内容概述
叙拉古国王希罗怀疑金匠在他那顶定制的金冠中掺了银，又不愿毁坏金冠以验真伪，便把这一难题交给了阿基米德。一天阿基米德在公共浴室洗澡时突然领悟了静水压力的第一个定律，由此解决了王冠真伪的难题。他兴高采烈得忘了穿衣服，光着身子冲出浴室，沿街高喊“Eureka, Eureka!”（“我找到了！我找到了！”）。这一发现后来成为阿基米德《论浮体》第一卷第 7 个命题中著名的静水压力第一定律——浸在流体中的物体所受到的浮力等于它所排开流体的重量。
中文正文
阿基米德做事当然专心致志，很多故事说他在专注一个问题时常常忘了身边的事情。人们经常说起的一个故事，是关于希罗王的王冠和金匠骗子。
希罗王很想要一顶金冠，他把一定重量的金子交给一个金匠，还吩咐他怎么做。金匠按时做好金冠，献给国王。虽然金冠重量没有问题，国王还是怀疑金匠拿银偷换了一些金。王爷不想把金冠砸碎来看里面是否藏着银，就把困惑告诉阿基米德。阿基米德也曾大惑不解。一天，他在公共浴室洗澡，突然发现了静水压力的第一个定律，也就解决了王冠的问题。他兴高采烈，忘了穿衣服，就跑出澡堂，叫喊着跑过大街：“Eureka, Eureka”（“我找到了，我找到了！”）
后来，著名的静水压力第一定律成为阿基米德《论浮体》（On Floating Bodies）第一卷的第 7 个命题。如今，每个中学生都在物理课中学过这个定律。它告诉我们：“浸在流体中的物体所受到的浮力等于它所排开流体的重量。”
英文正文
Apparently Archimedes was capable of strong mental concentration, and tales are told of his obliviousness to surroundings when engrossed by a problem. Typical is the frequently told story of King Hiero's crown and the suspected goldsmith.
It seems that King Hiero, desiring a crown of gold, gave a certain weight of the metal to a goldsmith, along with instructions. In due time the crown was completed and given to the king. Though the crown was of the proper weight, for some reason the king suspected that the goldsmith had pocketed some of the precious metal and replaced it with silver. The king didn't want to break the crown open to discover if it contained any hidden silver, and so in his perplexity he referred the matter to Archimedes. For a while, even Archimedes was puzzled. Then, one day when in the public baths, Archimedes hit upon the solution by discovering the first law of hydrostatics. In his flush of excitement, forgetting to clothe himself, he rose from his bath and ran home through the streets shouting, "Eureka, eureka" ("I have found it, I have found it").
The famous first law of hydrostatics appeared later as Proposition 7 in Book I of his work On Floating Bodies, and is the theorem that every body immersed in a fluid receives a buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.
英语学习拓展
常用词汇
goldsmith音标/ˈɡəʊldsmɪθ/
金匠。
原文用法：the suspected goldsmith
engrossed音标/ɪnˈɡrəʊst/
全神贯注的。
原文用法：when engrossed by a problem
obliviousness音标/əˈblɪviəsnəs/
忽视；不在意。
原文用法：his obliviousness to surroundings
crown音标/kraʊn/
王冠。
原文用法：King Hiero's crown
precious音标/ˈpreʃəs/
贵重的；珍贵的。
原文用法：some of the precious metal
pocketed音标/ˈpɒkɪtɪd/
私吞；把……放进口袋，动词原形为 pocket。
原文用法：the goldsmith had pocketed some of the precious metal
perplexity音标/pəˈpleksəti/
困惑；为难。
原文用法：in his perplexity he referred the matter to Archimedes
puzzled音标/ˈpʌzld/
困惑的。
原文用法：even Archimedes was puzzled
hydrostatics音标/ˌhaɪdrəʊˈstætɪks/
静水力学；流体静力学。
原文用法：the first law of hydrostatics
flush音标/flʌʃ/
一阵（情感、热等）。
原文用法：In his flush of excitement
clothe音标/kləʊð/
给……穿衣。
原文用法：forgetting to clothe himself
buoyant音标/ˈbɔɪənt/
有浮力的。
原文用法：receives a buoyant force
displaces音标/dɪsˈpleɪsɪz/
排开；取代，动词原形为 displace。
原文用法：the fluid it displaces
immersed音标/ɪˈmɜːst/
浸入；浸没，动词原形为 immerse。
原文用法：every body immersed in a fluid
theorem音标/ˈθɪərəm/
定理。
原文用法：and is the theorem that ...
同义词与近义词
对应核心词汇：perplexity
对应核心词汇：perplexity。
辨析：perplexity 更正式，常指因复杂问题而陷入困境；puzzlement 更口语，强调“不解、纳闷”。
对应核心词汇：precious
对应核心词汇：precious。
辨析：precious 强调稀有、珍贵（常指金银等）；valuable 泛指“有价值的”。
对应核心词汇：engrossed
对应核心词汇：engrossed。
辨析：engrossed 表示完全沉浸、忽略外界；absorbed 也可表示全神贯注，语气稍弱。
对应核心词汇：puzzled
对应核心词汇：puzzled。
辨析：puzzled 指因难题而困惑；confused 指因信息混乱而迷糊。
常用短语与固定搭配
- in due time：在适当的时候；按时。原文用法：In due time the crown was completed。
- for some reason：不知何故。原文用法：for some reason the king suspected。
- pocket ... metal：私吞金属。原文用法：had pocketed some of the precious metal and replaced it with silver。
- break ... open：砸开。原文用法：break the crown open。
- refer ... to：把……提交给。原文用法：he referred the matter to Archimedes。
- hit upon：突然想到。原文用法：Archimedes hit upon the solution。
- in his flush of excitement：在一阵兴奋中。原文用法：In his flush of excitement, forgetting to clothe himself。
- equal to：等于。原文用法：equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces。
常用句式
- It seems that ...：似乎……。原文例句：It seems that King Hiero, desiring a crown of gold, gave a certain weight of the metal to a goldsmith, along with instructions.
- Though ..., ...：虽然……，但是……。原文例句：Though the crown was of the proper weight, for some reason the king suspected that the goldsmith had pocketed some of the precious metal and replaced it with silver.
- ..., and so ...：……，因此……。原文例句：The king didn't want to break the crown open to discover if it contained any hidden silver, and so in his perplexity he referred the matter to Archimedes.
- ... appeared later as ...：后来作为……出现。原文例句：The famous first law of hydrostatics appeared later as Proposition 7 in Book I of his work On Floating Bodies.
长难句解析
The famous first law of hydrostatics appeared later as Proposition 7 in Book I of his work On Floating Bodies, and is the theorem that every body immersed in a fluid receives a buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.
- 主干：The famous first law of hydrostatics appeared later as Proposition 7 ... and is the theorem ...。
- 修饰与从句：in Book I of his work On Floating Bodies 说明命题所在位置；that every body immersed in a fluid receives a buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces 为同位语从句，解释 theorem 的内容；immersed in a fluid 为过去分词短语作后置定语；equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces 为形容词短语作后置定语，修饰 buoyant force；it displaces 为定语从句，修饰 fluid。
- 逻辑关系：先交代定律在后世的正式表述位置，再给出定理的具体内容。
语言使用特点
- 叙事中常用 It seems that ... 表示传说或不确定的传闻。
- 让步状语从句 Though ... 与结果连接 and so ... 并用，使情节转折自然。
- 科学表述中 Proposition, theorem, immersed, buoyant force, displaces 等术语精确、正式。
迁移练习
- 用英文简述阿基米德如何判断王冠是否掺银。
- 用 equal to 造句，描述一个生活中的等量关系。
- 把下面句子翻译成英文：浸在流体中的物体所受浮力等于它排开的流体的重量。
点击展开参考答案
- He measured the volume of water displaced by the crown and compared it with the volume displaced by an equal weight of pure gold. If the crown displaced more water, it contained a less dense metal such as silver.
- The weight of the apples is equal to the weight of the oranges.
- A body immersed in a fluid receives a buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.