination 种族歧视
The mom plays favorites with her eldest son.母亲对大儿子偏心。
above all 首先
He is honest. He is kind. Above all he is very diligent.（强调“勤奋”）
despise vt. 蔑视 dislike/belittle/contempt/despise/loathe
I despise snakes.
Aristotle 古希腊哲学家physics/rhetoric/poetry/psychology
mind of the school
Ptolemy 古希腊哲学家Leaning Tower of Pisa 比萨斜塔
inclined plane 斜面horizontal plane 水平面
generalize vt. 归纳generalization/summarize/induce
free fall 自由落体
undercurrent n. 潜流a hidden tendency behind the general opinion
sympathy n. 同情I have sympathy for him.
be sympathetic withfellow feeling
justly ad. 确实地，无疑地 no doubt
immortal a. 不朽的Humans are mortal.
mortal sins 人世间的罪He dealt me a mortal blow.他给了我致命一击。
He is mortally ill.病重the immortals 长生不老的人
intimate a. 详尽的=detailed intimate report
exhaustive/minute/blow-by-blow
familiarity n. 熟悉familiar
I am familiar with it.It is familiar to me.
Familiarity breeds contempt.Distance lets enchantment to do well.
culpable a. 应受谴责的=condemnable
culprit 罪犯allege vt. 断言
spiral a. 螺旋状的nebula n. 星云
dust and mistscratch n. 擦痕
scratch a match 划火柴scratch a meal 扒两口饭
scratch backscratch catpinch
Jupiter n. 木星
罗马神话(Roman mythology)的主神是 Jupiter
希腊神话(Greek mythology)的主神是 Zeus
spy-glass n. 小望远镜telescopecontrivance n. 器械
instrument/appliancedistort vt. 歪曲=falsify/misrepresent/warp
distort the fact 歪曲事实reborn n. 再生=rebirth
Notes on the text 课文注释
long since 早已
He has long since died. the scientific dust since then has settled for a long time
in its proper/wrong perspectivesomething like/proper
He is something like musician.something like its proper perspective 基本正确地来看待
in its proper sense/perspectivein contrast 相反controversial figure
view of Galileo 人们对 Galileo 的看法
Galileo's view Galileo 的看法book learning 书本知识blind worship 盲目崇拜
put 提出
draw one's conclusion 作出结论powerful influence of religion
there: in the skyweights 重物
generalize... into 把…总结成law/theorylaw: natural theory: mental
law of nature 自然法则a closer study 更仔细地研究support 修饰 study
sense: understandingconsciousness: understandingprofoundly: deeply
modified: changed
1 of the period
2 new consciousness of the philosophical undercurrents
old: latelive on 活跃在popular writings 科普文章 picture: idea
opponents 反对者 the majority of the commons
somewhat: a little they: telescopic observations
striking: surprising/shockingdemonstration: show/exhibition potentiality/potential
tap one's potentialspossibility
blame: criticizepowers 倍数calls for: needsextol him to the sky
backward societyardent follower of Aristotle and Ptolemy
allege （内容一般不真实）observed with
Lord 勋爵scratches 碎片grinder 磨工，尤指磨刀具的工人，研磨者
a sheer liartelling liesto tell people to tell truth
forgive: pardonmoons 卫星 in his day 在他的时代 curved glass 曲面镜
convex 凸透镜concave 凹透镜 fatter/thinner a pair of 一对too abrupt/radical