万物简史 第587期:生命的物质(13)

The New Zealand-born Wilkins was a retiring figure, almost to the point of invisibility. A 1998 PBS documentary on the discovery of the structure of DNA¹ — a feat² for which he shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Crick and Watson — managed to overlook him entirely³.

威尔金斯生于新西兰，是一位离群索居的人，几乎到了从不露面的程度。1962年，他因破译DNA结构而与克里克和沃森共同获得了诺贝尔奖。可是，1998年美国公共广播公司（PBS）一个有关DNA结构破译的记录片中对他的功劳只字不提。

The most enigmatic character of all was Franklin. In a severely⁴ unflattering portrait, Watson in The Double Helix depicted⁵ Franklin as a woman who was unreasonable⁶, secretive, chronically⁷ uncooperative, and — this seemed especially to irritate him — almost willfully unsexy. He allowed that she "was not unattractive and might have been quite stunning⁸ had she taken even a mild interest in clothes," but in this she disappointed all expectations. She didn't even use lipstick⁹, he noted¹⁰ in wonder, while her dress sense "showed all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents."(In 1968, Harvard University Press canceled publication of The Double Helix after Crick and Wilkins complained about its characterizations, which the science historian Lisa Jardine has described as "gratuitously¹¹ hurtful." The descriptions quoted above are after Watson softened¹² his comments.)

在这几个人当中，富兰克林是最富神秘色彩的一位。在沃森的《双螺旋》一书中，他用近乎苛刻的言辞将富兰克林描绘成一个不可理喻，守口如瓶，不善于合作，故意不想有女人味——这点似乎尤其令他难受——的女人。他认为她“不是没有魅力，要是在衣着方面稍微花点心思的话，她其实是蛮漂亮的”。但是富兰克林在这方面令所有人失望了，她甚至不用口红，对此，沃森表示大惑不解。而她的衣着“完全是一副英国青年女才子的派头”。（注：1968年，哈佛大学出版社终止了《双螺旋》一书的出版，原因是克里克和威尔金斯抱怨它对人物的描述过于锋芒毕露。对于这一点，科学史家莉萨·贾丁将其描述为“无故地伤害感情”。上述描述是沃森将其语调软化后的引语。）

However, she did have the best images in existence of the possible structure of DNA, achieved by means of X-ray crystallography, the technique perfected by Linus Pauling. Crystallography had been used successfully to map atoms in crystals (hence "crystallography"), but DNA molecules¹³ were a much more finicky proposition. Only Franklin was managing to get good results from the process, but to Wilkins's perennial¹⁴ exasperation¹⁵ she refused to share her findings.

然而，在破译DNA结构的研究方面，富兰克林却通过X射线晶体衍射获得了最好的图像。这项技术是由刘易斯·鲍林完善的，曾成功地运用于晶体原子图的研究（它因此而得名为“晶体学”），但DNA分子是更加难以捉摸的对象。是富兰克林从这个过程中取得了好的成果，而令沃森愤愤不已的是，她拒绝与别人一起分享她的研究成果。

1 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

2 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

6 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

7 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

8 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

9 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 gratuitously   

平白

参考例句：

• They rebuild their houses for them gratuitously when they are ruined. 如果他们的房屋要坍了，就会有人替他们重盖，不要工资。 来自互联网
• He insulted us gratuitously. 他在毫无理由的情况下侮辱了我们。 来自互联网

12 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

13 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

14 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

15 exasperation   

n.愤慨

参考例句：

• He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
• She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。