1.This is Shirley Griffith. And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about(1) one of the world's greatest scientists, Isaac Newton.
Much of today's science of physics is based on Newton's discovery of the three laws of motion(3) and his theory of gravity. Newton also developed(4) one of the most powerful(5) tools(6) of mathematics. It is the method we call calculus.
2. Late in his life, Newton said of his work: "If I saw(7)further than(8) other men, it was because I stood(9) on the shoulders(10) of giants. " One of those giants was the great Italian scientist, Galileo. Galileo died(11) the same year Newton was born(12). Another of the giants was the Polish(13) scientist Nicholas Copernicus. He lived a hundred years before Newton.
3. Copernicus had begun(14) a scientific revolution. It led to(15) a completely new understanding(16) of how the universe worked. Galileo continued and expanded the work of Copernicus. Isaac Newton built(17) on the ideas of these two scientists and others. He found(18) and proved the answers for which(19) they searched(20). Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England, on December twenty-fifth, sixteen forty-two.
4. He was born early(21). He was a small baby and very weak(22). No one expected him to survive(23). But he surprised everyone. He had one of the most powerful minds(24) in history. And he lived until(25) he was eighty-four.
Newton's father died before he was born. His mother married again(26) a few years later. She left(27) Isaac with his grandmother.
5. The boy was not a good student. Yet(28) he liked to make things, such as (29) kites(30) and clocks and simple machines.
Newton also enjoyed(31) finding new ways(32) to answer questions(33) or solve(34) problems. As a boy, for example, he decided to find a way to measure(35) the speed of the wind(36).
6. On a windy(37) day, he measured how far(38) he could jump(39) with the wind at his back(40). Then he measured how far he could jump with the wind in his face. From the difference between the two jumps, he made hisown(41) measure of the strength(42) of the wind.
7. Strangely(43), Newton became(44) a much better student after a boy kicked(45) him in the stomach.
The boy was one of the best students in the school. Newton decided to get even(46) by getting higher marks(47) than the boy who kicked him. In a short time, Newton became the top student at the school.
Newton left school to help on the family farm.
8.It soon became clear(48), however, that the boy was not a good farmer. He spent(49) his time solving(50) mathematical problems, instead of taking care of(51) the crops(52). He spent hours visiting a bookstore(53) in town, instead of selling his vegetables in the market. An uncle decided that Newton would do better as a student than as a farmer. So he helped the young man enter Cambridge University to study mathematics.
9. Newton completed his university studies five years later, in sixteen sixty-five. He was twenty-two years old.
At that time, a deadly plague(54) was spreading across(55) England. To escape the disease(56), Newton returned to the family farm. He did more thinking than farming. In doing so(57), he found the answers to some of the greatest mysteries of science.
10. Newton used his great skill(58) in mathematics to form a better understanding(59) of the world and the universe. He used methods he had learned as a boy in making things. He experimented. Then he studied the results and used what he had learned to design new experiments.
11. Newton's work led(60) him to create a new method in mathematics for measuring areas curved in shape(61). He also used it to find how much material was contained in solid objects. The method he created became known as(62) integral calculus.
12. One day, sitting in the garden, Newton watched(63) an apple fall from a tree. He began to wonder(64) if the same force that pulled(65) the apple down also kept(66) the moon circling the Earth. Newton believed it was. And he believed it could be measured.
13. He called the force "gravity." He began to examine it carefully(67). He decided that the strength(68) of the force keeping a planet in orbit around the sun depended on two things. One was the amount of mass(69) in the planet and the sun. The other was how far apart(70) they were.
Vocabulary
1. tell about = falar sobre
2. physics = física
3. laws of motion = leis do movimento
4. developed = desenvolveu
5. powerful = poderoso
6. tools = ferramentas
7. saw = viu
8. further than = mais longe do que
9. stood = fiquei
10. shoulders = ombros
11. died = morreu
12. was born = nasceu
13. Polish = Polonês
14. had begun = tinha começado
15. led to = conduziu a
16. understanding = compreensão
17. built = construiu
18. found = encontrou
19. for which = pelas quais
20. searched = procuraram
21. early = prematuro
22. weak = fraco
23. survive = sobreviver
24. minds = mentes
25. until = até
26. again = novamente
27. left = deixou
28. Yet = porém
29. such as = tais como
30. kites = papagaios
31. enjoyed = adorava
32. ways = formas, maneiras
33. answer questions = responder perguntas
34. solve = solucionar
35. measure = medir
|
36. speed of the wind = velocidade do vento
37. windy = com vento
38. how far = o quão longe
39. could jump = conseguia saltar
40. at his back = às suas costas
41. own = próprio(a)
42. strength = força
43. Strangely = estranhamente
44. became = tornou-se
45. kicked = chutou
46. get even = ficar quites
47. getting higher marks = conseguindo notas mais altas
48. It soon became clear = logo ficou claro
49. spent = passava
50. solving = solucionando
51. instead of taking care of = Ao inves de cuidar de
52. crops = plantações
53. Bookstore = livraria
54. deadly plague = praga mortal
55. spreading across = espalhando-se por
56. disease = doença
57. In doing so = ao fazer isso
58. skill = habilidade
59. understanding = compreensão
60. led = conduziu, levou
61. shape = forma
62. became known as = tornou-se conhecido como
63. Watched = observou
64. wonder = perguntar-se
65. Pulled = puxou
66. kept = mantinha
67. carefully = cuidadosamente
68. strength = força
69. amount of mass = quantidade de massa
70. how far apart = O quão distantes |