评论
打印
The father of China's aerospace
中国航天之父
Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China's aerospace science than Qian Xuesen.
也许再没有哪一位科学家比钱学森对中国航天科学的影响更大了。
Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with "great scientific thought and scientific spirit", who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely well-respected man.
《钱学森的故事》一书的作者称他是一位具有“伟大科学思想和科学精神”的人，并且热爱祖国、勤勉努力、甘于奉献，成就斐然，备受人们的尊敬。
Born in Shanghai in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering.
钱学森1911年生于杭州，在北京上学，后来考入上海交通大学，学习铁道机械工程。
However, after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932, Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.
不过，1932年淞沪会战爆发后，钱学森意识到中国需要建设强大的空军来保卫国家，因此决定改学航空专业。
Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology.
1935年，钱学森前往美国读研究生。二十世纪三四十年代，钱学森成为美国喷气式飞机和火箭技术的先驱人物。
As a graduate assistant at the California Institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA's leading space-exploration centres.
二十世纪三十年代担任加州理工学院的研究生助理时，钱学森协助开展火箭推进方面的重要研究工作，二十世纪四十年代，钱学森与其他几人成立了喷气推进实验室，该实验室现已成为美国宇航局领先的太空探素中心之一。
After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US, Qian returned to China in 1955.
留学美国的最后几年，钱学森克服困难，于1955年回到中国。
He received a hero's welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China's rocket science but also its space and missile programme.
他受到了祖国英雄般的欢迎，受命发展中国的火箭科学以及航天和导弹项目。
At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China.
那时候，中国还很贫穷，火箭科学尚不发达。中国没有一所学院或大学开设火箭科学专业，而且没有该领域的人才或专家。
Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge.
然而，钱学森并不气馁，而是接受挑战。
When he was asked "Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?", his reply was a determined "Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make."
有人问他：“我们中国人有可能制造出导弹吗？”他的回答十分坚定：“有什么不能的，外国人能造出来的，我们中国人同样能造得出来。”
Under Qian's leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets.
在钱学森的领导下，中国研制出了“东风”导弹，紧接着又研制出第一代“长征”系列火箭。
In 1970, China successfully launched its first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket.
1970年，中国使用“长征”火箭成功发射本国第一颗人造卫星“东方红一号”。
Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou spacecrafts can also be traced back to Qian's research, Qian earned the name of "the father of China's aerospace".
由于“神舟”系列火箭的大部分技术也可追根溯源到钱学森的研究，因此钱学森被誉为“中国航天之父”。
Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research.
钱学森博览群书，尤其在前沿科学研究领域知识极其渊博。
However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing.
然而，他之所以能成为一名如此杰出、富有创造力的科学家，可能是因为他对音乐绘画等其他事物的浓厚兴趣。
His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.
他深厚的艺术鉴赏力时常给科研工作带来灵感。
On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qian's death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.
2009年10月31日，钱学森逝世，举国哀痛，人们以各种方式纪念他缅怀他。
A world of pure thought
一个纯思维的世界
Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics.
史蒂芬·霍金是物理学界最负盛名、最具天赋的科学家之一。
Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair, unable to move and using a computer to talk.
大多数人都很熟悉他坐在轮椅上无法动弹、只能通过电脑来说话的样子。
Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles, his world became one of abstract thought.
他因患病致使其大部分肌肉萎缩无力，他的世界变成了一个抽象思维的世界。
Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964.
霍金最早成名于1964年，当时他身体健康，行动自如，是剑桥大学物理学研究生。
In general, there were two main theories on the origin of the universe.
总的来说，宇宙起源有两大理论。
The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end.
第一个是稳恒态理论，认为宇宙无始无终。
The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space.
另一个是大爆炸理论，认为宇宙始于时空中的一个点。
The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge.
稳恒态概念的最大拥护者是剑桥大学的弗雷德·霍伊尔教授。
During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle's lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths.
在霍伊尔的一次讲座中，霍金在问答环节站了起来，指出霍伊尔教授计算有误。
Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory -- and not the steady state theory -- was true.
错误纠正之后显示大爆炸理论而非稳恒态理论是正确的。
Hawking's own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born.
不久，天文学家用望远镜观察宇宙，验证了霍金对大爆炸理论的研究。一位明星就此诞生。
So, what made Stephen Hawking a genius?
那么，是什么使史蒂芬·霍金成为一名天才呢？
Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did.
除了才华横溢之外，他还是一个勇敢的人，尽管有时候言行举止比较随意。
He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about.
他敢说别人不敢说的话，做别人不敢做的梦。
Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease.
此外，他意志坚定。无论是作为一位科学家，还是与病魔作斗争，这种品质对他都大有帮助。
Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
最重要的是，霍金敢于承认错误。这些性格特点的奇特组合使得他成为二十世纪与二十一世纪最伟大的思想家之一。
