书城外语流行名人篇(老外最想和你聊的101个英语话题)
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第31章 The Ideological Giants 思想巨人(11)

If it weren’t for Edison, we’d all be watching TV by candle light。

如果没有爱迪生的话,我们就只能点着蜡烛看电视了。

Great men have often risen from poverty–Lincoln and Edison, for example。

大人物常常出身贫寒,例如林肯和爱迪生。

It all began in 1877 when Thomas Edison made the first recording of a human voice。

一切始于1877年,这一年托马斯·爱迪生第一次录下了人的声音。

Thomas Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American。

托马斯·爱迪生拥有的发明专利比其他任何一个美国人都多。

The incandescent lamp we use in daily life was invented by Edison。

我们日常生活中用的白炽灯是爱迪生发明的。

Thomas Edison said he liked people who had ideas。

托马斯·爱迪生说过他喜欢有思想的人。

So much of what we take for granted in our daily lives is traceable back to Edison and his genius。

在我们的日常生活中我们已经习以为常的许多东西,都可以追溯到爱迪生和他的天才。

You’re listening to one of Edison’s first phonographs playing The Whistler and His Dog。

你现在听到的是爱迪生第一批唱机之一播送的乐曲,曲名是《吹口哨的人和他的狗》。

There is no one on the planet who does that better than Steve Jobs, really the Thomas Edison of our time。

世上没有比史蒂夫·乔布斯做得更好了,他是我们这个时代的托马斯·爱迪生。

So at the peak of his career Edison diverted his attention away from designing electrical devices to focus on the electrical delivery network itself。

所以爱迪生在事业的顶峰时期,转移了对设计电子设备的注意力,开始关注电力输送网络本身。

In 2001 Gorlov won the Edison patent award for his invention。

2001年,佐罗夫因这个发明而获得了爱迪生专利奖。

Let’s Talk!

开始交流吧!

Mike: What’s going on·

麦克:发生什么事了·

Daisy: The incandescent lamp is broken。

黛西:白炽灯坏了。

Mike: I can’t see anything。

麦克:我什么都看不到了。

Daisy: Let’s light the candles; I’ll buy a new one tomorrow。

黛西:我们把蜡烛点起来,我明天去买个新的。

Mike: I’m really thankful for Edison now。

麦克:我现在非常感激爱迪生。

Daisy: Yes, it’s him that gives us light。

黛西:是的,是他给我们带来了光亮。

Mike: The incandescent lamp seems very simple。

麦克:这个白炽灯看起来很简单。

Daisy: But he has failed hundreds of times in the course of inventing it。

黛西:但他发明它的过程中失败的上百次。

Mike: I know, he is very patient。

麦克:我知道,他非常有耐心。

Daisy: Failure is the mother of success。

黛西:失败是成功之母。

Mike: But I always fail in my exam。

麦克:但我总是在考试中失败。

Daisy: That only means you do not study hard。

黛西:那只能说你学习不努力。

Mike: In my case, failure is not mother of success。

麦克:像我这种情况,失败并不是成功之母。

Michael Faraday

迈克尔·法拉第

迈克尔·法拉第是英国物理学家、化学家,也是著名的自学成才的科学家。生于萨里郡纽因顿一个贫苦铁匠家庭,仅上过小学。1831年,他作出了关于力场的关键性突破,永远改变了人类文明。

About Faraday

关于法拉第

Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of the time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry。

Faraday studied the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a DC electric current。 While conducting these studies, Faraday established the basis for the electromagnetic field concept in physics, subsequently enlarged upon by James Maxwell。 He similarly discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and laws of electrolysis。 He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena。 His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology。

As a chemist, Michael Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the Bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularised terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion。

Although Faraday received little formal education and knew little of higher mathematics, such as calculus, he was one of the most influential scientists in history。 Historians of science refer to him as the best experimentalist in the history of science。 The SI unit of capacitance, the farad, is named after him, as is the Faraday constant, the charge on a mole of electrons (about 96,485 coulombs)。 Faraday’s law of induction states that magnetic flux changing in time creates a proportional electromotive force。

Faraday was the first and foremost Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a life-time position。

Albert Einstein kept a photograph of Faraday on his study wall alongside pictures of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell。

Faraday was highly religious; he was a member of the Sandemanian Church, a Christian sect founded in 1730 that demanded total faith and commitment。 Biographers have noted that “a strong sense of the unity of God and nature pervaded Faraday’s life and work。”

法拉第的一生是伟大的,法拉第其人又是平凡的,他非常热心科学普及工作,在他任皇家研究所实验室主任后不久,即发起举行星期五的晚间讨论会和圣诞节少年科学讲座。他在100多次星期五晚间讨论会上作过讲演,在圣诞节少年科学讲座上讲演达19年之久,他的科普讲座深入浅出,并配以丰富的演示实验,深受欢迎。法拉第还热心公众事业,长期为英国许多公私机构服务。他为人质朴、不善交际、不图名利、喜欢帮助亲友。为了专心从事科学研究,他放弃了一切有丰厚报酬的商业性工作。他在1857年谢绝了皇家学会拟选他为会长的提名,他甘愿以平民的身份实现献身科学的诺言,终身在皇家学院实验室工作一辈子,当一个平凡的迈克尔·法拉第。

1867年8月25日,平民迈克尔·法拉第在书房安详地离开了人世。一代科学巨星,在谱写完他不平凡的人生,给人类留下无价的宝藏以后与世长辞。法拉第的贡献惠及每个人,把人类文明提高到空前高度,把文明进程提前了几十几百年。我们不能用金钱衡量其伟绩,如果能用金钱衡量的话,有人说将超过全球股票价值。

Key words & Sentences

关键词句全知道

All the generators depend on Faraday’s work。

所有现代的发电机均得益于法拉第的成就。

Electromagnetic flowmeter rely on Faraday’s law of induction。

电磁流量计是基于法拉第电磁感应定律的速度式流量计。

Faraday was an English physicist whose discoveries had an enormous influence on the development of mathematics。

法拉第是英国物理学家,他的发现对数学发展有巨大影响。

Principle of fluxgate completely conforms to Faraday’s law of induction。

磁通门原理完全服从法拉第电磁感应定律。

One of the first men to work with such reactions was the great English scientist Faraday。

伟大的英国科学家法拉第是最先研究这种反应的人之一。

Faraday twice refused to become President of the Royal Society。

法拉第两次拒绝成为皇家学会会长。

Education was another area of service for Faraday。

教育是法拉第的另一种服务方式。

That electrically charged particles reside within atoms had been surmised since the time of Faraday。

从法拉第的时代起,人们就已推测到,在原子内存在着带电的粒子。

A new method of measuring strong impulse current with Faraday effect was put forward。

本文提出一种利用法拉第效应测量脉冲大电流的方法。

Faraday studied the magnetic field around a conductor。

法拉第研究导体周围的磁场。

Faraday received little formal education。

法拉第几乎没有接受正规的教育。

As a chemist, Michael Faraday discovered benzene。

作为一个化学家,迈克尔·法拉第发现了苯。

Faraday was highly religious。

法拉第笃信宗教。

Faraday spent extensive amounts of time on projects。

法拉第花了很多时间在项目上。