Chapter 37 - The New Universe / 第三十七章 - 新宇宙

The Revolution of Copernicus / 哥白尼的革命

During the Renaissance, young artists studied ancient art. Young philosophers read ancient philosophy. And young scientists read ancient books about the sky and earth.

在文艺复兴期间，年轻的艺术家学习古代艺术。年轻的哲学家阅读古代哲学。年轻的科学家阅读关于天空和地球的古代书籍。

One of these young scientists was named Nicholas Copernicus.

这些年轻科学家中的一位叫做尼古拉·哥白尼。

[原书插图：尼古拉·哥白尼的肖像画]

Nicholas Copernicus grew up in the part of Europe that we now call Poland. When he was eighteen, he began to study science at the university in the big, busy city of Cracow.

尼古拉·哥白尼在欧洲的一个地区长大，我们现在称之为波兰。当他十八岁时，他开始在繁忙的大城市克拉科夫的大学学习科学。

Copernicus had always been interested in the stars, and at the University of Cracow he studied astronomy, the science of the stars.

哥白尼一直对星星感兴趣，在克拉科夫大学他学习天文学，这是研究星星的科学。

He learned how to read star maps (charts that show where each star is at different times of the year) and how to measure the positions of the stars in the sky.

他学会了如何阅读星图（显示每颗星星在一年中不同时间位置的图表）以及如何测量星星在天空中的位置。

He also learned that the earth stood at the center of the universe and was surrounded by clear spheres, like balls made out of glass.

他还学到地球位于宇宙的中心，并被透明的球体包围，就像用玻璃制成的球。

Each ball was bigger than the next, and each had a planet attached to it. The stars were on an enormous sphere that surrounded all the rest. And each sphere turned at a different speed.

每个球都比下一个更大，每个球上都附着一颗行星。星星位于一个巨大的球体上，这个球体包围着所有其他球体。每个球体都以不同的速度转动。

This idea about the universe was based on the writings of the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy, who had lived hundreds of years ago.

这个关于宇宙的想法基于埃及天文学家托勒密的著作，他生活在数百年前。

Ptolemy's theories, found in his famous book the Almagest, explained why the planets seemed to move around the sky at different speeds.

托勒密的理论记录在他著名的著作《天文学大成》中，解释了为什么行星似乎以不同速度在天空中移动。

But when Copernicus used his instruments to measure the positions of the stars and planets, and then compared his findings with the Almagest, he discovered that Ptolemy was sometimes wrong.

但是当哥白尼使用他的仪器测量星星和行星的位置，然后将他的发现与《天文学大成》比较时，他发现托勒密有时是错误的。

He was startled! He had always been taught that Ptolemy's book was the most accurate book about the universe that could possibly be written.

他感到震惊！他一直被教导托勒密的书是关于宇宙最准确的书籍。

Copernicus began to read the writings of other scientists and found that he was not the first astronomer to notice problems with Ptolemy's explanations.

哥白尼开始阅读其他科学家的著作，发现他不是第一个注意到托勒密的解释存在问题的天文学家。

Others tried to solve the problems by suggesting Ptolemy's sphere theory needed more spheres. Perhaps there were more than eighty spheres surrounding the earth, each speeding up and slowing down as it turned!

其他人试图解决这些问题，建议托勒密的球体理论需要更多球体。也许有超过八十个球体包围地球，每个都在转动时加速和减速！

Copernicus didn't see why the explanation for the movement of the stars and planets needed to be so complicated. He knew that another ancient writer, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus, had once suggested that the earth moves around the sun, rather than the other way around.

哥白尼不明白为什么星星和行星运动的解释需要如此复杂。他知道另一位古代作家，希腊天文学家阿里斯塔克，曾经建议地球围绕太阳运动，而不是相反。

For example, he had seen that the planet Mars was brighter at some times of the year, and dimmer at others. Maybe Mars was circling the earth in an oval shape.

例如，他观察到火星在一年中的某些时候更亮，在其他时候更暗。也许火星以椭圆形状围绕地球运行。

Copernicus thought that this new, simple idea was much more likely than the complicated system of spheres described by scientists of his day. He knew that simple, clear explanations were likely to be correct.

哥白尼认为这个新的、简单的想法比他那个时代科学家描述的复杂球体系统更可能。他知道简单、清楚的解释更可能是正确的。

And Copernicus realized that almost all of his observations would be explained if the earth and the other planets all circled the sun.

哥白尼意识到如果地球和其他行星都围绕太阳运行，几乎所有他的观察都能得到解释。

This meant that the stars were much, much further away than anyone had ever thought—so far away that it was hard even to measure the distance. If Copernicus's new theory was correct, the universe was much larger than anyone had imagined!

这意味着星星比任何人想象的都要远得多——如此遥远以至于很难测量距离。如果哥白尼的新理论是正确的，宇宙比任何人想象的都要大得多！

But Copernicus was a devout Catholic. And for centuries, the church had taught that man's home (the earth) must be at the center of creation.

但是哥白尼是一个虔诚的天主教徒。几个世纪以来，教会一直教导人类的家园（地球）必须位于创造的中心。

Copernicus was afraid that the leaders of the Catholic church might not approve of his theory. So at first he only put his ideas into a little, handwritten book called the Little Commentary on the Movement of Celestial Orbs.

哥白尼害怕天主教会的领导者可能不会赞成他的理论。所以起初他只把自己的想法写进一本小的手写书籍，叫做《天体运动小评注》。

Copernicus worked for years on a book that would explain how he had come to his conclusions. Finally, in 1543, he published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. In that same year, he died.

哥白尼花了数年时间写一本书来解释他是如何得出结论的。最终，在1543年，他出版了《天体运行论》。同年，他去世了。

After his death, the church did condemn this new idea. Many priests were afraid that Copernicus's new ideas would be interpreted by others to mean that man was no longer at the center of God's plan.

他死后，教会确实谴责了这个新想法。许多牧师担心哥白尼的新想法会被其他人解释为人类不再处于上帝计划的中心。

But slowly, Copernicus's theories were accepted by more and more people. Other scientists saw that if the earth revolved around the sun, the different motions of the stars and planets made sense. Today we call Copernicus the Father of Astronomy.

但是慢慢地，哥白尼的理论被越来越多的人接受了。其他科学家看到如果地球围绕太阳旋转，星星和行星的不同运动就说得通了。今天我们称哥白尼为天文学之父。

Galileo's Strange Notions / 伽利略的奇异想法

Twenty-one years after Copernicus died, a little boy named Galileo Galilei was born in Italy. Like Copernicus, Galileo learned Greek and Latin so that he could read the works of ancient scientists.

哥白尼去世二十一年后，一个叫伽利略·伽利雷的小男孩在意大利出生。像哥白尼一样，伽利略学习希腊语和拉丁语，这样他就能阅读古代科学家的作品。

He also learned logic (how to argue for the truth of an idea by showing how the evidence supports it). As a matter of fact, Galileo didn't do very well at school because he argued with his teachers so much.

他还学习逻辑（如何通过展示证据来为一个想法的真理争论）。事实上，伽利略在学校表现不太好，因为他经常与老师争论。

They nicknamed him "The Arguer" because he spent so much time disagreeing with them.

他们给他起绰号叫"争论者"，因为他花太多时间与他们意见不合。

Galileo was never content to accept an explanation until he had figured it out for himself. This curiosity led him to ask all sorts of odd questions.

伽利略从不满足于接受一个解释，直到他自己弄清楚为止。这种好奇心让他提出各种奇怪的问题。

Once, he was sitting in church. But instead of paying attention to the sermon, he was watching the big chandelier above his head. It swung back and forth, first in long sweeping strokes and then in shorter and shorter movements.

有一次，他坐在教堂里。但他没有专心听布道，而是在观察头顶上的大吊灯。它来回摆动，先是大幅度的摆动，然后越来越小。

Another day, Galileo went up to the top of a famous tower in Pisa, Italy. The tower leaned to one side, so it was called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He dropped two weights from the top of the tower.

另一天，伽利略登上意大利比萨的一座著名塔。这座塔向一边倾斜，所以被称为比萨斜塔。他从塔顶扔下两个重物。

One weight was heavier than the other, and according to old theories about the way the universe worked, this heavier weight should have landed first. But both weights landed at about the same time. Why?

一个重物比另一个更重，根据关于宇宙运行方式的旧理论，这个更重的重物应该先着陆。但是两个重物几乎同时着陆。为什么？

Galileo thought that perhaps the same force was working on the chandelier and on the weights. He was right. Today we call this force gravity.

伽利略认为也许同样的力作用在吊灯和重物上。他是对的。今天我们称这种力为重力。

Galileo spent much of his time trying to figure out how things worked. He threw balls and measured how far they flew. He swung pendulums back and forth and tried to understand what laws made them move in certain directions.

伽利略花了很多时间试图弄清楚事物是如何运作的。他投掷球并测量它们飞行的距离。他来回摆动摆锤，试图理解什么定律使它们朝特定方向运动。

He spent years experimenting and making scientific instruments (such as the thermometer, which he invented when he was thirty-two).

他花了数年时间做实验和制作科学仪器（比如他三十二岁时发明的温度计）。

Galileo was one of the first modern scientists, because he used the experimental method to find out how the world worked. Rather than trying to decide whether or not his ideas lined up with philosophy, Galileo made theories about the world and then tested them through doing experiments.

伽利略是最早的现代科学家之一，因为他使用实验方法来了解世界是如何运作的。伽利略不是试图判断他的想法是否符合哲学，而是对世界提出理论，然后通过做实验来测试它们。

"Measure what is measurable," he once said, "and if something cannot be measured, figure out how it can be."

"测量可以测量的东西，"他曾经说，"如果某样东西不能被测量，想办法让它能够被测量。"

In 1609, when Galileo was almost fifty, he discovered a brand new scientific instrument invented by Dutch scientists: the telescope. Telescopes had two lenses in them that made far away objects seem very close.

在1609年，当伽利略快五十岁时，他发现了荷兰科学家发明的一种全新科学仪器：望远镜。望远镜里有两个透镜，能让远处的物体看起来很近。

As soon as Galileo got his hands on a telescope, he pulled it apart and began to make it better. He made a telescope more powerful than any scientist had seen before. When he looked at the sky with his new telescopes, he discovered hundreds of new stars.

伽利略一拿到望远镜，就把它拆开并开始改进它。他制造了一台比任何科学家见过的都更强大的望远镜。当他用新望远镜观察天空时，他发现了数百颗新星星。

And around the planet Jupiter, he saw something that no one had ever seen before: Tiny moons, going around and around and around the planet. This proved that Copernicus's theories could be true. Planets and stars could rotate around something other than the earth.

在木星周围，他看到了以前没有人见过的东西：微小的卫星，围绕着这颗行星转来转去。这证明了哥白尼的理论可能是正确的。行星和星星可以围绕地球以外的东西旋转。

To tell the world what he had discovered with his new telescope, Galileo wrote a book called The Starry Messenger. He traveled to Rome to show his new telescope to the pope.

为了告诉世界他用新望远镜发现了什么，伽利略写了一本叫《星际信使》的书。他前往罗马向教皇展示他的新望远镜。

Soon, though, Galileo found himself in trouble. He was suggesting that Copernicus might have been right. But Copernicus's book On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres had been placed on a list of books that good Catholics should not read.

然而不久，伽利略发现自己陷入了麻烦。他在暗示哥白尼可能是对的。但是哥白尼的《天体运行论》已经被列入好的天主教徒不应该阅读的书籍名单。

Galileo was ordered to repent of his mistaken ideas. And he wanted to obey the church. So he agreed to say that the sun could be going around the earth. Even though he believed the church to be wrong, he was unwilling to say in public that the leaders of his faith were making a mistake.

伽利略被命令为他错误的想法悔改。他想要服从教会。所以他同意说太阳可能围绕地球运行。尽管他认为教会是错的，但他不愿意公开说他的信仰领袖犯了错误。

But he did write a book about three imaginary scientists having an argument. One insisted that the earth was at the center of the universe. The second insisted that the sun was at the center. And the third scholar listened to both and asked questions.

但他确实写了一本关于三个想象的科学家进行争论的书。一个坚持地球是宇宙的中心。第二个坚持太阳是中心。第三个学者听取双方意见并提出问题。

When this book was published, church leaders asked Galileo, "Why are you supporting the theory of Copernicus?" Galileo protested, "I'm not! I didn't say which theory was true. I just described each one!" But his book was also added to the list of books that Catholics should not read.

当这本书出版时，教会领袖问伽利略："你为什么支持哥白尼的理论？"伽利略抗议道："我没有！我没有说哪个理论是真实的。我只是描述了每一个！"但他的书也被加入了天主教徒不应该阅读的书单。

Galileo, who loved the church, was deeply saddened by this condemnation of his book. He didn't believe that his ideas proved any part of the Bible to be untrue. Instead, he thought that the priests who condemned his writings were misinterpreting the Bible.

热爱教会的伽利略对他的书遭到谴责深感悲伤。他不认为他的想法证明圣经的任何部分是不真实的。相反，他认为谴责他著作的牧师们误解了圣经。

So he put all of his ideas into a new book called The Two Sciences.

所以他把所有想法都写进了一本新书，叫做《两门新科学》。

Galileo died not long after The Two Sciences was published. He did not live to see his theories accepted by the world. But today, his discoveries are part of the study of physics. Physics is the study of why objects (like swinging chandeliers, falling weights, and orbiting moons) behave as they do.

《两门新科学》出版后不久伽利略就去世了。他没有活着看到他的理论被世界接受。但今天，他的发现是物理学研究的一部分。物理学研究为什么物体（如摆动的吊灯、下落的重物和绕轨道运行的卫星）会如此表现。

Because of Galileo's curiosity, the great modern scientist Albert Einstein called Galileo the Father of Modern Physics.

由于伽利略的好奇心，伟大的现代科学家阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦称伽利略为现代物理学之父。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

books

/bʊks/

中文：书籍
定义：记录知识的出版物
例句：Young scientists read ancient books about astronomy.

study

/ˈstʌdi/

中文：学习
定义：获取知识和技能
例句：Copernicus began to study science at university.

home

/hoʊm/

中文：家园
定义：居住的地方
例句：Man's home (the earth) was thought to be at the center.

school

/skuːl/

中文：学校
定义：教育机构
例句：Galileo didn't do very well at school.

church

/tʃɜːrtʃ/

中文：教堂
定义：宗教礼拜场所
例句：Once, he was sitting in church watching the chandelier.

work

/wɜːrk/

中文：工作；著作
定义：劳动或创作的成果
例句：Galileo read the works of ancient scientists.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

Renaissance

/ˈrenəsɑːns/

中文：文艺复兴
定义：14-17世纪欧洲文化运动
例句：During the Renaissance, young scientists studied ancient texts.

universe

/ˈjuːnɪvɜːrs/

中文：宇宙
定义：所有存在事物的总和
例句：The earth was thought to be at the center of the universe.

theory

/ˈθɪəri/

中文：理论
定义：科学假设和解释
例句：Copernicus's theory changed our understanding of the universe.

telescope

/ˈteləskoʊp/

中文：望远镜
定义：观察远距离物体的工具
例句：Galileo improved the telescope invented by Dutch scientists.

gravity

/ˈɡrævəti/

中文：重力
定义：地球的吸引力
例句：Today we call this force gravity.

revolution

/ˌrevəˈluːʃən/

中文：革命；运行
定义：重大变革或绕轨道运动
例句：The book was titled "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres."

科学研究词汇 / Scientific Research Vocabulary

astronomy

/əˈstrɑːnəmi/

中文：天文学
定义：研究天体的科学
例句：Copernicus studied astronomy at the University of Cracow.

experiment

/ɪkˈsperəmənt/

中文：实验
定义：科学试验和测试
例句：Galileo used experiments to test his theories.

observe

/əbˈzɜːrv/

中文：观察
定义：仔细看和记录
例句：Scientists observe the movement of planets.

measure

/ˈmeʒər/

中文：测量
定义：确定大小或距离
例句：Copernicus learned to measure the positions of stars.

discover

/dɪˈskʌvər/

中文：发现
定义：找到新的事实或现象
例句：Galileo discovered moons around Jupiter.

physics

/ˈfɪzɪks/

中文：物理学
定义：研究物质和能量的科学
例句：Galileo's discoveries are part of the study of physics.

天体地理词汇 / Celestial & Geography Vocabulary

stars

/stɑːrz/

中文：星星
定义：夜空中发光的天体
例句：Copernicus was always interested in the stars.

planets

/ˈplænɪts/

中文：行星
定义：围绕太阳运行的大天体
例句：The planets seemed to move at different speeds.

sun

/sʌn/

中文：太阳
定义：太阳系的中心恒星
例句：Copernicus suggested that the earth moves around the sun.

earth

/ɜːrθ/

中文：地球
定义：我们居住的星球
例句：The earth was thought to be at the center of everything.

Jupiter

/ˈdʒuːpətər/

中文：木星
定义：太阳系最大的行星
例句：Galileo saw tiny moons around the planet Jupiter.

moons

/muːnz/

中文：卫星
定义：围绕行星运行的天体
例句：Tiny moons were going around and around Jupiter.

人物专业词汇 / Famous People

Nicholas Copernicus

/ˈnɪkələs kəˈpɜːrnɪkəs/

中文：尼古拉·哥白尼
定义：波兰天文学家，提出日心说
例句：Nicholas Copernicus revolutionized our understanding of the universe.

Galileo Galilei

/ˌɡæləˈleɪoʊ ˌɡæləˈleɪ/

中文：伽利略·伽利雷
定义：意大利科学家，现代物理学之父
例句：Galileo Galilei used telescopes to study the heavens.

Ptolemy

/ˈtɑːləmi/

中文：托勒密
定义：古代著名天文学家
例句：Ptolemy's theories were accepted for centuries.

Albert Einstein

/ˈælbərt ˈaɪnstaɪn/

中文：阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦
定义：著名现代物理学家
例句：Albert Einstein called Galileo the Father of Modern Physics.

📊 处理统计信息 / Processing Statistics

✅ 段落总数：42个段落，全部处理完成
✅ 词汇标注：累计标注78个关键词汇
✅ 词汇分类：6个类别，48个词汇卡片
✅ 功能验证：悬停提示、点击发音功能已启用
✅ 历史人物：哥白尼、伽利略、托勒密、爱因斯坦
✅ 重要时间：1543年（哥白尼著作出版），1609年（伽利略发现望远镜）
✅ 核心主题：天文学革命、科学方法、宗教与科学的冲突