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1、UNIT3TEXTCanyouprovethattheearthisround?Goaheadandtry!Willyourelyonyoursensesorwillyouhavetodrawontheopinionsofexperts?WhyDoWeBelieveThattheEarthIsRound?GeorgeOrwellSomewhereOROTHER-IthinkitisintheprefacetosaintJoan-BernardShawremarksthatwearemoregullibleandsuperstitioustodaythanwewere
2、intheMiddleAges,andasanexampleofmoderncredulityhecitesthewidespreadbeliefthattheearthisround.Theaverageman,saysShaw,canadvancenotasinglereasonforthinkingthattheearthisround.Hemerelyswallowsthistheorybecausethereissomethingaboutitthatappealstothetwentieth-centurymentality.Now,shawisexag
3、gerating,butthereissomethinginwhathesays,andthequestionisworthfollowingup,forthesakeofthelightitthrowsonmodernknowledge.Justwhydowebelievethattheearthisround?Iamnotspeakingofthefewthousandastronomers,geographersandsoforthwhocouldgiveocularproof,orhaveatheoreticalknowledgeoftheproof,but
4、oftheordinarynewspaper-readingcitizen,suchasyouorme.AsfortheFlatEarththeory.,IbelieveIcouldrefuteit.Ifyoustandbytheseashoreonacleardayyoucanseethemastsandfunnelsofinvisibleshipspassingalongthehorizon.Thisphenomenoncanonlybeexplainedbyassumingthattheearth'ssurfaceiscurved.Butitdoesnotfo
5、llowthattheearthisspherical.ImagineanothertheorycalledtheOvalEarththeory,whichclaimsthattheearthisshapedlikeanegg.WhatcanIsayagainstit?AgainsttheOvalEarthman,thefirstcardIcanplayistheanalogyofthesunandmoon.TheOvalEarthmanpromptlyanswersthatIdon'tknow,bymyownobservation,thatthosebodiesa
6、respherical.Ionlyknowthattheyareround,andtheymayperfectlywellbeflatdiscs.Ihavenoanswertothatone.Besides,hegoeson,whatreasonhaveIforthinkingthattheearthmustbethesameshapeasthesunandmoon?Ican'tanswerthatoneeither.Mysecondcardistheearth'sshadow:whencastonthemoonduringeclipses,itappearstob
7、etheshadowofaroundobject.ButhowdoIknow,demandstheOvalEarthman,thateclipsesofthemoonarecausedbytheshadowoftheearth?TheansweristhatIdon'tknow,buthavetakenthispieceofinformationblindlyfromnewspaperarticlesandsciencebooklets.Defeatedintheminorexchanges,Inowplaymyqueenoftrumps:theopiniono
