1.Listen to part of a discussion in a history of science class.The class is discussing the heliocentric theory.
请听一段科学史课上的讨论。同学和老师在讨论日心说。
2.Male Student:What I found really difficult to understand is why the heliocentric theory, um, why wasn't like believed by everybody right away?
男学生:我觉得难以理解的是为什么日心说,嗯,为什么人们并不是立刻就相信它了呢?
3.Professor:Well, one thing that's hard to do is to sort of see things from the perspective of someone who's hearing that theory for the first time.
教授:嗯,很难做的一件事情就是从第一次听说这个理论的人的视角看问题。
4.I mean today we tend to assume that the moment the heliocentric theory was laid out, the idea that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system, that you know, you'd have to be in denial, not to accept it.
我的意思是现在让我们假设一下日心说被提出的那个时代,即认为太阳,而不是地球,才是太阳系的中心的观点,你们需要去否定它而不是接受它。
5.But it really wasn't that easy.
但是这真的不是件容易的事情。
6.Male Student:But the idea that the earth wasn't the center of the universe……that has been tossed around for like centuries, right? I mean, lots of people would have the idea.
男学生:但是地球并不是宇宙中心的这个观点……这个观点已经流行了好几个世纪了,对吗?我的意思是,很多人都持有这个看法。
7.Professor:Yes, that's true, going all the way back to the Ancient Greeks.
教授:是的,是真的,一直可以追溯到古希腊时代。
8.But in Europe, when Galileo championed it in the 17th century, during part of his discoveries using a telescope, there still was some major resistance to it.
但是在欧洲,当伽利略在17世纪使用望远镜进行探索时,他支持日心说,这时候还是有很多反对的声音的。
9.Male Student:But I still don't understand why, I mean, isn't it obvious?
男学生:但是我还是不理解为什么,我的意思是,这(太阳是太阳系的中心)不是很明显的事吗?
10.Professor:Well, despite Galileo's ingenious arguments in support of the heliocentric theory, there was still a lot of reasons why people of that period couldn't buy into it.
教授:嗯,尽管伽利略提出了支持日心说的独创性理论,还有很多那时候的人们不相信日心说的原因。
11.Remember, we are talking about four hundred years ago, so ah, let's think about a few of those reasons, Ok?
你们记得,我们在谈论四百年前的人,所以呢,我们来看看这些原因都是什么吧,好吗?
12.So, first of all, they could work out that if the Earth was going around the Sun, then it had to be traveling at many thousands of kilometers per hour.
首先,他们可以算出如果地球是绕着太阳转的,那就需要一小时旅行几千公里。
13.And that was just beyond anything anyone could understand.
这个是超出人们理解能力的。
14.You know, they could understand riding a horse or walking, maybe they could get up to 30, 32 kilometers per hour.
他们可以理解骑马或者步行,也许他们可以达到一小时30或32公里的速度。
15.But tens of thousands of kilometers per hour? That was just crazy.
但是一小时成千上万公里?这就是很疯狂的了。
16.So, to many people, whatever is going on, it couldn't be that.
所以很多人无论如何是不能理解这个速度的。
17.Female Student:Um… So people didn't believe the heliocentric theory because it was so hard to believe?
女学生:嗯……所以人们不相信日心说是因为日心说很难被人相信?
18.Professor:Exactly.
教授:是的。
19.But, there were more scientific kinds of reactions as well.
但是也有更加具有科学性的回应。
20.Because, look, if you have ever been on a carousel or you are on a ride at an amusement park and you are on something that is going round round and round, two things, alright?
因为,你们看,如果你曾经做过旋转木马或者你在游乐场坐过车或者你坐过什么来回兜圈子的东西的话,你会知道两件事,对吗?
21.One, you know you are moving, there is no doubt.
第一件,你知道你在移动,这个无可置疑。
22.And the other thing is, you know that unless you hold on tight, you are gonna go flying out because of centrifugal force, right?
第二件,你知道除非你抓抓紧,否则你就会因为离心力而飞出去,对吗?
23.Female Student:So, if I understand you for the average person 400 hundred years ago there was no evidence that we are moving at higher speed, right?Since everything was securely on the ground and no one was flying off into space?
女学生:所以,四百年前的普通人并没有证据证明我们可以移动地那么快,我理解的对吗?因为所有东西都好好地待在地面上,没有东西飞到空中?
25.And in particular.
就是这样。
26.And this was one specific difficulty for people in the period, even if they thought that there was some sort of force that maybe kept you and me and buildings and things on the surface of the Earth.
对当时的人而言,这是一个特定的困难,即使他们认为有某种力量可能把你我、建筑物和其他东西都保持在地面上。
27.Their theory about the nature of the atmosphere was that nothing was holding it down.
他们对于大气本质的认知是,没有东西可以把它拉下来。
28.So if, if you can understand that way of thinking, then clearly, if the Earth, was moving at a great speed, we should've lost all our atmosphere a long time ago.
所以如果,如果你可以理解他们那种思维方式,那么就很清楚了,如果地球在以高速旋转,那很久以前我们就会完全失去我们的大气层。
29.You know, it would be like, trailing away behind us.
这就像是,大气层在我们身后逐渐消失。
30.And so, I want to try a little sort of experiment, because, I, I think that what we will find is that some of us have ideas about motion that actually fit with anti-heliocentrism.
所以,我想试着做一个思维实验,因为我,我觉得这个实验会显示出我们中的一些人还是持有一些符合反日心说的运动的观点。
31.Male Student:Anti-heliocentrism? No way.
男学生:反日心说?不可能的。
32.It's the 21st century.
现在可是21世纪。
33.Professor:Well, then let's see.
教授:嗯,那我们就拭目以待吧。
34.So, picture the following.
教授:嗯,那我们就拭目以待吧。
35.You are at the equator, moving at 1600 kilometers per hour.
你站在赤道上,以1600千米/小时的速度移动。
36.Ok? And you drop something, small and light, like a matchstick for example.
好吧?然后你扔出了什么东西,又小又轻的东西,比如说一根火柴。
37.Where is it going to land?
那么火柴会掉在哪里呢?
38.Male Student:That's easy.
男学生:很简单。
39.It will be long gone.
会飞出很远。
40.The matchstick is so light that it will fly right out of my hand and end up away behind me somewhere.
火柴太轻了,会从我的手里飞走,然后落在我后面的某个地方。
41.Professor:Ah, actually, that matchstick you dropped, it'll land right at your feet.
教授:实际上,你丢下的那根火柴,它会刚好落在你的脚下。
42.Male Student:What?
男学生:什么?
43.Professor:Well, let's think about it.
教授:我们来看看这件事。
44.If I got to consider that the Earth's rotating at 1600 kilometer per hour at the equator, and you, me, the air, and that matchstick will all moving together at the same speed, even though it doesn't seem or look or feel like we are moving.
如果考虑到地球在赤道上以1600千米/小时的速度来旋转,你,我,还有空气,还有那根火柴,也会以相同的速度移动,即使确实看不出来也感觉不出来我们在移动。
45.So class, clearly, even today, we actually have some inclination to think that if the Earth were moving around at a great speed, we all would see signs of it.
所以同学们,很清楚,即使是今天,我们依旧存有一些认为如果地球以高速旋转、那我们就会看到一些明显征兆的思维倾向。
46.Perhaps now you are less inclined to dismiss those who once found heliocentrism so hard to believe.
也许你们现在能够稍微理解一点那些曾经觉得日心说难以理解的人了。
47.Ok, let's move on.
好吧,我们继续。