美国国家公共电台 NPR How A Wave Is Unlike An Armadillo: One Reporter's Summer Puzzle

How A Wave Is Unlike An Armadillo: One Reporter's Summer Puzzle

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This summer, NPR's science desk has been obsessing¹ over waves - ocean waves, sound waves, even the wave you sometimes see fans doing at sporting events. Science correspondent Joe Palca steps back and asks the big question. What is a wave anyway?

JOE PALCA, BYLINE²: Yes, I know. A scientist can tell you all about waves, but I wasn't sure a scientist could answer my questions about waves because if you think about it, waves are kind of puzzling. At least I think they're kind of puzzling.

Is a wave a thing, or is it the description of a thing? Well, rather than pester³ a scientist with my somewhat philosophical⁴ questions, I decided⁵ to pester a philosopher. S. Marc Cohen is emeritus⁶ professor of philosophy at the University of Washington. He's sympathetic to my befuddlement⁸.

S MARC COHEN: There's something about waves that can get you into kind of a mental funk because you look at a wave. You can see them. You look out on the water, and the wave moves across the water. Something's moving through space.

PALCA: OK, I get that.

COHEN: But what is the wave exactly? So you'll scurry⁹ off to a physics textbook, and it'll say that a wave is a disturbance¹⁰ that moves through a medium from one location to another.

PALCA: OK, I get that, too.

COHEN: So it's really not a thing. It's not made of stuff like a chair is made of wood or a football is made of leather. But when a wave moves through the water, it's not really made of water. It's a wave in the water.

PALCA: Oh, OK. So Cohen says from a philosophical standpoint, you're better off thinking of a wave as a phenomenon, a thing that happens, sort of like an event.

COHEN: Not what we Aristotelians would call a substance like a football or an armadillo.

PALCA: So a wave in the water is not like an armadillo - got it. But hold on a minute. If a wave is a disturbance moving through a medium, what about light waves? They're a disturbance, and they can travel through empty space. Cohen says his explanation only applies to physical waves, not electromagnetic waves or light waves.

COHEN: It's really mysterious how they get to move through empty space where there is no medium. But if you want the answer to that question, you'd better talk to a scientist, not a philosopher.

PALCA: I was afraid it might come to that. But I note in closing that waves have elusive¹¹ properties that can befuddle⁷ philosophers, too. I feel a wave of relief. Joe Palca, NPR News.

1 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 pester   

v.纠缠，强求

参考例句：

• He told her not to pester him with trifles.他对她说不要为小事而烦扰他。
• Don't pester me.I've got something urgent to attend to.你别跟我蘑菇了，我还有急事呢。

4 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

7 befuddle   

v.使混乱

参考例句：

• This is clearly designed to befuddle the public.这显然是为了蒙蔽舆论。
• Don't befuddle me with all those masses of detail.不要拿一大堆琐事把我搞迷糊。

8 befuddlement   

迷惘，昏迷，失常

参考例句：

• To add to the befuddlement, the expansion of the universe now seems to be accelerating, a process with truly mind-stretching consequences. 更叫人迷糊的是，现今宇宙的膨胀似乎正在加速之中，这真是让人连脑子也一起跟着膨胀。 来自辞典例句

9 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

10 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

11 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。