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StephenHawking_2008-_求道_宇宙苍茫_
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| There is nothing bigger or older than the universe. |
没什么比宇宙更广大更久远的了。 |
| Your questions I would like to talk about are: |
您们的问题中我想聊一下的是: |
| One, where did we come from? |
您我何从? |
| How did the universe come into being? |
宇宙何来? |
| Are we alone in the universe? |
宇宙中就只有我们? |
| Is there alien life out there? |
有外星异生物么? |
| What is the future of the human race ? |
人类的未来将会如何? |
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human race:n.人类;
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| Up until the 1920s, everyone thought the universe was essentially static and unchanging in time. |
上世纪20年代之前, 所有人都以为宇宙基本上是处于稳态, 流金岁月, 持恒不变. |
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essentially:adv.本质上;本来; static:adj.静止的; n.[物]静电(干扰); unchanging:adj.不变的;
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| Then it was discovered that the universe was expanding . |
之后我们发现原来宇宙正在膨胀中. |
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expanding:v.扩大,增加,增强细谈;详述;(expand的现在分词)
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| Distant galaxies were moving away from us. |
辽远星系一直飞离我们. |
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Distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的; galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
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| This meant they must have been closer together in the past. |
这意味着它们必定曾相靠近. |
| If we extrapolate back, we find we must have all been on top of each other about 15 billion years ago. |
我们若往后推算, 就会发现我们必都曾於约150亿年前 互相堆叠在一起. |
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extrapolate:vt.外推;推断;vi.外推;进行推断;
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| This was the Big Bang , the beginning of the universe. |
正是这 霹雳大爆炸 - 宇宙之起始. |
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Bang:n.猛敲; v.猛敲; v.正好;
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| But was there anything before the Big Bang? |
然而大爆炸前可有什么吗? |
| If not, what created the universe? |
若是没有, 又是什么创造宇宙呢? |
| Why did the universe emerge from the Big Bang the way it did? |
宇宙缘何要从大霹雳中冒出呢? |
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emerge:v.浮现;显现;暴露;露出真相;
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| We used to think that the theory of the universe could be divided into two parts. |
过往我们都认为宇宙论 可分成两部分. |
| First, there were the laws like Maxwell's equations and general relativity that determined the evolution of the universe, given its state over all of space at one time . |
首先, 是定律 像*麦克斯韦方程组* 和 *广义相对论* 以其于同一刻设定整个时空之状态, 而决定了宇宙之演化进程. |
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equations:n.方程式;等式;均等;均势(equation的复数形式); relativity:n.相对论;相关性;相对性; determined:adj.决定了的:v.决定;(determine的过去分词和过去式) evolution:n.演变;进化;发展;渐进; at one time:曾经,一度;同时;
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| And second, there was no question of the initial state of the universe. |
次之,是对宇宙雏形 的疑问. |
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initial:adj.最初的; n.(名字的)首字母; v.用姓名的首字母作标记(或签名)于;
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| We have made good progress on the first part, and now have the knowledge of the laws of evolution in all but the most extreme conditions. |
第一部分我们取得良好进展, 除了 *至极端境况* 以外. 现在已对 演化规律于所有境况下之进程有所掌握. |
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extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物;
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| But until recently , we have had little idea about the initial conditions for the universe. |
可直至最近, 我们仍对宇宙初生当时之 周围条件不甚了了. |
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recently:adv.最近;新近;
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| However, this division into laws of evolution and initial conditions depends on time and space being separate and distinct . |
然而, 这演化律 及 初始条件 之界分 乃囿於 时.空分明 之概念内. |
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division:n.师;分配;分开;分歧; distinct:adj.明显的;独特的;清楚的;有区别的;
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| Under extreme conditions, general relativity and quantum theory allow time to behave like another dimension of space. |
而於极端条件下, 广义相对论及量子论 容许“时间”如同“空间”的另一维度般运作. |
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quantum theory:n.量子理论; behave:v.表现;(机器等)运转;举止端正;(事物)起某种作用; dimension:n.方面;[数]维;尺寸;次元;容积vt.标出尺寸;adj.规格的;
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| This removes the distinction between time and space and means the laws of evolution can also determine the initial state. |
这就将 *时.空*之间区别移除了 即是说 演化律 亦可决定初始状态. |
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distinction:n.区别;区分;差别;卓越;
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| The universe can spontaneously create itself out of nothing. |
宇宙可以由无变有 自我创生! |
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spontaneously:adv.自发地;自然地;不由自主地;
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| Moreover , we can calculate a probability that the universe was created in different states. |
我们甚至可以计算出 宇宙在不同情况下诞生的可能性。 |
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Moreover:adv.而且;此外; probability:n.可能性;机率;[数]或然率;
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| These predictions are in excellent agreement with observations by the WMAP satellite of the cosmic microwave background, which is an imprint of the very early universe. |
这些推论与 WMAP卫星 所观测到的宇宙微波背景辐射 (即大爆炸之痕迹) 相当一致. |
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predictions:n.预测,预言(prediction复数形式); observations:n.观察,观察值;观察结果;(observation的复数形式); cosmic:adj.宇宙的; microwave:n.微波; imprint:n.印记;痕迹;特征;版本说明;vt.加特征;刻上记号;
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| We think we have solved the mystery of creation . |
我们相信已勘破了创造奥秘 |
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creation:n.创造,创作;创作物,产物;
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| Maybe we should patent the universe and charge everyone royalties for their existence. |
或许我们应将 *宇宙* 给注册 然后向每个生存於世的人收 *生活费*. |
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patent:vt.授予专利; adj.专利的; n.专利权; royalties:n.版税;稿酬(royalty的复数形式);
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| I now turn to the second big question: |
现在我转到第二个 大问题 去 |
| Are we alone, or is there other life in the universe? |
宇宙中就只有我们, 还是另有其它生物? |
| We believe that life arose spontaneously on the Earth, so it must be possible for life to appear on other suitable planets, of which there seem to be a large number in the galaxy . |
我们相信生命从地球自我衍生, 故此生命确有可能出现於其它合适星球 - 星河中看来可有不少呢. |
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arose:vi.出现(arise的过去式);引发; suitable:adj.合适的;适宜的;适当的;适用的; galaxy:n.银河;[天]星系;银河系;一群显赫的人;
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| But we don't know how life first appeared. |
但我们仍未搅通生命是如何生成: |
| We have two pieces of observational evidence on the probability of life appearing. |
对於生命诞生的可能契机 我们有两项观测得来的佐证. |
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observational:adj.观测的;根据观察的; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明;
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| The first is that we have fossils of algae from 3.5 billion years ago. |
首先我们有来自35亿年前 的海藻化石. |
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fossils:n.[古生]化石(fossil复数形式); algae:n.[植]藻类;[植]海藻;
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| The earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago and was probably too hot for about the first half billion years. |
地球於46亿年前形成 头约5亿年相信仍太热了. |
| So life appeared on earth within half a billion years of it being possible, which is short compared to the ten billion-year lifetime of a planet of Earth-type. |
故此生命於 其变得可能后的5亿年间方出现, 这相对於像地球之类百亿年期的星体 只算是一段短时间. |
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compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词)
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| This suggests that a probability of life appearing is reasonably high. |
这意味着生命出现的概率是颇高的. |
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reasonably:adv.合理地;相当地;适度地;
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| If it was very low, one would have expected it to take most of the ten billion years available. |
若是低的话, 就可预期要花尽 百亿年的绝大部分才会出现. |
| On the other hand , we don't seem to have been visited by aliens. |
另一方面, 我们似乎从未见有外星人到访. |
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On the other hand:另一方面;
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| I am discounting the reports of UFOs. |
我不信那些什么 *不明物体* 的报导. |
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discounting:vt.[金融]贴现; vi.[金融]贴现;
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| Why would they appear only to cranks and weirdos ? |
它们干吗要单向那些古古怪怪的人现身呢? |
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cranks:n.[机]曲柄(crank的复数); weirdos:古怪的人;奇怪的人(weirdo的复数);
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| If there is a government conspiracy to suppress the reports and keep for itself the scientific knowledge the aliens bring, it seems to have been a singularly ineffective policy so far. |
若真有一个甚麽政府阴谋要将报导打住 从而将外星人所带来之科学识据为己有, 那可真像个既离奇, 亦从未见效的举措. |
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conspiracy:n.阴谋;共谋;阴谋集团; suppress:vt.抑制;镇压;废止; scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; singularly:adv.异常地;非常地;令人无法理解地; ineffective:adj.无效的,失效的;不起作用的;
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| Furthermore , despite an extensive search by the SETI project, we haven't heard any alien television quiz shows. |
再说, 即便SETI计划已进行广泛探索, 我们还没有收听到任何外太空电视答问节目. |
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Furthermore:adv.此外;而且; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; extensive:adj.广泛的;大量的;广阔的; quiz:n.小测验;知识竞赛;v.盘问;查问;询问;
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| This probably indicates that there are no alien civilizations at our stage of development within a radius of a few hundred light years. |
这可能昭示在我们现阶段文明发展之 方圆数百光年范围之内 并没有其它外星异文化. |
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indicates:v.表明指示,显示;(indicate的第三人称单数) civilizations:n.文明(civilization的复数形式); radius:n.半径,半径范围;[解剖]桡骨;辐射光线;有效航程;
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| Issuing an insurance policy against abduction by aliens seems a pretty safe bet . |
卖保险给那些 怕被外星人绑架的人,看来是个不错的选择。 |
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Issuing:n.发行物;争论点;期刊号;v.发行(issue的ing形式);分配;流出; insurance policy:n.保险单; abduction:n.拐走;绑架;外展;外转; bet:n.打赌;赌注;预计;估计;v.下赌注(于);用…打赌;敢说;八成儿;
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| This brings me to the last of the big questions: |
这送我到了最后一个大问题: |
| The future of the human race. |
人类的前途. |
| If we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy, we should make sure we survive and continue. |
若我们是星河里唯一智能生物, 就必须确保自己能存活并延续下去. |
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intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的
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| But we are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. |
但我们正迈入历史中一个愈发危险的时段. |
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increasingly:adv.越来越多地;渐增地;
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| Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially , along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. |
我们的人囗和对地球有限资源的耗用, 正以几何级数增长, 相随的 是我们将环境或弄好或弄垮的技术才能, |
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finite:adj.有限的;限定的;n.有限之物; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); exponentially:adv.以指数方式; technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的;
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| But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. |
至於我们的基因指令 则仍带着那自私和好斗的本质 这或有利於我们过往求存 |
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genetic code:n.遗传密码; aggressive:adj.侵略性的;好斗的;有进取心的;有闯劲的; instincts:n.本能;天性;直觉;(instinct的复数) survival:n.幸存,残存;幸存者,残存物; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
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| It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. |
却又让我们於往后数百年内 人祸难逃. 更别说未来千百万年了. |
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disaster:n.灾难,灾祸;不幸; let alone:更不必说;听任;不打扰;
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| Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain lurking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space. |
我们长活下去的唯一机会 不是一直呆着在地球 而是冲出太空去. |
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long-term:adj.长期的;从长远来看; lurking:v.潜伏;潜藏;(lurk的现在分词) spread out:冒火;喷火;
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| The answers to these big questions show that we have made remarkable progress in the last hundred years. |
这些大问题之解答 显示我们于过去数百年取得可观进展. |
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remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
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| But if we want to continue beyond the next hundred years, our future is in space. |
可若要超越未来数百年, 我们的前途在於太空. |
| That is why I am in favor of manned -- or should I say, personed space flight. |
正因此,我较倾向于 人 控 - ( man 於英语中可单指*人*或*男人*) 或许我应说, 由人驾驶之太空旅航. |
| All of my life I have sought to understand the universe and find answers to these questions. |
我一生都在探究想要了解宇宙 并找出这些问题之答案. |
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sought:v.seek(寻求、寻找)的过去式和过去分词形式;
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| I have been very lucky that my disability has not been a serious handicap; indeed, it has probably given me more time than most people to pursue the quest for knowledge. |
我一直都非常幸运 我的残疾并没造成严重障礙; 说真的, 这反倒让我比大部分人获得更多时间 以从事知识之追求. |
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disability:n.残疾;无能;无资格;不利条件; pursue:v.继续;从事;追赶;纠缠; quest:n.追求;寻找;vi.追求;寻找;vt.探索;
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| The ultimate goal is a complete theory of the universe, and we are making good progress. |
终极目标是一套完备的宇宙论, 而我们已有良好进展. |
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ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则;
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| Thank you for listening. |
感谢您们的聆听. |
| Chris Anderson: Professor, if you had to guess either way, do you now believe that it is more likely than not that we are alone in the Milky Way , as a civilization of our level of intelligence or higher? |
安德信: 教授, 若您必须二选其一作猜测, 此刻您是较相信还是较不相信 我们是天河中唯一 现水平或更高水平之智能文化? |
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Milky Way:na.[天]银河; intelligence:n.智力;智慧;才智;(尤指关于敌国的)情报;
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| This answer took seven minutes, and really gave me an insight into the incredible act of generosity this whole talk was for TED. |
准备这答案已花了7分多钟, 真让我深切体会到 这整个演讲为TED所付出之 让人难以置信之慷慨. |
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insight:n.洞察力;洞悉; incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; generosity:n.慷慨,大方;宽宏大量;
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| Stephen Hawking : I think it quite likely that we are the only civilization within several hundred light years; otherwise we would have heard radio waves. |
霍金: 我想我们应该是 数百光年范围内之独一文明; 否则我们应已收听到电波. |
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Hawking:n.利用鹰行猎;v.袭击;翱翔;攫取(hawk的现在分词);
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| The alternative is that civilizations don't last very long, but destroy themselves. |
另一种可能是, 该等文明都维持不久, 就自我毁灭掉. |
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alternative:adj.供选择的;选择性的;交替的;n.二中择一;供替代的选择;
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| CA: Professor Hawking, thank you for that answer. |
安德信: 霍金教授, 谢谢您的解答. |
| We will take it as a salutary warning, I think, for the rest of our conference this week. |
我想, 我们会将之作为 这一周余下会谈之座右铭. |
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salutary:adj.有益的,有用的;有益健康的; conference:n.会议;研讨会;商讨会;体育协会(或联合会)
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| Professor, we really thank you for the extraordinary effort you made to share your questions with us today. |
教授, 我们衷心感谢您今天为与我们分享您的问题 所作出之卓越贡献. |
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extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
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| Thank you very much indeed. |
真的非常感谢您. |
| (Applause) |
(掌声) |