万物简史 第589期:生命的物质(15)

To Wilkins's presumed dismay and embarrassment¹, in the summer of 1952 she posted a mock notice around the King's physics department that said: "It is with great regret that we have to announce the death, on Friday 18th July 1952 of D.N.A. helix... . It is hoped that Dr. M.H.F. Wilkins will speak in memory of the late helix."

令威尔金斯感到震惊和难堪的是，1952年夏，富兰克林在国王学院物理系附近张贴了一张布告，以嘲讽的口吻说：“我们非常遗憾地宣布，D.N.A螺旋于1952年7月18日，星期五，与世长辞……希望M.H.F.威尔金斯博士为已故的双螺旋致悼词。”

The outcome of all this was that in January 1953, Wilkins showed Watson Franklin's images, "apparently² without her knowledge or consent." It would be an understatement to call it a significant help. Years later Watson conceded that it "was the key event ... it mobilized us." Armed with the knowledge of the DNA³ molecule's basic shape and some important elements of its dimensions, Watson and Crick redoubled their efforts. Everything now seemed to go their way. At one point Pauling was en route to a conference in England at which he would in all likelihood have met with Wilkins and learned enough to correct the misconceptions that had put him on the wrong line of inquiry⁴, but this was the McCarthy era and Pauling found himself detained at Idlewild Airport in New York, his passport confiscated⁵, on the grounds that he was too liberal of temperament⁶ to be allowed to travel abroad. Crick and Watson also had the no less convenient good fortune that Pauling's son was working at the Cavendish and innocently kept them abreast⁷ of any news of developments and setbacks at home.

其结果是，1953年1月，威尔金斯将富兰克林的DNA结构的X射线衍射照片出示给沃森，他这样做“显然没有向富兰克林打招呼，也没有得到她的许可”。把这称之为对他很有帮助的事，那会不够劲儿。多年以后，沃森承认这是“具有决定意义的一件事……它极大地鼓舞了我们”。由于掌握了DNA分子的基本形状和其他一些重要数据，沃森和克里克加快了他们工作的步伐，一切似乎都顺理成章了。有一次，鲍林前往英国参加会议，他本来有可能在会议期间碰到沃森，并从他那里学到一些东西，以纠正自己所犯下的错误，正是这种错误使他在DNA结构研究方面走错了方向。当时是麦卡锡主义猖獗的时代，像他这样的自由主义者是不允许到国外去的，结果鲍林被扣在纽约艾德瓦德机场，护照也被没收。相比之下，克里克和沃森倒是方便和幸运得多，因为鲍林的儿子也在卡文迪许实验室工作，天真无邪的他将有关他父亲研究的成功和失败的情形及时通报给了他们。

1 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 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。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

6 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

7 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。