6-12 诺贝尔大师自传：尼古拉斯·布洛姆伯根

Autobiography¹ of Nobel Prize Winner: Nicolaas Bloembergen

 

My parents, Auke Bloembergen and Sophia Maria Quint, had four sons and two daughters. I am the second child, born on March 11, 1920, in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. My father, a chemical engineer, was an executive in a chemical fertilizer company. My mother, who had an advanced degree to teach French, devoted² all her energies to rearing a large family.

　　

Before I entered grade school¹, the family moved to Bilthoven, a residential³ suburb of Utrecht. We were brought up in the Protestant² work ethic⁴. At the age of twelve I entered the municipal³ gymnasium⁴ in Utrecht, founded as a Latin school in 1474. Nearly all the teachers held Ph.D. degrees. The rigid⁵ curriculum emphasized the humanities: Latin, Greek, French, German, English, Dutch, history and mathematics. My preference for science became evident only in the last years of secondary school, where the basics of physics and chemistry were well taught. The choice of physics was probably based on the fact that I found it the most difficult and challenging subject, and I still do to this day. My maternal⁶⁵ grandfather was a high school principal with a Ph.D. in mathematical physics. So there may be some hereditary⁷⁶ factor as well. I am ever more intrigued⁸ by the correspondence between mathematics and physical facts. The adaptability⁹ of mathematics to the description of physical phenomena¹⁰ is uncanny⁷.

　　

Professor L. S. Ornstein taught the undergraduate physics course when I entered the University of Utrecht in 1938. He permitted me and my partner in the undergraduate lab, J. C. Kluyver to skip some lab routines and instead assist a graduate student, G. A. W. Rutgers, in a Ph.D. research project.

　　

After the German occupation of Holland in May 1940, the Hitler regime removed Ornstein from the university in 1941. I made the best possible use of the continental¹¹ academic system, which relied heavily on independent studies. Just before the Nazis¹² closed the university completely in 1943, I managed to obtain the degree of Phil. Drs., equivalent to a M.Sc. degree.

　　

I had always harbored⁸ plans to do some research for a Ph.D. thesis outside the Netherlands, to broaden my perspective. After the devastation¹³ of Europe, the only suitable place in 1945 appeared to be the United States. Three applications netted⁹ an acceptance in the graduate school at Harvard University. My father financed the trip and the Dutch government obliged¹⁰ by issuing a valuta¹¹ permit for the purchase of US＄ 1,850. As my good fortune would have it, my arrival at Harvard occurred six weeks after Purcell, Torrey and Pound had detected nuclear magnetic resonance¹⁴¹²(NMR) in condensed¹³ matter. Since they were busy writing volumes for the M.I.T. Radiation Laboratory series on microwave techniques, I was accepted as a graduate assistant to develop the early NMR apparatus¹⁵¹⁴. My thorough Dutch educational background enabled me to quickly profit from lectures by professors there.

 

During a vacation trip of a Physics Club I met Deli in the summer of 1948. She had spent the war years in a Japanese concentration camp in Indonesia, where she was born. She was about to start her premed¹⁵ studies. When I returned to Harvard in 1949, she managed to get on a student hospitality exchange program and traveled after me to the United States on an immigrant ship. I proposed to her the day she arrived and we got married in Amsterdam in 1950. Ever since, she has been a source of light in my life. Her enduring encouragement has contributed immensely to the successes in my further career. After the difficult years as an immigrant wife, raising three children on the modest in come, she has found the time and energy to develop her considerable talents as a pianist and artist. We became U.S. citizens in 1958.

　　

Our children are now independent. The older daughter, Antonia, holds M.A. degrees in political science and demography¹⁶¹⁶, and works in the Boston area. Our son, Brink¹⁷, has an M.B.A. degree and is an industrial planner in Oregon. Our younger daughter, Juliana, envisages¹⁷ a career in the financial world. She has interrupted her banking¹⁹ job to obtain an M.B.A. in Philadelphia.

 

注释：

1.grade school〈美〉小学

2.Protestant [5prCtistEnt] a. 新教的；～ ethic（基督教）新教伦理（强调遵纪守法、勤奋工作、节俭生活、自我约束等；被认为是资本主义意识形态的道德准则）

3.municipal [mju:5nisipEl] a. 市（政）的；市办的，市营的

4.gymnasium [dVim5neiziEm] n. [常 作 G-]（德国等培养学生升入高等学校的）高级中学

5.maternal [mE5tE:nl] a. 母系的；母亲一方的

6.hereditary [hi5reditEri] a. 遗传的，遗传性的

7.uncanny [Qn5kAni] a. 不寻常的；神秘的

8.harbor [5hB:bE] vt. 心怀，怀藏

9.net [net] vt. 使获得；得到

10.oblige [E5blaidV ] vt. 施恩惠于，帮……的忙

11.valuta [vE5lu:tE] n. 外汇；汇率值

12.resonance [5rezEnEns] n. [物] 磁共振

13.condensed [kEn5denst] a. 压缩的；缩短的

14.apparatus [7ApE5reitEs] n. 器械；仪器

15.premed [5pri:5med]〈 口 〉a. 医学预科的

16.demography [di:5mC^rEfi] n. 人口学；人口统计

17.envisage¹⁸ [in5vizidV] vt. 设想；想像

 

诺贝尔大师自传：尼古拉斯·布洛姆伯根

 

我父母，奥克•布洛姆伯根和索菲娅•玛丽亚•昆特，有4个儿子和2个女儿。我是家中第2个孩子，于1920年3月11日生于荷兰的多德雷赫特。我父亲是一位化学工程师，在一个化肥公司做经理。我母亲有一个教授法语的高级学位，她把她所有的精力都用于养育我们这一大家人。

 

在我上小学之前，我们家搬到了比尔特霍芬，它是乌得勒支的郊区住宅区。我们在新教徒的职业道德氛围下长大。12岁的时候，我进入了乌得勒支的市立高级中学。这所学校是1474年作为拉丁学校建立的。几乎所有的教师都具有博士学位，而且课程设置非常严格，注重人文科学：拉丁文、希腊文、法文、德文、英文、荷兰文、历史和数学。只是在中学后几年，我对科学的偏爱才显现出来，当时学校的物理和化学基础教育非常好。选择物理可能是因为我发现这门功课最难、最具有挑战性。直到现在我仍然这样认为。我的外祖父是数学物理博士，在一所高级中学任校长，所以，也许还有些遗传的因素吧。我对数学与物理之间的联系特感兴趣。居然可以用数学来描述物理现象，真是神秘极了。

 

在我1938年进入乌得勒支大学上学时，L.S.奥恩斯泰因教授教大学本科物理课。他允许我和我的本科生实验室同伴J.C.克勒伊弗跳过一些常规的实验内容，帮助研究生G.A.W.吕特赫斯搞博士研究课题。

 

1940年5月，德国占领荷兰，1941年希特勒政权把奥恩斯泰因教授赶出了大学。我充分地利用了欧洲大陆的教育体制，它很强调独立学习。就在纳粹1943年将大学彻底关闭之前，我成功地获得了Drs.学位，相当于理科硕士。

 

　　我一直暗暗地计划要离开荷兰从事我的博士论文研究，这样可以开阔我的眼界。战后的欧洲毁坏严重，1945年惟一适合的地方似乎就是美国了。我递去了3份申请，哈佛大学研究生院录取了我。父亲资助我的旅费，荷兰政府也特别允许我换了1850美元。我的好运来了，在珀塞尔、托里和庞德在凝聚态物质中检测到核磁共振（NMR）6个月后，我到了哈佛大学。因为他们忙于为麻省理工学院放射实验室撰写有关微波技术的系列丛书，所以我就作为研究生助理，协助他们研发早期的核磁共振仪器。我完整的荷兰教育背景使我很快就能从那里教授们的讲课中获益。

1948年夏天，在一次物理俱乐部组织的假日旅行中，我遇到了德利。她出生在印度尼西亚，战争期间她是在印度尼西亚的日本集中营度过的。她就要开始她的医学预科学习。1949年我返回哈佛时，她在学生友好交流计划中设法得到了一个指标，于是乘坐一艘移民船只随后来到了美国。在她到达美国的那一天，我就向她求婚。1950年，我们在阿姆斯特丹结婚了。从那时起，她一直是我生命中的明灯，她恒久的鼓励是我后来事业取得成功的巨大动力。作为一个移民妻子，她用一份不多的收入，抚育3个孩子，度过了那段艰难岁月后，她才有时间和精力去发展她作为钢琴家和艺术家的卓越才能。1958年我们成为美国公民。

 

　　我们的孩子现在都已独立，大女儿安东尼娅拥有政治学和人口统计学的硕士学位，在波士顿地区工作。儿子布林克拥有工商管理硕士学位，在俄勒冈州做工业计划工作。小女儿茱莉安娜打算在金融领域工作。为了在费城获得工商管理硕士学位，她已中断了银行的工作。

 

 

 

 

1 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

4 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

5 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

6 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

7 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

8 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

9 adaptability   

n.适应性

参考例句：

• It has a wide range of adaptability.它的应用性广。

10 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。

11 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

12 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

15 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

16 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

17 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

18 envisage   

v.想象，设想，展望，正视

参考例句：

• Nobody can envisage the consequences of total nuclear war.没有人能够想像全面核战争的后果。
• When do you envisage being able to pay me back?你看你什么时候能还我钱？

19 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。