注：文本及音频选自《新托福iBT词汇分类突破》Unit159；单词释义主要来自《美国传统词典》。
Cosmology is a branch of astronomy, but the observational and theoretical techniques used by cosmologists involve a wide range ofother sciences, particularly, physics and chemistry. Cosmology is distinguished from cosmogony, which now usually only refers to studying the origin of the solar system. Previously, cosmogony used to cover the wider field related to studying the origin of the whole universe.
◾cosmologykäz-ˈmä-lə-jē: (1)The study of the physical universe considered as a totality of phenomena in time and space.
宇宙学：把有形的宇宙当做时空中的各种现象的总和来研究的科学
(2)The astrophysical study of the history, structure, and constituent dynamics of the universe.
宇宙天体学：对宇宙的历史，结构和组成动力进行的天体物理学方面的研究
◾astronomy: The scientific study of matter in outer space, especially the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial bodies and phenomena.
天文学：外层空间事物的科学研究，尤指天体及天文现象的位置、大小、分布、运动、构成、能量及演化的科学
◾cosmogonykäz-ˈmä-gə-nē: The astrophysical study of the origin and evolution of the universe.
天体演化学：研究宇宙的起源和演化的一种天体物理学