The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated.

the view of Galileo ^{对于伽利略的看法}

• The view of Galileo was shaped by his revolutionary discoveries. ^{对伽利略的看法因他的革命性发现而形成。}
• Historians now challenge the view of Galileo as a simple rebel. ^{历史学家现在质疑对伽利略作为简单叛逆者的看法。}
• The view of Galileo in his time was one of controversy and genius. ^{在他那个时代，对伽利略的看法是充满争议和天才的。}

delightfully ^{令人高兴地}

• The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated. ^{对伽利略的旧看法令人高兴地简单。}
• The garden was delightfully peaceful in the morning. ^{花园在早晨令人高兴地宁静。}
• Her speech was delightfully engaging and humorous. ^{她的演讲令人高兴地引人入胜且幽默。}

He was, above all, a man who experimented: who despised the prejudice and book learning of the Aristotelians, who put his questions to nature instead of to the ancients, and who drew his conclusions fearlessly.

A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is a man who is noble-minded, who is purę, who is of moral integrity, who is above vulgar interests, and who is of value to the people.
^{一个人的能力或许有强有弱，但只要他具备这种精神，他就是一位品德高尚、纯洁无暇、具有道德操守、不为低俗利益所动、对人民有价值的人。 —毛泽东}

prejudice ^{n. [U, C] an unreasonable dislike of or preference for a person, group, custom, etc., especially when it is based on their race, religion, sex, etc. 偏见；成见}

• Pride and Prejudice ^{《傲慢与偏见》}
• He despised the prejudice and book learning of the Aristotelians. ^{他鄙视亚里士多德学派的偏见和书本知识。}
• Prejudice against women limited their opportunities in science. ^{对女性的偏见限制了她们在科学领域的机会。}
• Overcoming prejudice is essential for a fair society. ^{克服偏见是建立公平社会的关键。}

put questions to ^向…提问

• He put his questions to nature instead of the ancients. ^{他向自然提问，而不是向古人提问。}
• The scientist put questions to the data to uncover new insights. ^{科学家通过向数据提问发现了新的见解。}
• She put questions to the expert during the lecture. ^{她在讲座中向专家提问。}

介词后接副词或介词短语 ^{(preposition with adverb or prepositional phrase) 介词短语可以做介词的宾语}

• Towards midday, a girl heard a muffled cry coming from behind one of the walls.
• The weather has been fine except in the north.
• He studies in the evening instead of during the day.
• More and more people live in towns and cities instead of in villages..
• We didn’t meet until after the show.
• The weather has been fine except in the north.
• I took my watch from under the pillow.
• He picked up the gun from behind the counter.

Aristotle ^{亚里士多德}

 Greek philosopher and scientist

He shares with Plato and Socrates the distinction of being the most famous of ancient philosophers. He is also the tutor of Alexander the Great.
He is the author of works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural science, politics, and poetics. And he profoundly influenced western thought.
Aristotle proposed a finite, spherical universe, with the earth as its center. He also held that heavier bodies fall faster than lighter ones.

He had been the first to turn a telescope to the sky, and he had seen their evidence enough to overthrow Aristotle and Ptolemy together.

Ptolemy ^托勒密

Ancient Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer

He based his astronomy on the belief that all heavenly bodies revolve around the earth.His astronomical theories and explanations dominated scientific thought until the 16^th century when Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, advanced the theory the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, disrupting the Ptolemaic astronomy.

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.

inclined plane ^倾斜面

• He rolled balls down an inclined plane to study motion. ^{他在倾斜面上滚下球来研究运动。}
• The inclined plane was used to demonstrate principles of physics. ^{倾斜面被用来展示物理原理。}
• Students built an inclined plane for their science experiment. ^{学生们为科学实验搭建了一个倾斜面。}

generalize sthA. into sthB. ^{把A归纳总结出B}

• He generalized the results of his experiments into the law of free fall. ^{他将实验结果归纳为自由落体定律。}
• Scientists generalized their findings into a new theory. ^{科学家们将他们的发现归纳成一个新理论。}
• She generalized her observations into a broader hypothesis. ^{她将观察结果归纳为一个更广泛的假设。}

Leaning Tower of Pisa ^比萨斜塔

Started in 1173, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is an example of Romanesque architecture. It is actually the bell tower of the cathedral of Pisa. Legend has it that Galileo once carried out experiments at the leaning tower which showed that the velocity of moving bodies of the same composition, but of different weights, do not attain the proportion of their weights as Aristotle decreed, but move with the same velocity.