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JohnBohannon_2011X-_舞蹈取代幻灯片，一个小小的建议_
(Music) （音乐）
Good afternoon. 下午好。
As you're all aware, we face difficult economic times. 众所周知,我们正处经济困难时期。
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的;
I come to you with a modest proposal for easing the financial burden . 今天我带来了一个小小的建议 可以消除财政负担。
modest:adj.些许的;谦虚的; proposal:n.提议,建议;求婚; financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; burden:n.负担;责任;船的载货量;v.使负担;烦扰;装货于;
This idea came to me while talking to a physicist friend of mine at MIT. 这个想法来自我和 麻省理工学院一个朋友的谈话,他是物理学家。
physicist:n.物理学家;物理学研究者;
He was struggling to explain something to me: a beautiful experiment that uses lasers to cool down matter. 他当时绞尽脑汁地给我解释: 运用激光冷却物质的伟大实验
cool down:冷却;平静下来;
Now he confused me from the very start, because light doesn't cool things down. 不得不说他一开始就把我弄得晕头转向, 因为光并不能使东西变冷。
confused:adj.困惑的; v.使糊涂; (confuse的过去分词和过去式)
It makes it hotter. It's happening right now. 反而使东西变得更热。这一现象现在就在发生。
The reason that you can see me standing here is because this room is filled with more than 100 quintillion photons , and they're moving randomly through the space, near the speed of light. 大家之所以能看见我站在台上 是因为这个房间充满了超过一万亿亿光子。 它们正在这个空间里以接近光的速度随机运动。
quintillion:n.百万的三次方(美,法);百万的五次方(英,德); photons:n.[物]光子;[量子]光量子(photon的复数); randomly:adv.随便地,任意地;无目的,胡乱地;未加计划地;
All of them are different colors, they're rippling with different frequencies , and they're bouncing off every surface, including me, and some of those are flying directly into your eyes, and that's why your brain is forming an image of me standing here. 它们的颜色各不相同, 频率各异, 它们正在物体表面反弹,也在我的身上反弹, 其中一些光子直接飞入了你的眼里, 所以,你的脑海里才呈现出我站在这里的图像。
rippling:v.(使)如波浪般起伏;扩散;涌起;(ripple的现在分词) frequencies:n.频率;发生率;重复率;频繁;(frequency的复数) directly:adv.直接地;立即;马上;正好地;坦率地;conj.一…就;
Now a laser is different. 然而,激光却非如此。
It also uses photons, but they're all synchronized , and if you focus them into a beam , what you have is an incredibly useful tool. 激光也运用光子,但是这些光子是同步的, 如果把这些光子聚焦成一束光线, 它的作用将是无比强大的。
synchronized:adj.同步的;同步化的;v.使协调(synchronize的过去分词);同时发生;校准; beam:n.光线; v.发射(电波); incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地;
The control of a laser is so precise that you can perform surgery inside of an eye, you can use it to store massive amounts of data, and you can use it for this beautiful experiment that my friend was struggling to explain. 激光的控制之精准 可用以在眼中做手术, 也可以用来储存大量数据, 也可以用来做这项伟大的实验 就是当时我朋友绞尽脑汁给我解释的实验。
precise:adj.准确的;确切的;精确的;明确的; perform:v.表演;执行;履行;演出;工作,运转(好/不好); surgery:n.外科;外科手术;手术室;诊疗室; massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的;
First you trap atoms in a special bottle. 首先,把原子囚禁在一个特殊的瓶子里。
trap:v.使陷入困境;卡住;夹住;收集;吸收;n.陷阱;圈套;捕捉器;诡计; atoms:n.[物]原子(atom的复数);
It uses electromagnetic fields to isolate the atoms from the noise of the environment. 瓶子将运用电磁场把原子 和周围的噪声隔开。
electromagnetic:adj.电磁的; isolate:v.孤立; n.[微]分离菌;
And the atoms themselves are quite violent , but if you fire lasers that are precisely tuned to the right frequency , an atom will briefly absorb those photons and tend to slow down. 原子本身的运动很剧烈, 但是如果把调到正确频率的激光射入瓶中, 原子就会慢慢地吸收这些光子 原子的运动就会变慢。
violent:adj.暴力的;猛烈的; tuned:v.(为乐器)调音,校音;调整,调节(发动机);调频道(tune的过去分词和过去式) frequency:n.频率;发生率;重复率;频繁; briefly:adv.简要地;简短地;暂时地; absorb:v.吸收;使并入;吞并;同化;理解;吸收;耗费;承受;
Little by little it gets colder until eventually it approaches absolute zero . 原子会一点点地变冷 直到达到绝对零度（约 -273.16℃）。
Little by little:渐渐;逐渐地; eventually:adv.最后,终于; approaches:v.靠近,接近; n.方式,方法,态度; absolute zero:n.绝对零度;
Now if you use the right kind of atoms and you get them cold enough, something truly bizarre happens. 如果使用正确的原子,并让其足够冷却, 奇迹就会发生。
bizarre:adj.奇异的(指态度,容貌,款式等);
It's no longer a solid, a liquid or a gas. 这些原子不再属于固体、液体或气体。
It enters a new state of matter called a superfluid . 这些原子进入一种新的物质状态,叫做超流体。
superfluid:n.超流体;adj.超流体性的;
The atoms lose their individual identity , and the rules from the quantum world take over , and that's what gives superfluids such spooky properties. 原子失去自己的个体性, 量子的规则取而代之,开始发挥作用, 这就让超流体拥有了可怕了属性。
individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的; identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式; quantum:n.量子论;额;美国昆腾公司(世界领先的硬盘生产商); take over:接管;继承;接收;接任;接替; what gives:出了什么事; superfluids:n.超流体;adj.超流体性的; spooky:adj.幽灵般的;有鬼般的;令人毛骨悚然的;
For example, if you shine light through a superfluid, it is able to slow photons down to 60 kilometers per hour. 比如,如果你把光通过超流体, 超流体可把光子变慢 到60千米每小时。
Another spooky property is that it flows with absolutely no viscosity or friction , so if you were to take the lid off that bottle, it won't stay inside. 另一个可怕的属性是超流体 流动时没有粘性或摩擦力, 所以,如果你打开瓶盖, 它不会留在里面。
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地; viscosity:n.[物]粘性,[物]粘度; friction:n.摩擦,[力]摩擦力; lid:n.盖子;(容器的)盖;vt.给…盖盖子;
A thin film will creep up the inside wall, flow over the top and right out the outside. 一层薄膜会从内壁往上爬, 翻过瓶口流出来。
creep:v.爬行;蔓延;慢慢地移动;起鸡皮疙瘩;n.爬行;毛骨悚然的感觉;谄媚者; over the top:adj.过多的;言过其实的;夸大其词的;
Now of course, the moment that it does hit the outside environment, and its temperature rises by even a fraction of a degree, it immediately turns back into normal matter. 当然,它接触到外部环境的那一刻, 它的温度就会上升哪怕一丁点, 它就会立刻转化回常态物质。
fraction:n.分数;小部分;小数;少量;
Superfluids are one of the most fragile things we've ever discovered. 超流体是我们发现的最脆弱的物态之一。
fragile:adj.脆的;易碎的;
And this is the great pleasure of science: the defeat of our intuition through experimentation . 科学的乐趣在于: 运用实验战胜我们的直觉。
intuition:n.直觉;直觉力;直觉的知识; experimentation:n.实验;试验;
But the experiment is not the end of the story, because you still have to transmit that knowledge to other people. 但是实验不是故事的终点, 因为我们仍然需要把这些知识介绍给他人。
transmit:v.传送;发射;播送;传播;传染;
I have a Ph.D in molecular biology . 我是分子生物学博士。
molecular:adj.[化学]分子的;由分子组成的; biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学;
I still barely understand what most scientists are talking about. 但我还是不大懂多数科学家在说什么。
barely:adv.仅仅,勉强;几乎不;公开地;贫乏地;
So as my friend was trying to explain that experiment, it seemed like the more he said, the less I understood. 就像我朋友当时解释那项实验一样, 我感觉他说的越多, 我懂得越少。
Because if you're trying to give someone the big picture of a complex idea, to really capture its essence , the fewer words you use, the better. 因为如果你要给某人描述 一个复杂想法的轮廓,让他懂得其精髓, 话说的越少越好。
complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; capture:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;刻画,描述;n.(被)捕获;(被)俘获 essence:n.本质;实质;精髓;香精;
In fact, the ideal may be to use no words at all. 事实上,理想状态是根本不用语言。
I remember thinking, my friend could have explained that entire experiment with a dance. 我总是在想,我朋友当时应该 用一支舞蹈来给我解释那个实验。
Of course, there never seem to be any dancers around when you need them. 当然,我们需要舞蹈演员时他们似乎总不在身边。
Now, the idea is not as crazy as it sounds. 其实,这个想法并不像听起来那么恐怖。
I started a contest four years ago called Dance Your Ph.D. 四年前,我创办了一场比赛,叫 “舞动博士”
Instead of explaining their research with words, scientists have to explain it with dance. 科学家不能用语言来解释他们的研究, 而必须用舞蹈来解释。
Now surprisingly , it seems to work. 令人惊奇地是,这似乎很有用。
surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地
Dance really can make science easier to understand. 舞蹈真的可以让科学变得更加容易理解。
But don't take my word for it. 但是不要相信我的一面之词。
Go on the Internet and search for "Dance Your Ph.D." 上网去搜 Dance Your Ph.D.
There are hundreds of dancing scientists waiting for you. 成百上千的跳舞的科学家在等着你。
The most surprising thing that I've learned while running this contest is that some scientists are now working directly with dancers on their research. 举办这项赛事,最让我惊讶的是 一些科学家现在就在和舞蹈演员直接合作开展研究。
For example, at the University of Minnesota , there's a biomedical engineer named David Odde, and he works with dancers to study how cells move. 比如,在明尼苏达大学, 一位名叫大卫·奥迪的生物医学工程师 和舞蹈演员合作研究细胞的运动。
Minnesota:n.明尼苏达州(美国中北部洲); biomedical:adj.生物医学的;
They do it by changing their shape. 他们通过改变细胞的形状进行研究。
When a chemical signal washes up on one side, it triggers the cell to expand its shape on that side, because the cell is constantly touching and tugging at the environment. 当化学信号出现时, 就会刺激细胞朝那边扩展, 因为细胞总是不停地和周围的环境接触
chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; triggers:n.[电子]触发器;触发物(trigger的复数);v.引起(trigger的单三形式);引爆; expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开; constantly:adv.不断地;时常地; tugging:n.牵引感;v.用力拉(tug的ing形式);
So that allows cells to ooze along in the right directions. 这使得细胞可沿正确的方向流动。
ooze:vt.渗出;泄漏;vi.渗出;泄漏;n.[地质]软泥;
But what seems so slow and graceful from the outside is really more like chaos inside, because cells control their shape with a skeleton of rigid protein fibers , and those fibers are constantly falling apart. 但是表面舒缓优雅, 内部却如混沌不堪, 因为细胞通过一层硬蛋白质纤维控制形状, 而这些纤维又总是在脱落。
graceful:adj.优雅的;优美的; chaos:n.混沌,混乱; skeleton:n.骨架,骨骼;纲要;骨瘦如柴的人;adj.骨骼的;骨瘦如柴的;概略的; rigid:adj.严格的;僵硬的,死板的;坚硬的;精确的; protein:n.蛋白质; fibers:n.纤维(fiber的复数);
But just as quickly as they explode , more proteins attach to the ends and grow them longer, so it's constantly changing just to remain exactly the same. 但是和纤维快速爆炸一样, 更多的蛋白质附着在末端,使其增长, 不断的变化 就是为了保持原样。
explode:v.爆炸;爆裂;勃然(大怒);突然发生(危险); proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); attach:v.贴上;重视;把…固定,把…附(在…上);参加;与…有联系;
Now, David builds mathematical models of this and then he tests those in the lab, but before he does that, he works with dancers to figure out what kinds of models to build in the first place . 大卫先创建数学模型,然后再到实验室测试, 但是在这之前,他和舞蹈演员一起 研究首先需要创建哪种模型。
mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的; in the first place:首先;起初;
It's basically efficient brainstorming , and when I visited David to learn about his research, he used dancers to explain it to me rather than the usual method: PowerPoint. 这属于高效的头脑风暴。 我去拜访大卫了解他的研究时, 他运用舞蹈演员给我解释 而不是常用的办法:幻灯片。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; efficient:adj.有效率的;有能力的;生效的; brainstorming:n.集思广益;v.集中各人智慧猛攻;(brainstorm的现在分词)
And this brings me to my modest proposal. 下面我就谈谈我的小小建议。
I think that bad PowerPoint presentations are a serious threat to the global economy . 我认为,用幻灯片做的那些糟糕的报告 是全球经济的严重威胁。
presentations:n.展示;自我介绍;业务陈述(presentation的复数形式); global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; economy:n.经济;节约;理财;
(Laughter) (Applause) （笑声）（掌声）
Now it does depend on how you measure it, of course, but one estimate has put the drain at 250 million dollars per day. 当然,这要取决于你如何衡量这件事, 但是一种估算是每天损失两亿五千万美元。
estimate:v.估计;估算;估价;n.估价;(对大小、数量、成本等的)估计;估计的成本; drain:v.排水;流干;喝光,耗尽;n.排水;下水道,排水管;消耗;
Now that assumes half-hour presentations for an average audience of four people with salaries of 35,000 dollars, and it conservatively assumes that about a quarter of the presentations are a complete waste of time, and given that there are some apparently 假设平均每四个人 听半小时的报告 四人年薪共三万五千美元 保守估计 四分之一的报告纯属浪费时间, 而且如果每天约有
assumes:v.假定;采用;承担;呈;(assumes是assume的第三人称单数) conservatively:adv.谨慎地;保存地;适当地; apparently:adv.显然地;似乎,表面上;
30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day, that would indeed add up to an annual waste of 100 billion dollars. 三千万个用幻灯片做的报告, 那么,年损失金额将高达 一千亿美元。
annual:n.年报;年鉴;年刊;adj.每年的;年度的;一年的;
Of course, that's just the time we're losing sitting through presentations. 当然,这还只是我们浪费的时间, 全程听完报告的时间。
There are other costs, because PowerPoint is a tool, and like any tool, it can and will be abused . 还有其他费用,因为幻灯片是一个工具, 和其他工具一样,幻灯片可以也将会被人滥用。
abused:v.滥用(以致危害健康); (abuse的过去分词和过去式)
To borrow a concept from my country's CIA, it helps you to soften up your audience. 借用美国中央情报局的话说, 这有助于软化你的观众。
soften up:使软化;
It distracts them with pretty pictures, irrelevant data. 炫丽的图片,无关紧要的数据,让他们眼花缭乱。
distracts:v.转移(注意力);分散(思想);使分心;(distract的第三人称单数) irrelevant:adj.不相干的;不切题的;
It allows you to create the illusion of competence , the illusion of simplicity , and most destructively , the illusion of understanding. 有助于创造称职的假象, 简明的假象, 最要命地,理解的假象。
illusion:n.幻觉,错觉;错误的观念或信仰; competence:n.能力,胜任;权限;作证能力;足以过舒适生活的收入; simplicity:n.朴素;简易;天真;愚蠢; destructively:adv.干;破坏地;
So now my country is 15 trillion dollars in debt. 现在美国欠有十五万亿债务。
trillion:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿;
Our leaders are working tirelessly to try and find ways to save money. 我们的领导人们正不辞辛劳地寻求省钱之道。
tirelessly:adv.不知疲倦地;不屈不挠地;
One idea is to drastically reduce public support for the arts. 一种办法是大规模削减对艺术的公共支持。
drastically:adv.彻底地;激烈地;
For example, our National Endowment for the Arts, with its $150 million budget , slashing that program would immediately reduce the national debt by about one one-thousandth of a percent. 比如,美国艺术捐赠基金会的预算为 一亿五千万美元, 砍掉这一项目将为国债削减 约十万分之一。
Endowment:n.捐赠;捐助;捐款;天资; budget:n.预算,预算费;v.安排,预定;把…编入预算;adj.廉价的; slashing:adj.猛烈的;严厉的;冲劲十足的;巨大的;n.猛砍;鞭打; national debt:n.国债;
One certainly can't argue with those numbers. 我们当然不能和这些数字争论。
However, once we eliminate public funding for the arts, there will be some drawbacks . 然而,一旦我们消除给艺术的资金支持, 就会出现一些弊端。
eliminate:v.消除;排除; funding:n.基金;资金;提供资金;v.为…提供资金;拨款给;(fund的现在分词) drawbacks:n.缺点;退税(drawback的复数);
The artists on the street will swell the ranks of the unemployed . 街上流浪的艺术家会使失业率猛增。
swell:n.海浪的涌动; v.膨胀; adj.很愉快的; unemployed:adj.失业的;下岗的;n.(集合词)失业者;
Many will turn to drug abuse and prostitution , and that will inevitably lower property values in urban neighborhoods. 很多人转而会去吸毒、卖淫。 这将不可避免地降低城区的房屋价值。
prostitution:n.卖淫;滥用;出卖灵魂; inevitably:adv.不可避免地;必然地; urban:adj.城市的;都市的;城镇的;都市音乐的;
All of this could wipe out the savings we're hoping to make in the first place. 所有这些都将首先导致我们的储蓄挥霍殆尽。
wipe:v.擦;抹;拭;消除;n.擦;拭;揩;(湿)抹布; savings:n.节省物;节省;节约;储蓄金;存款;(saving的复数)
I shall now, therefore, humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection . 所以,今天我谨提出我的观点, 希望不会遭到反对。
humbly:adv.谦逊地;卑贱地;低声下气地; propose:v.建议;提议;求婚;打算; liable:adj.有责任的,有义务的;应受罚的;有…倾向的;易…的; objection:n.反对;反对的理由;异议;
Once we eliminate public funding for the artists, let's put them back to work by using them instead of PowerPoint. 一旦我们消除对艺术家的资金支持, 他们可以重返工作岗位 让他们取代幻灯片。
As a test case , I propose we start with American dancers. 作为测试,我建议先从美国的舞蹈演员开始。
test case:n.(判决同类案件可援用的)判例;
After all, they are the most perishable of their kind, prone to injury and very slow to heal due to our health care system. 毕竟,他们是同行中最脆弱的, 容易受伤,还好得超慢 拜我们的医疗体制所赐。
perishable:adj.易腐坏的;易毁灭的;会枯萎的;n.容易腐坏的东西; prone:adj.俯卧的;有…倾向的,易于…的; injury:n.伤害,损害;受伤处; health care:n.卫生保健;
Rather than dancing our Ph.Ds, we should use dance to explain all of our complex problems. 除了舞动博士, 我们还应该用舞蹈解释所有复杂问题。
Imagine our politicians using dance to explain why we must invade a foreign country or bail out an investment bank . 想象一下,我们的政治家用舞蹈 解释我们为何必须入侵他国 或拯救投资银行。
politicians:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;(politician的复数) invade:v.侵犯;侵略;侵袭;干扰; bail:n.保释金;保释;v.允许保释(某人);离开;与…搭讪; investment bank:n.投资银行;商业银行;
It's sure to help. 一定有用。
Of course someday, in the deep future, a technology of persuasion even more powerful than PowerPoint may be invented, rendering dancers unnecessary as tools of rhetoric . 当然,将来的某一天, 比幻灯片更强大的劝说技术 会问世流传, 舞蹈演员作为雄辩工具将不再重要。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; persuasion:n.说服;说服力;信念;派别; rendering:n.演奏;扮演;表演;翻译作品;v.使成为;给予;提供;回报;(render的现在分词) rhetoric:n.修辞,修辞学;华丽的词藻;adj.花言巧语的;
However, I trust that by that day, we shall have passed this present financial calamity . 然而,我相信,到那天, 我们已经度过了目前的财政灾难。
calamity:n.灾难;不幸事件;
Perhaps by then we will be able to afford the luxury of just sitting in an audience with no other purpose than to witness the human form in motion . 也许那时,我们才能有幸 坐在观众席上 心无旁骛 全心观赏动感的人类形体。
afford:v.给予,提供;买得起; luxury:n.奢侈,奢华;奢侈品;享受;adj.奢侈的; witness:n.证人;目击者;证据;v.目击;证明;为…作证; motion:n.动作;移动;手势;请求;意向;议案;v.运动;打手势;
(Music) （音乐）
(Applause) （掌声）