There are two forms of scientific method: the experimental method and the descriptive
method. The former employs numerical data and graphs, used in physical sciences, while
the latter gathers Information through visual observation and interviewing, employed in
zoology and anthropology. The scientific method involves five steps, namely, identifying a
problem, researching the problem, formulating a hypothesis, conducting an experiment and
reaching a conclusion.
C. (1) The process of science, in contrast to the linear steps of the simplified scientific method,
is iterative.
(2) Science circles back on itself so that useful ideas are built upon and used to learn even
more about the natural world.
(3) Gregor Mendel showed that inheritance is particulate that information is passed along in
discrete packets that cannot be diluted.
(4) Any point in the process leads to many possible next steps, and where that next step
leads could be a surprise.
(5) Science may involve many different people engaged in all sorts of different activities in
different orders and at different points in time. D. (1) natural world (2) investigations (3) basic question
(4) information (5) Experiments (6) detailed understanding (7) built upon (8) deepen and extend (9) in the process (10) testing (11) observation (12) new direction
(13) in different orders (14) represent (15) less important
Unit 3 Ancient China’s Contribution to Science
Keys to the Exercises
Approaching the Topic
1. 1) Needham is the world’s famous Sinologist and author of Science and Civilization in
China.
2) The European people just take these inventions for granted. All originated in China but
have long since been adopted by the West.
3) They helped to inspire the European agricultural and industrial revolutions.
4) It has won five literary awards in America and been translated into 43 languages.
5) His book, The Spirit of Chinese Invention, was approved by the Chinese Ministry of
Education for use in connection with the national secondary curriculum in China.
2. 1) f 2) k 3) c 4) a 5) o 6) n 7) g 8) e
9) d 10) m 11) i 12) h 13) j 14) l 15) b 4. (1) credit (2) considerable (3) befriended (4) breakthroughs (5) thoroughly
(6) flown (7) academic (8) embark (9) suggested (10) staff 6. 1) The overlooked great breakthroughs in ancient China.
2) Dr. Needham argued that a proper book on the history of Chinese science and technology
would have a wide bearing on the general history of thought and ideas.
3) He helped to bring due credit to China’s overlooked contribution to scientific innovation.
4) Yes, he does. Because he believed that a proper popular book would have a wide bearing on
the general history of thoughts and ideas, which could not be possible if the book was too
academic.
Reading about the Topic
3. 1) Both Westerners and Chinese people are ignorant of the fact that the West imported a lot of
inventions from ancient China.
2) Because more than half of the basic inventions and discoveries upon which the“modern
world”rests come from China.
3) Because they take many great achievements for granted, and even the Chinese themselves
lost sight of the truth, so their western inheritors wouldn’t trouble themselves to know the
truth.
4) Because it is always more satisfying to the ego to think that they have reached their
present position alone and unaided, and that they are the proud masters of all abilities and
all crafts.
4. Set 1: 1) d 2) e 3) a 4) b 5) c 6) g 7) f 8) h Set 2: 1) d 2) g 3) e 4) h 5) b 6) a 7) c 8) f
5. Para. A (e) Para. B (b) Para. C (f) Para. D (a) Para. E (a) Para. F (a) Para. G (c) Para. H (g) Para. I (h) Para. J (d)
6. 1) The three inventions transform-ed completely the modern world and mark-ed it off from
the ancient and the Middle Ages.
2) The European agricultural revolution, which laid the basis for the Industrial Revolution,
came about only because of the importation of Chinese ideas and inventions.
3) The truth that half of the basic inventions and discoveries originated from China needs to
be imparted to schoolchildren. The purpose is to let them know the truth and then to
bridge the chasm between the East and the West.
4) The bureaucratic organization of China in its earlier stages strongly helped science to
grow; only in its later ones did it inhibit further growth, and in particular prevented a
breakthrough which has occurred in Europe.
5) The author points out the reasons why China was developed in the past but backward at
present and why the West was underdeveloped in the past but advanced at present.
7. Set 1: 1) c 2) g 3) h 4) b 5) f 6) d 7) a 8) e Set 2: 1) c 2) d 3) g 4) e 5) a 6) b 7) f 8) h
8. 1) The two readings both list a series of great inventions and discoveries that originated in
ancient China. Reading 1 tends to be factual, while Reading 2 is more critical of the fact
that the Chinese are ignorant of their ancient achievements and the Westerners simply take
them for granted.
2) The argument in Reading 2 is more reasonable and acceptable since the author uses a lot of
examples and examines the question from both the Chinese and Western perspectives to
illustrate his point.
3) Reading 2 holds more obvious negative attitudes towards Westerners.
4) It would be better if the nations and the peoples of the world had a clearer understanding
of each other, allowing the mental gap between East and West to be bridged. (Reading 2)
The discoveries and inventions made in Europe in the seventeenth century and thereafter
depended so much in so many cases on centuries of previous Chinese progress in science,
technology and medicine. (Reading 3)
9. 1) He regarded the origins of these inventions as “obscure”and he died without ever
knowing that all of them were Chinese. (Para. B)
2) Chauvinistic Westerners, of course, always try to minimize the indebtedness of Europe to
China in the ancient and the Middle Ages, but often the circumstantial evidence is
compelling. (Para. C)
3) In many cases we simply cannot identify the channels through which knowledge was
conveyed from East to West. (Para. C)
4) Modern science which developed in the seventeenth century was a mathematization of
hypotheses about nature, combined with experimentation. (Para. D)
5) One factor which must have great relevance here is the circumstance that the feudalism of
Europe and China were fundamentally different. (Para. E) 10. The feudalism of China differed greatly from that of Europe in that its bureaucratic
organization promoted the growth of science in ancient China but inhibited its further
development later on. Exploring the Topic
4. 1) Increasingly being bewitched by the advanced European technology, the Chinese have
forgotten their own achievements.
2) A book like that would be absolutely non-academic; it would nevertheless have a
far-reaching influence on the general history of thought and ideas.
3) The lesson to be drawn from the history of agriculture can best illustrate the ignorance of
the egoistic westerners.
4) The Chinese and Westerners are equally surprised when they realize that modern
agriculture, modern shipping and even the essential design of the steam engine all
originated from China.
5) A clear understanding among the nations and the peoples of the world would be welcomed
to bridge the gap between East and West.
5. 2) The deafening noise, and the glare of the engine fire, would have a bad effect on nerves.
Further, being moved through the air at a high speed would do great injury to delicate
lungs. The sudden plunging of a train into the darkness of a tunnel, and the equally sudden
rush into full daylight, would cause great damage to the eyesight. 3) What was it that enabled them to become great or successful? Were they born with
something special? Or did their greatness have more to do with timing, devotion and,
perhaps, an uncompromising personality? The answer is a never surrender attitude. If great
achievers share anything, it is an unrelenting drive to succeed. There is a tendency to think
that they are endowed with something super-normal.
Integrated Exercises
2. (1) insight (2) expertise (3) obscure (4) backward
(5) undertake (6) ignorant (7) acknowledge (8) essential (9) minimize (10) shatter (11) fading (12) illustration 3.
The members of a word family insight insights insightful minimize minimized minimizing circumstance circumstantial circumstantially parallel paralleled unparallelled hypothesis hypothetical hypothetically irrespective irrespectively respectively bureaucrat bureaucratic bureaucratically dazzle dazzled dazzling dazzlingly essence essential essentially essentiality undertake undertaking undertaker gigantic gigantism resurrect resurrection resurgent resurgence inherit inherent inheritable inheritor inheritress illusion illusive illusionary illusionist astronomy astronomical astronavigation transform transformable transformer backward backwards backwardness Chinese equivalent n.洞察力n.领悟adj.有深刻见解的 v.使减到最小adj.最小化的adj.极小值的 n.环境adj.依照情况的、详尽的adv.依照情 况地 adj.平行的n.平行线adj.并行的adj.无法匹配的 n.假设adj.假设的,爱猜想的adv.假想地 adj.不考虑的 ,无关的 adv.无关地 adv.各自地 n.官僚 adj.官僚的 adv.官僚主义地 v.使目眩 adj.眼花缭乱的 adj.耀眼的 adv.灿烂地 n.本质 adj.基本的 adv.本质上n.重要性 ,根本性 v.承担 ,保证 n.事业 n.承办人 adj.巨大的 ,庞大的 n.巨人症 v.使复活 n.复活 ,复活者 adj.复活的 n.再现 v.继承 adj.固有的 adj.可继承的 n.继承人 n.女继承人 n.幻觉 adj.错觉的 adj.幻影的 n.魔术师 n.天文学 adj.天文的 n.太空航行 v.改变、变换 adj.可转换的 n.变压器 adj.向后的 adv.向后地 n.落后