2020年经济学人 物理学家弗里曼·戴森(1)

Freeman Dyson, physicist¹ and big thinker, died on February 28th, aged² 96.

物理学家、伟大的思想家弗里曼·戴森于2月28日逝世，享年96岁。

There are, wrote Freeman Dyson towards the end of his long life, two different kinds of mathematicians³. Some are birds, who fly high, surveying the broad vistas⁴ and spotting unexpected links between different bits of the mathematical landscape. Others are frogs, who prefer to be up close and on the ground, delighting in the details and the beauty of the flowers. He counted himself among the frogs, and started there.

弗里曼·戴森在他漫长生命的最后写道，世上有两种不同的数学家。有些数学家是鸟类，他们飞得很高，喜欢观察广阔的远景，发现数学景观的不同部分之间意 想不到的联系。其他的数学家是青蛙，他们更喜欢靠近地面，喜欢花朵的细节和美丽。他把自己看做青蛙那一类数学家，他也是从那里开始。

At the age of 24 he made a fundamental contribution to the study of Diophantine equations, a branch of mathematics dating back to the ancient Greeks. A year later he resolved a tricky⁵ conundrum⁶ in quantum electrodynamics, a field so new that it had hardly existed when he was born. But already the airborne tendencies were stirring. He was fascinated by biology, engineering, international relations and, in particular, physics, at which he became a master. For him, it was an ideal subject. Its mathematical underpinnings might be abstruse⁷ and theoretical, but in the 20th century those theories handed blunt, world-changing power to nations that could master their applications.

24岁时，弗里曼对丢番图方程的研究做出了根本性的贡献，它是数学的一个分支，可追溯到古希腊。一年后，弗里曼解决了量子电动力学中一个棘手的难题，这是一个在他出生时几乎不存在的新领域。但其趋势已经开始出现。他对生物学、工程学、国际关系学，特别是物理学很感兴趣，并成为了物理学大师。对弗里曼来说，这是一个理想的学科。它的数学基础可能是深奥和理论性的，但在20世纪，这些理论把直接的、改变世界的力量交给了能够掌握其应用的国家。

In the second world war, he applied⁸ his mathematics at Britain's Bomber⁹ Command to calculate the most destructive (but safe) formations for the planes to fly in. After the war, when he moved to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, he rubbed shoulders with both Albert Einstein, whose theorising on relativity he had revered¹⁰ since boyhood, and Robert Oppenheimer, who had developed the atomic bomb.

在第二次世界大战中，弗里曼在英国轰炸机司令部应用了他的数学，计算最具破坏性(但是得安全)的飞机飞行阵型。战后，当弗里曼搬到普林斯顿高等研究院时，他与阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦有过交情，他从小就尊崇爱因斯坦的相对论理论，还有罗伯特·奥本海默，原子弹的发明者。

1 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。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 mathematicians   

数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学
• Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

4 vistas   

长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景

参考例句：

• This new job could open up whole new vistas for her. 这项新工作可能给她开辟全新的前景。
• The picture is small but It'shows broad vistas. 画幅虽然不大，所表现的天地却十分广阔。

5 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

6 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

7 abstruse   

adj.深奥的，难解的

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory of relativity is very abstruse.爱因斯坦的相对论非常难懂。
• The professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.该教授的课程太深奥了，学生们纷纷躲避他的课。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

10 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句