TED演讲:科学解释之新探

 　　I'm sure that, throughout the hundred-thousand-odd years of our species' existence, and even before, 我十分确信在人类诞生以来的大概10万多年，甚至比这更长的时间里

　　our ancestors looked up at the night sky, and wondered what stars are. 我们的祖先仰望夜空，想知道那些星星究竟是什么

　　Wondering, therefore, how to explain what they saw in terms of things unseen. 其实也就是想要把他们看见的东西用不可见的东西来解释

　　Okay, so, most people only wondered that occasionally, like today, 这样的话，大多数人看似只是偶尔如此想想，比如说像在今天

　　in breaks from whatever normally preoccupied¹ them. 从日常活动中抽空解脱出来的时候才行

　　But what normally preoccupied them also involved yearning² to know. 但实际上人们的日常活动同样富含着对知识的渴望

　　They wished they knew how to prevent their food supply from sometimes failing, 人们希望知道如何避免食物来源不时的中断

　　and how they could rest when they were tired without risking starvation, 如何在疲惫时得以充分休整，又不会因为停止劳作而断粮

　　be warmer, cooler, safer, in less pain. 如何创造更温暖，或更凉爽；更安全的环境，如何减轻痛苦

　　I bet those prehistoric³ cave artists would have loved to know how to draw better. 我敢打赌远古时代的岩洞画家们都想知道怎样画得更漂亮些

　　In every aspect of their lives, they wished for progress, just as we do. 我们的祖先在生活的方方面面都像我们一样地期望进步

　　But they failed, almost completely, to make any.  但是他们得到的发展微乎其微

　　They didn't know how to.  他们还不懂其中的秘诀

　　Discoveries like fire  像人工生火这样的重大发明

　　happened so rarely, that from an individual's point of view, the world never improved. 凤毛麟角，于是乎从一个个人的角度看来，世界几乎毫无改善

　　Nothing new was learned.  知识停滞不前

　　The first clue to the origin of starlight happened as recently as 1899: radioactivity. 星星闪光的奥秘初步被揭开是在不久前的1899年：放射现象

　　Within 40 years, physicists⁴ discovered the whole explanation, 而这之后的仅仅40年间，物理学家们发现了一个完整的解释

　　expressed, as usual, in elegant symbols.  然后像往常一样用简明优雅的数学符号把它表示了出来

　　But never mind the symbols.  可别把这些符号不当回事

　　Think how many discoveries they represent. 想想它们表达了多少人类的发现

　　Nuclei⁵ and nuclear reactions, of course.  这些么就是原子核，核反应

　　But isotopes⁶, particles of electricity, antimatter, neutrinos, 再看看这些：同位素，带电粒子，反物质，中微子

　　the conversion⁷ of mass to energy -- that's E=mc^2 -- gamma rays, transmutation. 物质到能量的转化 E=mc^2，伽马射线，嬗变（一种元素通过核反应转化为另一种元素）

　　That ancient dream that had always eluded⁸ the alchemists  那个古代炼金术师们为之枉费心机的梦想

　　was achieved through these same theories  现在由这些

　　that explained starlight and other ancient mysteries, and new, unexpected phenomena⁹. 解释了星光的实质，以及其他古代的谜团和意料之外新现象的理论变为现实

1 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

3 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

4 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

5 nuclei   

n.核

参考例句：

• To free electrons, something has to make them whirl fast enough to break away from their nuclei. 为了释放电子，必须使电子高速旋转而足以摆脱原子核的束缚。
• Energy is released by the fission of atomic nuclei. 能量是由原子核分裂释放出来的。

6 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

8 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。