Galileo reborn 1 伽利略的复生

In his own lifetime Galileo was the centre of violent controversy; but the scientific dust has long since settled, and today we can see even his famous clash with the Inquisition in something like its proper perspective. But, in contrast, it is only in modern times that Galileo has become a problem child for historians of science.
The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated. He was, above all, a man who experimented: who despised the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians, who put his questions to nature instead of to the ancients, and who drew his conclusions fearlessly. He had been the first to turn a telescope to the sky, and he had seen there evidence enough to overthrow Aristotle and Ptolemy together.
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伽利略在世时是激烈论战的中心。但是，自他逝世以来，那场科学上的纷争早已平息了下来，甚至他和宗教法庭的著名冲突，我们今天也能正确如实地看待。但是相比之下，对于科学史家来说，伽利略只是在现代才变成了一个新的难题。
令人高兴的是，过去对伽利略的看法并不复杂。他首先是个实验工作者，他蔑视亚里士多德学派的偏见和空洞的书本知识。他向自然界而不是向古人提出问题，并大胆地得出结论。他是第一个把望远镜对准天空的人，观察到的论据足以把亚里士多德和托勒密一起推翻。
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New words and expressions 生词和短语
controversy
n. 争议，争论
dust
n. 纠纷，骚动
clash
n. 冲突
Inquisition
n. （罗马天主教的）宗教法庭
perspective
n. 观点，看法
despise
v. 蔑视
theoretical
adj. 理论上的
potentiality
n. 潜能
adj. 应受遣责的
Aristotelian
n. 亚里士多德学派的人
Ptolemy
n. 托勒密（公元90-168，古希腊天文学家）