精美英文欣赏:科技与好奇心

In a pre-flight news conference in the summer of 1969

1969年夏天，在一次飞行前的新闻发布会上

Neil Armstrong said, "I think we're going to the moon because it is in the nature of the human being to face challenges.

尼尔·阿姆斯特朗说，“我认为我们要去月球，因为人类要面临挑战。

It's by the nature of his deep inner soul".

这是他的本性深层的内在灵魂。”

A few days later, Armstrong took a small step to fulfil this nature,

几天后，阿姆斯特朗迈出了一小步，来实现人类的这种本性，

built on an incredible investment of courage, engineering skill, scientific understanding and $20 billion.

这建立在不可思议的勇气、工程技术、科学理解和200亿美元的投资上。

As tributes to Armstrong continue, today NASA holds a news conference reviewing the first three weeks of another billion dollar mission.

为阿姆斯特朗致敬，今天美国宇航局召开新闻发布会，审查了前三个星期的另一个十亿美元的使命。

After its successful landing and test drive,

成功降落和试驾后，

the Mars rover Curiosity will investigate whether past conditions on the planet have been favourable¹ for microbial life.

“好奇心”火星探测器将调查过去的行星状况是否有利于微生物的生活。

It carries equipment to gather and analyse samples of rocks and soil,

探测器安装了设备来收集、分析岩石和土壤样本，

but it also has on it the signature of Clara Ma, a high school student from Kansas,

它也有克拉拉马的签名，一个来自堪萨斯的高中学生，

who was the winner of a national naming contest for the rover.

她是火星探测器命名赛的冠军。

She wrote, "Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives.

她写道，“在我们的日常生活中好奇心使我们变得富有激情。

We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder."

通过不断地提问和质疑，我们成为了探险家和科学家。

But is such investment justified²?

但这样的投资是合理的吗？

Many historians of science point to the influence of Judaeo-Christian theology

许多科学史家指出犹太教和基督教神学

in the development of the kind of curiosity upon which science is based.

对发展科学所基于的好奇心的影响。

The Greeks saw logic³ as key to understanding the world.

希腊人认为逻辑是理解世界的关键。

But astronomers⁴ such as Galileo saw that if the Universe had been created freely by God,

但是天文学家伽利略认为，如果宇宙是由神自由创造的，

not bound by human logic, then you had to observe, experiment on and explore the Universe in order to find out what it was all about.

而不受人类逻辑的束缚，那么你必须观察、实验和探索宇宙才能弄明白究竟是怎么回事。

Indeed, Galileo pointed⁵ his telescope at the Moon

事实上，伽利略将望远镜指向月球，

and saw it was not the perfect smooth surface predicted by the philosophical⁶ arguments of the time.

看到这不是当时哲学论证预言的完美光滑的表面。

For him, such a capacity for curiosity was a gift from God to humans made in his image.

对他来说，这样一种好奇心的能力，就是上帝给予人类的一种恩赐。

Pope Paul VI reflected this when he met the Apollo 11 astronauts in the autumn of 1969.

教皇保罗六世在1969年秋天会见阿波罗十一号宇航员时印证了这一点。

He said we have "a natural urge to explore the unknown, to know the unknown"

他说，“我们有一种天然的冲动去探索未知，了解未知，

and that their mission testified to the ability of human beings "to reach beyond human nature,

他们的使命证明了人类超越人性的能力，

to attain⁷ the perfection of achievement made possible by God-given talent."

凭借上帝赐予的天赋取得满意的成就。”

Dorothy Parker famously said that "Love, curiosity, freckles⁸ and doubt" were the four things she had been better without,

多萝西·帕克曾经说过：“爱、好奇心、雀斑和怀疑这四样东西，不可缺少。

but curiosity for me is at the heart of the scientific enterprise and indeed part of what it means to be fully⁹ human.

但对我而言，好奇心是科学事业的核心，而且是充分发挥人类意义的一部分。

So today I give thanks for the achievements and inspiration of Neil Armstrong, tolerating my freckles but rejoicing in scientific curiosity.

所以今天我感谢尼尔·阿姆斯特朗的成就和启发，容忍我的雀斑，但值得欣喜的是科学的好奇心。

1 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

2 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

3 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 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。

7 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

8 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。