Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy, in 1564. His father taught music while his mother cared for kids at home. The family was not wealthy, but Galileo’s parents paid for him to go to school.
At first Galileo planned to become a doctor, but he changed his mind. He liked a different kind of science—physics. In Galileo's time, not much was known about how objects moved. Centuries earlier, a Greek （希腊人） named Aristotle had written down his ideas about movements, and everyone seemed to believe them. Galileo questioned those ideas and did experiments （实验） that showed how things really worked. For example, Aristotle thought that a heavier object would fall faster than a lighter one of the same size and shape. No one had ever really tested this idea. It just seemed to be true. Then Galileo came along, dropped two balls from a high tower, and discovered that they hit the ground at the same time!
In later years, Galileo became interested in how the stars and planets move. He watched the sky with a telescope （望远镜） he built himself. Once again, he saw things no one had ever seen before. For example, he saw that the moon was not smooth. Then he noticed that the sun had spots （斑点） that seemed to move. Galileo realized from his observations （观察） that the earth was moving around the sun. A Polish （波兰的） scientist named Copernicus had said this recently, but no one believed him. Galileo knew that Copernicus was right. Unluckily, Galileo's announcement got him into trouble with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church said that the earth was at the center of the universe （宇宙） with the sun traveling around it. This was what people had long believed, but Galileo said it was untrue. So he was sent to prison （监狱） . He was soon set free, but for the rest of his life he had to stay in his house and yard.
Galileo died in 1642, but his work helped to change the world. He is sometimes called the father of modern science,because he showed us how important it is to look carefully at things and to test out ideas with experiments.
1 ． Both Galileo and Copernicus believed that ________.
A ． two objects fall at the same speed
B ． the moon is smooth
C ． the earth goes around the sun
D ． the earth is the center of the universe
2 ． We can infer from this passage that ________.
A ． Galileo's parents didn't value the education
B ． all of Aristotle's ideas were proved to be wrong
C ． Galileo knew Copernicus and exchanged letters with him
D ． the Catholic Church was very powerful in Galileo's time
3 ． While Galileo stayed at home in his later years, he most probably ________.
A ． learned to play music
B ． began to practice medicine
C ． continued with his science experiments
D ． wrote books on modern science
4 ． According to this passage, Galileo is called " the father of modem science " because he ________.
A ． was brave to fight against the church
B ． questioned other scientists1 ideas
C ． built a telescope to look at the stars and planets
D ． made careful observations and tested his ideas
5 ． Which would be a good title for this passage?
A ． Mysteries in the universe
B ． Galileo, father of modern science
C ． “Is it true?” —Different ideas in science
D ． Great minds saved the world
1 ． C
2 ． D
3 ． C
4 ． D
5 ． B
【分析】
这是一篇记叙文，文章讲述伽利略通过观察用实验证明世人的想法和观点是否正确，被人们成为 “ 现代科学之父 ” 。
1 ．
推理判断题。根据第三段 “Galileo realized from his observations that the earth was moving around the sun. …Galileo knew that Copernicus was right” 可知伽利略通过观察意识到地球是绕着太阳转的，哥白尼也这样认为，伽利略知道哥白尼是对的。可知二人都认为地球是绕着太阳转的。故选 C 。
2 ．
推理判断题。根据第三段 “Galileo's announcement got him into trouble with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church said that the earth was at the center of the universe with the sun traveling around it…So he was sent to prison” 可知伽利略的宣言和天主教的看法起了冲突，后来被判入狱。可知天主教在当时很有势力。故选 D 。
3 ．
推理判断题。根据第二段 “Galileo questioned those ideas and did experiments that showed how things really worked” 及第三段 “for the rest of his life he had to stay in his house and yard” 伽利略询问这些想法，做实验证明这些想法是否奏效，伽利略在生命晚期仍待在家，可知伽利略最有可能继续做他的科学实验。故选 C 。
4 ．
细节理解题。根据最后一段 “ He is sometimes called the father of modern science because he showed us how important it is to look carefully at things and to test out ideas with experiments” 他被称为 “ 现代科学之父 ” 是因为他向大家显示仔细观察事物，用实验测验自己的想法的重要性。故选 D 。
5 ．
标题概括题。根据最后一段 “his work helped to change the world. He is sometimes called the father of modern science11 because he showed us how important it is to look carefully at things and to test out ideas with experiments” 可知文章讲述伽利略通过观察用实验证明世人的想法和观点是否正确，被人们成为 “ 现代科学之父 ” 。标题可概括为 “Galileo, father of modern science” 。故选 B 。
