TED演讲:人生交叉点(2)

 　　I've lived the entirety of my life in the in-between, 我一直生活在向交地带，

　　in the liminal space between dreams and reality, race and gender¹, poverty and plenty, science and society. 徜徉于梦想和现实，种族和性别，贫穷与富足，科学和人文之间。

　　I am both black and a woman. Like the birth of stars in the heavenlies, 我是黑人，又是女性。就如同星辰的诞生一般，

　　this robust² combination of knowing results in a shining example of the explosive fusion³ of identities. （我的身份）是一种宿命的强烈结合，是多种身份的融合爆发。

　　I am also an astrophysicist. I study blazars, supermassive, hyperactive black holes that sit at the centers of massive galaxies⁴ 我还是一名天体物理学家。我研究耀变体，超大质量活跃黑洞，它们位于巨大星系的中心，

　　and shoot out jets nearby those black holes at speeds approaching the speed of light in a process we are still trying to completely understand. 从这些黑洞附近射出喷射流，速度接近光速，我们仍在研究这一过程，尚未完全搞懂。

　　I have dreamed of becoming an astrophysicist since I was 12 years old. 成为天体物理学家一直是我的梦想，从我12岁那年就开始了。

　　I had no idea that at that time, according to Dr. Jamie Alexander's archive of African-American women in physics, 当年的我，还完全不知道，根据杰米·亚历山大博士针对从事物理工作的非裔美籍女性的研究，

　　only 18 black women in the United States had ever earned a PhD in a physics-related discipline, 在美国，只有18名黑人女性在物理学相关学科获得了博士学位，

　　and that the first black woman to graduate with a PhD in an astronomy-related field did so just one year before my birth. 而第一位获得天文学相关领域博士学位的黑人女性，是在我出生前一年才毕业的。

　　As I journeyed along my path, I encountered the best and worst of life at an intersection⁵: 在我的人生道路上，我经历了生命的美好与残酷：

　　the tremendous opportunity to self-define, the collision of expectation and experience, 既遇到了定义自我的绝好机会，也经历了理想和现实的碰撞，

　　the exhilaration of victorious⁶ breakthroughs and, sometimes, the explosive pain of regeneration. 既体验过取得成功的喜悦，时不时的，还要品尝重头再来的苦果。

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

3 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

4 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

5 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。