时代周刊:宇宙有多残酷多冰冷?(2)

He was struggling about on crutches¹, the result of two ruptured² spinal³ disks,

当时，拄着拐杖的他正在冥思苦想两个脊椎椎间盘撕裂的结果，

which can give out over time whether or not you're the kind of person who can explain the attraction between the mass of the earth and the mass of your back.

无论你是否是那种地球的质量和背部质量都能区分的人，这一结果都会随时间变得愈加明显。

When he makes his way from desk to couch, he drops down gratefully.

他从桌子旁边挪到了沙发旁心满意足地坐了下来。

Behind him is a whiteboard with a storm of equations written on it.

他身后有一块白板，白板上写着一大堆方程式。

The numbers and glyphs frame his face in a perfect metaphor⁴ for the impossibly complex ideas

那些数字和符号映衬着他的侧脸，他的脸便瞬时变成了一个再贴切不过的隐喻，

that play out in his head, then somehow emerge comprehensibly and coherently on the page.

直指那些一一闪现在他的脑海里，之后便以这样或那样的方式清晰又连贯地呈现在了那张白板上的无比艰深的想法。

It's a busy time for Greene.

最近，格林很忙。

His World Science Festival will begin its 13th season in May in New York City and its fifth year in its satellite venue⁵ in Brisbane, Australia, in March.

五月份，他发起的世界科学节即将在纽约迎来第13次展览活动，三月份，该节日还将在澳大利亚布里斯班的会场迎来第5个周年纪念日。

The Down Under version attracted a total of 700,000 visitors in its first four years.

主办的头四年，澳洲就吸引了70万现场参与者。

The New York edition has drawn⁶ a cumulative⁷ 2 million people and more than 40 million online views of its content.

纽约这边则累计吸引了200万现场参与者及超4000万的在线浏览量。

Greene, 57, is also preparing for a promotional tour for his new book,

除了筹备科学节，现年57岁的格林还在忙着准备新书路演，

and keeps up a full schedule of teaching, holding office hours and advising graduate students.

此外还有满满当当的教学安排，与学生面谈，指导研究生等工作。

During our conversation, he mentioned that he was booked to give an evening talk

谈话期间，他提到他还有一个讲座沙龙，

on super string theory to a gathering⁸ of the university's Society of Physics Students.

哥伦比亚大学物理社团的学生邀请他给他们讲超弦理论。

It's a Friday night, a party night, but for the students and Greene, talking superstrings is a party.

沙龙安排在了派对之夜——周五晚上，但对格林和社团的学生来说，讨论超弦理论就是他们的派对。

"I've found that the theoretical physicists⁹ I've spent the most time with

“我发现，我相处得最久的那些理论物理学家

are the ones who are just enthralled¹⁰ by the ideas and the minutiae¹¹ of an equation working out," he says.

都是那种会对想到一个方程，或是解答出一个方程这种事特别着迷的人，”他说。

"The only difference I have seen relative to my colleagues is I've never found pure research to be enough.

“相对于我的同事，我和他们唯一的不同之处在于，我从不止步于纯理论的研究。

I've always felt like the world is so big and rich that I need to engage with it in different ways.

我一直觉得这个世界太大太丰富了，我需要从不同的角度去认识它。

And that can be the books, it can be the TV shows."

可以是写书的角度，也可以是做电视节目的角度……”

Greene comes by his love of performance rightly.

格林热爱表演，他也有充分的理由热爱表演。

His father was a vaudeville¹² entertainer as well as a composer and voice coach.

他的父亲是一名杂耍艺人，还是一名作曲家兼声乐教练。

But Greene's own passion was math and science and then big science—

但格林自己的爱好是数学和科学，宏大的科学——

the kind that seduces¹³ you with questions that both demand and defy answers,

就是那种用既需要解答，又无法解答，

that can cross the line from science to something else entirely¹⁴.

一不小心还会从科学走向与科学截然相反的一面的问题引诱你入坑的科学。

Here, too, a close family member helped.

在这个问题上，也有一位亲密的家人帮过格林。

"My brother is a Hare Krishna devotee," Greene says.

“我哥哥是哈瑞·奎师那的信徒，”格林说。

"He's 13 years older than I am.

“他比我大13岁。

When I was little and getting interested in math and physics, he'd say, 'What are you learning?'

小时候，我逐渐喜欢上了数学和物理，他会对我说，‘你在学什么呢？’

I'd describe the Big Bang, and he'd pull out the Vedas and read to me from them.

我就跟他解释大爆炸理论，然后他就会拿出吠陀经念给我听。

It was a very interesting back-and-forth over the decades between the scientific pathway toward a certain kind of truth

有意思的是，两个人一个在科学的道路上追寻某种真理，一个在精神的，宗教的道路上追寻某种真理，

and the spiritual, religious pathway to a certain kind of truth."

两个人就这么来来回来地拉锯拉了几十年。”

1 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

2 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

3 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

4 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 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。

10 enthralled   

迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快

参考例句：

• The child watched, enthralled by the bright moving images. 这孩子看着那明亮的移动的影像，被迷住了。
• The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节，孩子们都听得入迷了。

11 minutiae   

n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the minutiae of the contract 合同细节
• He had memorized the many minutiae of the legal code. 他们讨论旅行的所有细节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

13 seduces   

诱奸( seduce的第三人称单数 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The city seduces visitors with its natural beauty. 这个城市以其自然美吸引着游客。
• Dilettante: a philanderer who seduces the several arts and letters each in turn for another. 业余艺术爱好者——是轮流引诱文学与艺术的不专一者。

14 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。