TPO51托福听力Lecture 4原文文本
标题：Heliocentric Theory
Listen to part of a discussion in a history of science class. The class is discussing the heliocentric theory.
Male Student:
What I found really difficult to understand is why the heliocentric theory, um, why wasn’t like believed by everybody right away?
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. 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. But it really wasn’t that easy.
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.
Professor:
Yes, that’s true, going all the way back to the Ancient Greeks. 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.
Male Student:
But I still don’t understand why, I mean, isn’t it obvious?
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. Remember, we are talking about four hundred years ago, so ah, let’s think about a few of those reasons, Ok?
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. And that was just beyond anything anyone could understand. You know, they could understand riding a horse or walking, maybe they could get up to 30, 32 kilometers per hour. But tens of thousands of kilometers per hour? That was just crazy. So, so many people, whatever is going on, it couldn’t be that.
Female Student:
Um… So people didn’t believe the heliocentric theory because it was so hard to believe?
Professor:
Exactly. But, there were more scientific kinds of reactions as well. 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 around around and around, two things, alright? One, you know you are moving, there is no doubt. And the other thing is, you know that unless you hold on tight, you are gonna go flying out because of centrifugal force, right?
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?
Professor:
Yes. And in particular. 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. Their theory about the nature of the atmosphere was that nothing was holding it down. 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. You know, it would be like, behind this. 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.
Male Student:
Anti-heliocentrism? No way. It’s the 21st century.
Professor:
Well, then let’s see. So, picture the following. You are at the equator, moving at 1600 kilometers per hour. Ok? And you drop something, small and light, like a matchstick for example. Where is it going to land?
Male Student:
That’s easy. It will be long gone. The matchstick is so light that it will fly right out of my hand and end up away behind me somewhere.
Professor:
Ah, actually, that matchstick you dropped, it’ll land right at your feet.
Male Student:
What?
Professor:
Well, let’s think about it. 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. 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. Perhaps now you are less inclined to dismiss those who once found heliocentrism so hard to believe. Ok, let’s move on.
TPO51托福听力Lecture 4题目
TPO51 12
What is the professor's main purpose in the discussion?
To compare modern and past theories about the solar system
To examine the astronomical research that led to the acceptance of the heliocentric theory
To evaluate changes in seventeenth-century astronomy
To explain why some people resisted the heliocentric theory
TPO51 13
What do the examples of riding a horse and walking represent?
Speeds that people were familiar with
Demonstrations of movement that Galileo used in an experiment
The movement of the planets across the sky
Types of motion that can be felt
TPO51 14
What point does the professor make when he discusses a ride at an amusement park?
That some people thought Earth's orbit was perfectly round
That people expect to be affected by centrifugal force
That some things can appear to move when they are not moving
That moving at high speeds is not always dangerous
TPO51 15
According to the professor. 400 years ago what was believed to be true about Earth's atmosphere? It prevented high-speed motion of objects on Earth.
It would only move if Earth moved.
It was not affected by the motion of the Sun.
It was not held down by any force.
TPO51 16
Why does the professor talk about dropping a matchstick?
To imply that Earth's equator is not the best place to test the law of gravity
To indicate that the atmosphere affects how fast objects fall
To illustrate how natural it is to have antiheliocentric beliefs
To identify the inspiration for antiheliocentrism
TPO51 17
重听题What does the professor mean when he says this:
Some arguments for heliocentrism made sense to many scientists.
Some reactions to heliocentrism served to refine the theory.
Some arguments against heliocentrism were supported by observation.
Some scientists who rejected heliocentrism accepted it later.
TPO51托福听力Lecture 4答案解析
12.答案：D
解析：
此题出处是：
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. Remember, we are talking about four hundred years ago, so ah, let’s think about a few of those reasons, Ok?
这里教授明确说明要开始讨论日心说之所以不被以前的人们所相信的原因，选项D合适。选项A说是为了比较古今关于太阳系的理论，选项B是为了讲日心说被人们接受的天文学研究，选项C说是为了评估十七世纪天文学的改变，都不合适。选择D。
13.答案：A
解析：
此题出处是：
Professor:
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. And that was just beyond anything anyone could understand. You know, they could understand riding a horse or walking, maybe they could get up to 30, 32 kilometers per hour. But tens of thousands of kilometers per hour? That was just crazy. So, so many people, whatever is going on, it couldn’t be that.
这里教授举出骑马和步行的例子是要说这些才是人们熟悉的速度，至于地球绕太阳运行的上千千米一小时的速度，他们是不熟悉的、不敢相信的，选项A合适。选项B是说伽利略在实验中对运动的解释，选项C说是天空中行星的运动，选项D说是可以被感觉到的运动，都不合适。选择A。
14.答案：B
解析：
此题出处是：
Professor:
Exactly. But, there were more scientific kinds of reactions as well. 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 around around and around, two things, alright? One, you know you are moving, there is no doubt. And the other thing is, you know that unless you hold on tight, you are gonna go flying out because of centrifugal force, right?
这里教授的例子是为了说明人们其实是对旋转过程中离心力的作用有所了解的，比如大家都知道转圈圈的时候如果不抓紧就会被甩出去。选项B正确。选项A说一些人觉得地球的轨道不是正圆形的，选项C说一些不动的东西看上去是在动的，选项D说高速运动不总是危险的，都不合适。选择B。
15.答案：D
解析：
此题出处是：
Professor:
Their theory about the nature of the atmosphere was that nothing was holding it down. So if, if you can understand that way of thinking, then clearly, if the Earth, was moving at a great speed, we should have lost all our atmosphere a long time ago.
这里教授说400年前人们认为大气不会受到被向下拖拽的力，选项D正确。选项A说大气阻止了地球上物体的高速运动，选项B说只有地球运动大气才会运动，选项C说大气运动不受太阳运动的影响，都不合适。选择D。
16.答案：C
解析：
此题出处是：
Professor:
Well, then let’s see. So, picture the following. You are at the equator, moving at 1600 kilometers per hour. Ok? And you drop something, small and light, like a matchstick for example. Where is it going to land?
Male Student:
That’s easy. It will be long gone. The matchstick is so light that it will fly right out of my hand and end up away behind me somewhere.
Professor:
Ah, actually, that matchstick you dropped, It will land right at your feet.
这里教授举扔火柴的例子就是为了证明，即使在现在21世纪，很多人还是持有一些错误的、反日心说的观点，而且大家是自然而然地持有这种错误观点的。选项C正确。选项A说是为了推断赤道是最合适测试重力的地方，选项B是说为了说明大气影响物体下落的速度，选项D是说为了确定反日心说的灵感来源，都不合适。选择C。
17.答案：C
解析：
此题出处是：
Female Student:
Um… So people didn’t believe the heliocentric theory because it was so hard to believe?
Professor:
Exactly. But, there were more scientific kinds of reactions as well. 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 around around and around, two things, alright? One, you know you are moving, there is no doubt. And the other thing is, you know that unless you hold on tight, you are gonna go flying out because of centrifugal force, right?
这里教授说，对于日心说，一些人还有一些更加具有科学性质的反应。后面他举的例子是为了说明人们通过对日常生活中的旋转运动的观察总结出了一些并不符合日心说的错误信念，选项C合适。选项A是说一些日心说的观点对于很多科学家来说是有道理的，选项B是说一些对日心说的反馈改进了这个理论，选项D是说一些科学家本来反对日心说，后来接受了它，都不合适。选择C。
这里教授清楚地解释了最有可能解释Audubon神秘鸟类的理论，那就是他画的是杂交的鸟。选项C正确。选项A说当他作画的时候忘记了一些细节，选项B说他抄的别人的画，选项D说是已经灭绝的鸣鸟，都不合适。选择C。
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