2021年经济学人 中国“杂交水稻之父”袁隆平逝世(2)

Higher rice-yields allowed farmers to turn more land to other uses—fruit, vegetables, fishponds—so that people not only ate more, but ate well.

更高的水稻产量让农民能够把一部分土地用来种植水果蔬菜，或是建造鱼塘等其他用途，这样人们既能吃饱饭，饮食又丰富。

And this message was for the world, as well as China.

这样的经验不仅让中国人受益，甚至还惠及了全球。

Once his rice grew well, he sent seeds to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.

在发现杂交稻的优势后，袁隆平立即将种子送到位于菲律宾的国际水稻研究所。

Then he travelled widely, all across Asia and to Africa and America,

之后，他游历亚洲、非洲和美洲，

as well as inviting¹ foreign students to the Hunan Hybrid² Rice Research Centre in Changsha to instruct them.

还邀请外国学生到长沙的湖南杂交水稻研究中心来学习。

A fifth of all rice grown globally now comes from hybrids³ that were his.

现在，全球五分之一的水稻出自他的杂交品种。

For this he won the Medal of the Republic, China’s highest, and the World Food Prize.

他因此获得了中国的最高奖项“共和国勋章”，以及世界粮食奖。

An asteroid⁴ was named after him. There was talk of the Nobel, too. All that seemed just smoke to him.

有一颗小行星也被命名为“袁隆平星”。坊间还有传言说他将获得诺贝尔奖。这些美誉于他而言不过是过眼云烟。

Though he was rich, from his shares in a seed company that used his name, he looked like a peasant,

虽然他经济富裕（入股了一家以他的名字命名的种子公司），但他还是保持着质朴的农民形象，

wiry as a twig⁵, with his face leathered by sun and his big hands rough from “playing in the mud” all day.

身材瘦削，皮肤黝黑，一双大手因整天“与泥巴打交道”变得粗糙。

He was far happier in his short-sleeved work-shirts, out in his rice, or stripped off swimming in any wild river he could find, than in a tang suit in some conference hall.

比起穿着唐装端坐在会议厅里，他更喜欢套着短袖工作服在稻田里穿行，或者脱下衣服扎进河游泳。

At social gatherings⁶, he would offer round the first cigarettes and the nimblest jokes.

与人社交时，他会先给大伙递烟意思一番，再讲个笑话逗趣；

When he lost at mahjong, no one was more delighted to pay the penalty of creeping through under the table.

打麻将输了，他也乐呵呵地接受钻桌底的惩罚。

Why he had become an agronomist⁷ was tricky⁸ to explain. His mother, whom he adored, did not want him to do it.

他为什么成为农学家，这事儿说来话长。袁隆平很尊敬他的母亲，而母亲其实不希望他从事农业工作。

He was a city boy anyway, born in Beijing, though he enjoyed the countryside and the thought of growing luscious⁹ things,

虽然在北京这座大城市出生，但是袁隆平很喜欢乡村，喜欢种植甘美的作物，

like the grapes Charlie Chaplin could pick at his kitchen door in “Modern Times”.

比如《摩登时代》中查理·卓别林在厨房门口就能摘到的葡萄。

As he made his way to the Anjiang agricultural school, in a charcoal-fuelled bus struggling through the mountains, he had doubts himself.

在去往安江农校的路上，他乘坐一辆烧木炭的客车，在高山峻岭中颠簸前行，他的内心也曾有疑虑。

What settled his vocation¹⁰ was famine.

最终，饥荒让他坚定了自己的从农之路。

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

3 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

4 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

5 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

7 agronomist   

n.农学家

参考例句：

• The agronomist suggested growing rice on the dried river bed.那位农学家建议在干涸的河床上种水稻。
• She has elected to become an agronomist.她决心做一个农学家。

8 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

9 luscious   

adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的

参考例句：

• The watermelon was very luscious.Everyone wanted another slice.西瓜很可口，每个人都想再来一片。
• What I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!我最喜欢的是盖比那性感饱满的双唇！

10 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。