美国国家公共电台 NPR Stephen Hawking, Who Awed Both Scientists And The Public, Dies

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

One of the most famous scientists of our time has died. Stephen Hawking¹ was a theoretical physicist² whose early work on black holes transformed how scientists think about the nature of the universe. But his fame wasn't just a result of his research. He suffered from a neurological disease that made it impossible for him to move his limbs or speak. But that never kept him from thinking or communicating his big ideas to the world. There was even a biopic about his life, "The Theory Of Everything," that won an Academy Award for the actor, Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed³ Hawking. NPR's Joe Palca has this look back at the extraordinary life of Stephen Hawking.

JOE PALCA, BYLINE⁴: There aren't very many scientists who've achieved rock-star status - Albert Einstein, OK, but after that? Well, Stephen Hawking was definitely a contender.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STEPHEN HAWKING: Can you hear me?

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Yes.

HAWKING: We now have lots and lots of observational data and a generally-agreed picture of how the universe is evolving.

PALCA: When he came to scientific conferences like this one in 1999, the audience hung on every word. And it wasn't just like the scientists who were in awe⁵, the public flocked to him as well. His popular book about his work was a huge bestseller.

LEONARD MLODINOW: He agreed that that book, "A Brief History Of Time," was probably the least-read, most-bought book ever.

PALCA: Leonard Mlodinow is a physicist and science writer. He and Hawking collaborated⁶ on a less-technical version of Hawking's first book called "A Briefer History Of Time." And that title hints at what Mlodinow says was a central part of his character - Hawking's sense of humor.

MLODINOW: As hard as it was for him to communicate, he would sit there sometimes - he would take five or six minutes to be typing something out. And then when he hit speak and his system voices his words, it would be a joke (laughter).

PALCA: That sense of humor, along with his fame, allowed Hawking to land some pretty unusual gigs for a physicist.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")

HAWKING: (As himself) Big deal. My IQ is 280.

YEARDLEY SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Stephen Hawking.

HARRY⁷ SHEARER⁸: (As Seymour Skinner) The world's smartest man.

SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) What are you doing here?

PALCA: Hawking appeared in "The Simpsons" cartoon show several times as well as a number of other popular shows, including "Star Trek⁹: The Next Generation." So what did this man who reinvisioned the universe really do? What was his science all about? Well, physicists¹⁰ once thought that the immense gravity of a black hole would draw everything in and nothing could escape. But by combining quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, Hawking showed something astonishing - that theoretically, at least, some kind of particle had to defy what physicists classically expected from gravity and radiate out of black holes.

Hawking's work upended scientists' understanding of gravity and raised questions that have yet to be resolved. Toward the end of his life, Hawking's disease left him virtually paralyzed. It took an enormous effort for Hawking to make the tiny movements that allowed him to communicate using a computer interface¹¹. It's tempting¹² to say that Hawking achieved his fame in spite of his physical challenges, but in a way, Hawking's physical challenges may have contributed to his mental prowess. Kip Thorne is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the California Institute of Technology who frequently collaborated with Hawking.

KIP THORNE: It was because of this handicap that he developed new ways of thinking, new ways of wrapping his brain around things that enabled him to out-think anybody else in the field.

PALCA: And he outthought people with great regularity¹³. Throughout his life, Hawking was up for a challenge. For example, in 2007, he accepted an offer from Zero G Corporation to experience weightlessness. The company uses a plane that climbs and dives in such a way that, for 25 seconds at a time, everyone inside the plane is weightless. Hawking spoke¹⁴ at a news conference before his flight.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

HAWKING: I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades, and a chance to float in zero G will be wonderful.

PALCA: Pictures taken during the flight showed what appeared to be a very happy physicist floating chair-free around the plane's cabin. Fitting, really, for the scientist who changed the way we think of gravity to spend a few minutes of his life without it. Joe Palca, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF FANTOMPOWER'S "BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOURS TRULY")

1 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

2 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

3 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

9 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

10 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。

11 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

12 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

13 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。