四百年前的今天，意大利科学家伽利略向威尼斯参议院展示了他发明的望远镜。伽利略并非第一个发明望远镜的人，但他让望远镜出名，并开创了现代天文学。Four hundred years ago on Tuesday, an Italian professor of physics and mathematics called Galileo Galilei demonstrated a simple contraption to the Venetian Senate that would set in motion one of the most profound revolutions in human thought — a revolution that continues today. (From The New York Times, August 25, 2009: 400 Years of Modern Astronomy)
contraption: (noun) a machine or piece of equipment that looks strange.
*She showed us a strange contraption that looked like a satellite dish.
Etymology (from Wiktionary): originally a Western English dialectical word. Origin unclear. Perhaps from contrive + trap.
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