完整word版专业学位硕士研究生英语教程14.docx
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完整word版专业学位硕士研究生英语教程14.docx
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完整word版专业学位硕士研究生英语教程14
unit14
Science
Preview
OurhumanshavebeenalwaysconfusedbysomequestionssincewearethrownintotheworldbyGod.Thoseare"whatisourplaceintheuniverse?
"and"wherediditandwecomefrom?
"Totrytoanswerthesequestions,peoplehavecreateddifferent"worldpictures".Somearescientific,somearemythic,somearehypotheticalandsomearejustimaginary.Thereisanotherefforttostirthereaders'imaginationsaboutthesamequestions.Theexplorationwillneverstopitsstepsuntilourhumancangetthetruthoneday.
TextReading
Warm-up
..1)MatchthewordsinColumnAfortheproperdayinColumnB.
Aworld-knownChristianstory,Genesis,hasexplainedwhocreatedtheworldand
whyitshouldbe.Inthisfamousstory,Godspent7daysincreatingtheworld.Nowyour
taskistomatchtheproperdayforeachitem.
AB
A.beast,cattleandinsect1.thefirstday
B.fishesandbirds2.thesecondday
C.lightanddarkness3.thethirdday
D.grassandtree4.theforthday
E.dayandnight5.thefifthday
F.archandwater6.thesixthday
G.sunandmoon7.theseventhday
H.landandsea
I.human
J.starandseason
K.rest
II.Mythologyandscience
Mythologyandsciencecanneverbeisolatedfromeachother.Theyarecloselyrelatedtoeachother.Therearedifferentwaystoknowthenatureoftheworld.Nowpleasechoosethenamesherefromthetable.Somearescientistsandtheotheraremythologicalfigures.Pleaseputthenamesinthepropercircles.
Brahma
Newton
Einstein
Galileo
Poseidon
Halley
Ptolemy
Odin
Laplace
JesusChrist
CurieMarie
Ra
Kepler
Zeus
Hubble
Allah
Cupid
Sakyamuni
Copernicus
Gaia
MythologicalFiguresScientists
III.Discussions.
1.Therearehundredsofversionsabouthowtheworldcomesintobeing.Andcanyoutellone?
2.Einsteinoncehassaid,"Imaginationismoreimportantthanknowledge.Forknowledgeislimitedtoallwenowknowandunderstand,whileimaginationembracestheentireworld,andallthereeverwillbetoknowandunderstand."Howdoyouthinkaboutit?
3.Whatdoyourthinkabouttherelationshipbetweenreligionandscience?
4.Wehavealreadyenteredthethespaceera,andasyouknow,howfarcanwegointhisdomain?
Text
SpaceandTime⑴
StephenHawking⑵
[1]Wefindourselvesinabewildering(confusing)world.Wewanttomakesenseof(understand)whatweseearoundusandtoask:
Whatisthenature(thebasicqualitiesofathing)oftheuniverse?
Whatisourplaceinitandwherediditandwecomefrom?
Whyisitthewayitis?
⑶
[2]Totrytoanswerthesequestionsweadopt(use)some"worldpicture."Justasaninfinitetoweroftortoises⑷supportingtheflatearthissuchapicture,soisthetheoryofsuperstrings⑸.Botharetheoriesoftheuniverse,thoughthelatterismuchmoremathematicalandprecisethantheformer.Boththeorieslackobservational(noticeable)evidence:
noonehaseverseenagiant(huge)tortoisewiththeearthonitsback,butthen,noonehasseenasuperstringeither.However,thetortoisetheoryfailstobeagoodscientifictheorybecauseitpredictsthatpeopleshouldbeabletofalloff(falltotheground)theedgeoftheworld.Thishasnotbeenfoundtoagreewith(tobethesameassth)experience,unlessthatturnsouttobetheexplanationforthepeoplewhoaresupposedtohavedisappearedintheBermudaTriangle⑹!
[3]Theearliesttheoreticalattemptstodescribeandexplaintheuniverseinvolvedtheideathateventsandnaturalphenomenawerecontrolledbyspiritswithhumanemotionswhoactedinaveryhumanlikeandunpredictablemanner(way).Thesespiritsinhabited(livedinaparticularplace)naturalobjects,likeriversandmountains,includingcelestial(heavenly)bodies,likethesunandmoon.Theyhadtobeplacated(tobemadesbfeellessangryaboutsth)andtheirfavor(seek->)soughtinordertoensure(tomakesurethatsthhappensorisdefinite)thefertility(thestateofbeingfertile)ofthesoilandtherotationoftheseasons.Gradually,however,itmusthavebeennoticedthattherewerecertainregularities(patternsorrules):
thesunalwaysroseintheeastandsetinthewest,whetherornotasacrifice(nanimal,etc.thatisofferedtogods)hadbeenmadetothesungod.Further,thesun,themoon,andtheplanetsfollowedprecisepathsacrosstheskythatcouldbepredictedinadvance(beforehand)withconsiderable(great)accuracy(correctness).Thesunandthemoonmightstillbegods,buttheyweregodswhoobeyedstrictlaws,apparently(obviously)withoutanyexceptions,ifonediscounts(dismiss)storieslikethatofthesunstoppingfor(waitingfor)Joshua⑺.
[4]Atfirst,theseregularitiesandlawswereobviousonlyinastronomy(thescientificstudyofthesun,moon,stars,planets,etc.)andafewothersituations.However,ascivilizationdeveloped,andparticularlyinthelast300years,moreandmoreregularitiesandlawswerediscovered.ThesuccessoftheselawsledLaplace(法国哲学家Pierre-SimonLaplace皮埃尔·西蒙·拉普拉斯)⑻atthebeginningofthenineteenthcenturytopostulate(tosuggestoracceptthatsthistruesothatitcanbeusedasthebasisforatheory,etc.)scientificdeterminism(thebeliefthatpeoplearenotfreetochoosewhattheyarelikeorhowtheybehave,becausethesethingsaredecidedbytheirsurroundingsandotherthingsoverwhichtheyhavenocontrol);thatis,hesuggestedthattherewouldbeasetoflawsthatwoulddeterminetheevolutionoftheuniverseprecisely,givenitsconfiguration(anarrangementofthepartsofsthoragroupofthings;theformorshapethatthisarrangementproduces构造,配置)atonetime.
[5]Laplace'sdeterminismwasincompleteintwoways.Itdidnotsayhowthelawsshouldbechosenanditdidnotspecify(tostatesth,especiallybygivinganexactmeasurement,time,exactinstructions,etc)theinitial(happeningatthebeginning;first)configurationoftheuniverse.ThesewerelefttoGod.Godwouldchoosehowtheuniversebeganandwhatlawsitobeyed,buthewouldnotintervene(interrupt)intheuniverseonceithadstarted.Ineffect,Godwasconfinedto(limitedto)theareasthatnineteenth-centurysciencedidnotunderstand.
[6]Ineffect(Infact),wehaveredefinedthetaskofsciencetobethediscoveryoflawsthatwillenableustopredicteventsuptothelimitssetbytheuncertaintyprinciples⑼.Thequestionremains,however:
howorwhywerethelawsandtheinitialstateoftheuniversechosen?
[7]Einsteinonceaskedthequestion:
"HowmuchchoicedidGodhaveinconstructingtheuniverse?
"Ifthenoboundaryproposaliscorrect,hehadnofreedomatalltochooseinitialconditions.Hewould,ofcourse,stillhavehadthefreedomtochoosethelawsthattheuniverseobeyed.This,however,maynotreallyhavebeenallthat(so)muchofachoice;theremaywellbeonlyone,orasmallnumber,ofcompleteunified(统一的,)theories,suchastheheteroticstringtheory⑽,thatareself-consistentandallowtheexistenceofstructuresascomplicatedashumanbeingswhocaninvestigatethelawsoftheuniverseandaskaboutthenatureofGod.
[8]Uptonow(Sofar),mostscientistshavebeentoooccupiedwith(busywith)thedevelopmentofnewtheoriesthatdescribewhattheuniverseistoaskthequestionwhy.⑾Ontheotherhand,thepeoplewhosebusinessitistoaskwhy,thephilosophers,havenotbeenabletokeepupwiththeadvance(progress,development)ofscientifictheories.Intheeighteenthcentury,philosophersconsideredthewholeofhumanknowledge,includingscience,tobetheirfieldanddiscussedquestionssuchas:
didtheuniversehaveabeginning?
However,inthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturies,sciencebecametootechnicalandmathematicalforthephilosophers,oranyoneelseexceptafewspecialists(experts).Philosophersreduced(narrowed)thescopeoftheirinquiriessomuchthatWittgenstein⑿,themostfamousphilosopherofthiscentury,said,"Thesole(only)remainingtaskforphilosophyistheanalysisoflanguage."Whatacomedown(failure)fromthegreattraditionofphilosophyfromAristotle⒀toKant⒁!
[9]However,ifwedodiscoveracompletetheory,itshouldintime(finally)beunderstandable(comprehensive)inbroadprinciplebyeveryone,notjustafewscientists.Thenweshallall,philosophers,scientists,andjustordinarypeople,beabletotakepartinthediscussionofthequestionofwhyitisthatweandtheuniverseexist.Ifwefindtheanswertothat,itwouldbetheultimate(final)triumph(victory)ofhumanreason—forthenwewouldknowthemindofGod.
Notes
⑴ThistextcomesfromABriefHistoryofTime.Itattemptstoexplainarangeofsubjectsincosmology,includingtheBigBang,blackholes,lightconesandsuperstringtheory,tothenon-specialistreader.
⑵StephenHawking:
StephenWilliamHawking,(born8January1942)isaBritishtheoreticalphysicist.Heisknownforhiscontributionstothefieldsofcosmologyandquantumgravity,especiallyinthecontextofblackholes.
⑶Whyisitthewayitis:
itmeans"Thereasonthattheuniverseislikethewaythatitis."(为何它就应该是这个样子的?
)Herethefirst"it"isaformalsubject,andthesecond"it"isusedtorefertotheword"universe".
⑷aninfinitetoweroftortoises:
itisuniversallyacceptedintheearlytimethattheworldisreallyaflatplatesupportedonthebackofagianttortoise.
⑸superstringtheory:
超弦理论属于弦理论的一种,也指狭义的弦理论。
这里的“超”有超对称性的意思。
为了将玻色子(bosons)和费米子(fermions)统一,科学家预言了这种粒子,由于实验条件的限制,人们很难找到这种能够证明弦理论的粒子。
⑹theBermudaTriangle:
alsoknownastheDevil'sTriangle,itisaregioninthewesternpartoftheNorthAtlanticOceaninwhichanumberofaircraftandsurfacevesselsareal
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