a perpetual struggle to discover how the Universe that goes back to the earlist civilizations.
1 perpetual: continuing all the time without changing or stopping 连续不断的，无休止的; literary permanent 永久的，永恒的 eg: continuing all the time without changing or stopping 连续不断的，无休止的
2 the Universe 宇宙 universe 大写
The best known of the acient Greek philosophers, Aristotle, wrote widely on scientific subjects and laid foundations for much of the work that has followed.
3 wrote widely 著作涉猎范围广 widely很简单的表达了广的意思。
4 Aristotle 亚里士多德 Socrates 苏格拉底
While it amy seem obvious today that a good scientist must rely on empirical evidence, this was not always apparent.
5 empirical: based on scientific testing or practical experience, not on ideas 以实验[经验]为依据的；经验主义的 eg: And metaphysics, the extension of science in metaphysical ways, is not subject to empirical test.
6 apparent: ADJ If something is apparent to you, it is clear and obvious to you. 明显的 eg: It has been apparent that in other areas standards have held up well.
7 apparently: ADV You use apparently to refer to something that seems to be true, although you are not sure whether it is or not. 貌似地 eg: The recent deterioration has been caused by an apparently endless recession.
要与obviously 区别开，apparently 所指内容有可能为错误
......and so falsify the theory, or to repeat the experiment to make sure that the results are correct.
8 falsify: V-T If someone falsifies something, they change it or add untrue details to it in order to deceive people. 篡改 eg: The charges against him include fraud, bribery, and falsifying business records.
Experiments may test a theory, or be purely speculative.
9 purely speculative 纯粹的推测，用purely: ADV You use purely to emphasize that the thing you are mentioning is the most important feature or that it is the only thing which should be considered. 纯粹地; 完全地
10 辨析 sheerly: 完全的，全然的 eg: But I was so fascinated with my personal reaction to it, which was sheerly because I wasn't accustomed to it.
11 fire alpha particles: 火阿尔法粒子
12 deflections: N-VAR The deflection of something means making it change direction. 偏离;N-COUNT可数名词 In sports, the deflection of a ball, kick, or shot is when the ball hits an object and then travels in a different direction. 转向; eg: Also, the all-season tires give up the cornering fight pretty early, with loads of sidewall deflection.
Rutherford said it was though as artillery shell had bounced back off tissue paper - and this led him to a new idea about the structure of the atom.
13 artillery: N-UNCOUNTArtilleryconsists of large, powerful guns that are transported on wheels and used by an army. 大炮 eg : Using tanks and heavy artillery, they seized the town.
14 led sb to a new idea about sth给某人灵感
15 辨析inspire: to give someone the idea for something, especially a story, painting, poem etc 给〔某人〕创作灵感 eg: The story was inspired by a chance meeting with an old Russian duke
Every experiment that gives predicted answers is supporting evidenc, but one experiment that fails may bring an entire theory crashing down.
16 bring sth an entire theory crashing down 为一个名词 bring: V-T If something brings a particular 带来 eg: Her three children brought her joy.feeling, situation, or quality, it makes people experience it or have it.
Over the centries, long-hold concepts such as a geocentric Universe, the four bodily humours, the fire-element phlogiston, and a mysterious medium called aether have all been disapproved and replaced with new theories.
17 long-hold concepts长期受到认同的概念
18 geocentric Universe 地心说
19 bodily: ADJ Your bodily needs and functions are the needs and functions of your body. 身体的; ADV You use bodily to indicate that an action involves the whole of someone's body. 整个身体地 eg: I was hurled bodily to the deck.
20 bodily humours: 体液
21 phlogiston: N a hypothetical substance formerly thought to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning 燃素; 旧时人们认为所有可燃物中存在的一种假想物质，燃烧时被释放
22 aether: N 以太；乙醚；太空
All truthes are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. -- Galileo Galilei
23 electron: N-COUNT An electron is a tiny particle of matter that is smaller than an atom and has a negative electrical charge. 电子
24 cathode rays: N-PLURAL a stream of electrons emitted from the surface of a cathode in a valve 阴极线
25 vacuum pump: N a pump for producing a low gas pressure 真空泵
The greatest English physicist Issac Newton famously said, " If I have seen the future, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
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