欧美文化博览 阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦(51)

Finally 15 years after he first proposed his radical¹ general theory of relativity,

他首次提出广义相对论之后最终经过了15年,

abandoning more than two centuries of scientific thought, Einstein is victorious² and vindicated³ almost.

放弃两个多世纪的科学思想,爱因斯坦获得胜利而且已经被证明。

The Nobel Committee rejected him in 1919, and in 1920, and in 1921, because no one accepted the theory of relativity.

诺贝尔委员会在1919年，1920年及1921年拒绝了他,因为没有人接受相对论。

Einstein had promised the money from the prize as part of his divorce for Meliva and support for his two sons.

爱因斯坦曾许诺把奖金给米列娃用以离婚及支持他的两个儿子。

Meliva has resigned to the divorce,

米列娃已经拒绝离婚。

living with the boys in Zurich, waiting for the money from the Nobel Prize, to come as a wish actually relying on it.

她和男孩们一起住在苏黎世,等待诺贝尔奖的奖金,作为一个实际上依赖它的愿望。

It's not until 1922 that they finally announced the Nobel Prize and one of the ironies⁴ he never gets it from the theory of relativity.

之后直到1922年,他们终于宣布诺贝尔奖,他从来没有从相对论中得到过任何嘲讽。

Instead Einstein receives it for the first of his miracle year papers, which describes the photoelectric⁵ effect.

相反,爱因斯坦收到的是第一个奇迹年的描述光电效应的论文。

This work becomes the foundation for quantum mechanics and unlocks the secrets of the atom.

这项著作成为了量子力学的基础并揭示原子的秘密。

To Einstein's former wife Meliva the prize means something more down to earth.

对于爱因斯坦的前妻米列娃而言，奖金意味着更多的东西。

She gets the money and she ends up buying three apartment buildings in Zurich.

她得到那些钱并最终购买了苏黎世的三间公寓。

Meliva did not make a very good living from these investments, but she survived.

米列娃并没有从这些投资中过上很好的生活,但是她幸存了下来。

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

3 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ironies   

n.反语( irony的名词复数 )；冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事；嘲弄

参考例句：

• It was one of life's little ironies. 那是生活中的一个小小的嘲弄。
• History has many ironies. 历史有许多具有讽刺意味的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 photoelectric   

adj.光电的，光电效应的

参考例句：

• Photoelectric spectrophotometers give better result.用光电分光光度计能得到较佳结果。
• Einstein also explained a baffling feature of the photoelectric effect.爱因斯坦也解释了光电效应里一个令人困扰的现象。