Stephen Hawking Reminded Us All to Look Up at the Stars

By Chris Bond

Stephen Hawking was one of the world’s most acclaimed cosmologists, a medical miracle, and probably the galaxy’s most unlikely superstar celebrity.

[2] After being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neuron disease1motor neuron disease运动神经元病，一组病因不明的神经变性疾病，常见症状为肌肉无力、肌肉萎缩等，多数患者在出现症状后三至五年内死亡。in 1963 at the age of 22, he was given just a few years to live.

Yet in the face of such adversity Professor Hawking proved the doctors wrong by celebrating his 70th birthday nearly half a century later as one of the most brilliant and famous scientists of the modern age.

斯蒂芬·霍金是最受世人推崇的宇宙学家之一，是一个医学奇迹，或许也是银河系最不像明星的巨星级名人。

[2] 1963年霍金22岁时被诊断患上一种罕见的运动神经元疾病，医生认为他仅剩几年寿命。

然而，面对厄运，霍金教授却在近半个世纪后跻身现代最卓越、最著名的科学家之列，并度过了自己的70岁生日，证明当初医生的说法为谬。

[3]虽身囿轮椅，几乎完全瘫痪，无法言语，只能靠自己标志性的语音合成器发声，但他却撰写出大量科学论文，赢得与阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和艾萨克·牛顿爵士这样的图腾式人物比肩的地位。

[3] Despite being wheelchair-bound,almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through his trademark voice synthesiser, he wrote a plethora of2a plethora of大量；太多，过剩。scientific papers that earned him comparisons with such totemic3totemic图腾的；标志性的。figures as Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

[4] At the same time he embraced popular culture with enthusiasm and humour, appearing in TV cartoon The Simpsons, starring in Star Trek and providing the voice-over for a British Telecom commercial that was later sampled44 sample节录，摘录（一小段音乐或声音，以便用作其他乐曲或歌曲的一部分）。on rock band Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell album.

[5] His rise to fame and relationship with his first wife, Jane, was dramatised in the 2014 film, The Theory of Everything, in which Eddie Redmayne put in an Oscar-winning performance as the physicist battling with a devastating5devastating毁灭性的，破坏力极大的。illness.

[6] Prof Hawking was best known for his work on black holes, the mysterious infinitely dense regions of compressed matter where the normal laws of physics break down, which dominated the whole of his academic life.

His crowning6crowning最大的，至高的。achievement was his prediction in the 1970s that black holes can emit energy, despite the classical view that nothing—not even light—can escape their gravity.

[7] Born in Oxford on January 8,1942—300 years after the death of astronomer Galileo Galilei—Hawking grew up in St Albans.

[4]同时，他以热情和幽默拥抱流行文化，参演电视卡通片《辛普森一家》，客串《星际迷航》，还为英国电信公司的一则广告配音，这段配音后被摇滚乐队平克·弗洛伊德置入专辑《藩篱之钟》。

[5]他的成名经历以及和首任妻子简的恋情被改编成电影《万物理论》（2014）。埃迪·雷德梅恩因在影片中扮演这位同重疾抗争的物理学家而荣获奥斯卡奖。

[6]霍金教授以其对黑洞的研究而闻名于世，该研究主导了他的整个学术生涯。黑洞由压缩物质构成，是密度无限大的神秘区域，在那里一般的物理定律都会失效。

他的最大成就在于，20世纪70年代预言黑洞可发出能量，尽管传统观点认为，任何事物——包括光——都无法逃脱其引力。

[7]霍金于1942年1月8日出生在牛津，在圣奥尔本斯长大。他的出生日是天文学家伽利略去世300周年纪念日。

[8] He had a difficult time at the local public school7public school公学，英国贵族化的私立中学，著名的有伊顿公学、切特豪斯公学、哈罗公学等。and was labelled a “swot8swot一味苦读的学生，书呆子。”who was more interested in jazz, classical music and debating than sport and pop. Although not top of the class, he was good at maths and “chaotically9chaotically混乱不堪地，一塌糊涂地。enthusiastic in chemistry”.

[9] As an undergraduate at Oxford,the young Hawking was so good at physics that he got through with little effort. He later calculated that his work there “amounted to10amount to（数量）达到，总计。an average of just an hour a day” and commented: “I’m not proud of this lack of work, I’m just describing my attitude at the time,which I shared with most of my fellow students. You were supposed to be brilliant without effort, or to accept your limitations and get a fourth-class degree11四等学位。1970年代以前，牛津大学将学位分为first、second、third和fourth四个等级。.”

[10] Hawking got a first and went to Cambridge to begin work on his PhD,but by this time he was already beginning to experience early symptoms of his illness. During his last year at Oxford he became clumsy, and twice fell over for no apparent reason. Shortly after his 21st birthday he went for tests,and he was later diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neuron disease.

[8]他在当地公学求学的日子并不好过。比起体育和流行歌曲，他对爵士乐、古典乐和辩论更有兴趣，因此被贴上“书呆子”的标签。他在班里虽不拔尖，但擅长数学，并“对化学喜爱得一塌糊涂”。

[9]在牛津大学读本科时，年轻的霍金极其擅长物理，考试可轻松过关。他后来讲，自己在牛津的读书时间“平均每天不过一小时”，并解释说：“我并非以不用功为傲，只是在讲我当时的态度，大多数同学都和我一样。你要么无须努力还能成绩优异，要么就承认自己天资不足而拿四等学位。”

[10]霍金拿到了一等学位，随后进入剑桥攻读博士，但此时他已出现疾病的早期症状。在牛津的最后一年，他变得手脚笨拙，不明缘由地摔倒过两次。21岁生日过后不久，他去体检，后来被诊断患上了肌萎缩侧索硬化症，一种运动神经元疾病。

[11] The news came as a huge shock that for a time plunged12plunge骤然陷入。the budding13budding崭露头角的。academic into deep despair. However,he was rescued by an old friend, Jane Wilde, who went on to become his first wife and with whom he had three children.

[12] After a painful period coming to terms with14come to terms with勉强接受（糟糕的事情）。his condition, Prof Hawking threw himself into his work.

[13] At one Royal Society15英国皇家学会，英国最具名望的科学学术机构，成立于1660年。meeting,the still-unknown Hawking interrupted a lecture by renowned astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle16（1915—2001），英国天体物理学家，曾任英国皇家天文学会会长，1972年获封爵士。, then at the pinnacle17pinnacle顶峰，顶点。of his career, to inform him that he had made a mistake.

When the irritated Sir Fred asked how Hawking presumed18presume擅自，冒昧。to know that his calculations were wrong, Hawking replied: “Because I’ve worked them out in my head.”

[14] In the 1980s, Prof Hawking and Professor Jim Hartle, from the University of California at Santa Barbara,proposed a model of the universe which had no boundaries in space or time. The concept was described in his popular science book A Brief History of Time,published in 1988, which sold millions of copies worldwide.

[11]这一消息打击巨大，曾一度让这位学界新秀深陷绝望。然而，老友简·怀尔德挽救了他，后来更成为他的首任妻子，两人育有三个子女。

[12]接受患病事实的痛苦日子过去后，霍金教授全心投入到工作。

[13]在英国皇家学会的一次会议上，尚名不见经传的霍金打断弗雷德·霍伊尔爵士的演讲，告知他犯了一个错误。后者是著名天体物理学家，其时正处于事业巅峰。

恼火的弗雷德爵士质问霍金何以知道他的计算有误，霍金答道：“因为我已经在脑中算出结果。”

[14] 20世纪80年代，霍金教授与美国加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的吉姆·哈特尔教授提出了时空无边界宇宙模型。他在自己的科普著作《时间简史》中阐述了这一概念，该书出版于1988年，全球销量达数百万册。

[15] As well as razor-sharp19razor-sharp（思路、头脑）敏捷的。intellect,Prof Hawking also possessed an almost child-like sense of fun, which helped to endear him to members of the public.

He booked a seat on Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic20维珍银河，英国私营航天公司，由理查德·布兰森爵士创办，计划提供亚轨道太空旅游。sub-orbital21sub-orbital亚轨道的。亚轨道通常指距离地面20至100千米的空域，处于飞机的最高飞行高度与卫星的最低轨道高度之间。space plane and rehearsed for the trip by floating inside a steep-diving NASA aircraft—dubbed the “vomit comet”—used to simulate weightlessness.

On one wall of his office at Cambridge University was a clock depicting Homer Simpson, whose theory of a “doughnutshaped universe” he threatened to steal in an episode of the cartoon show. He is said to have glared at the clock whenever a visitor was late.

[16] Upheaval22upheaval剧变，动荡。in his personal life also hit the headlines23hit the headlines成为新闻焦点，成为媒体头条。, and in February 1990 he left Jane, his wife of 25 years, to set up home with one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. The couple married in September 1995 but divorced 11 years later.

[17] Throughout his career Prof Hawking was showered with honorary degrees, medals, awards and prizes, and in 1982 he was made a CBE24= Commander (of the Order) of the British Empire英帝国高级勋位。.

[15]除了拥有敏锐的才思，霍金教授还童心未泯，这令他更加受到公众喜爱。

他在理查德·布兰森爵士的维珍银河亚轨道航天飞机上预订了一个座位，并为航天之旅展开训练，在美国宇航局一架垂直俯冲的飞机里练习漂浮。该飞机绰号为“呕吐彗星”，用于模拟失重状态。

他在剑桥大学办公室的一面墙上，挂了个霍默·辛普森形象的挂钟。在这部卡通片的一集里，他曾扬言要盗用霍默·辛普森“甜甜圈形宇宙”的理论。据说，每当有访客迟到，他就会怒视着挂钟。

[16]他的私人生活如有重大变动，也会成为新闻焦点。1990年2月，他离开结婚25年的妻子简，与自己的一名护士伊莱恩·梅森组成家庭。二人于1995年9月结婚，但11年后离婚。

[17]整个学术生涯中，霍金教授获得了无数荣誉学位、勋章、奖项和奖励，1982年被授予英帝国高级勋位。

[18] But he also ruffled a few feathers25ruffle someone’s feathers使某人恼火。within the scientific establishment26establishment（特定职业或活动领域内的）权威人士。with far-fetched27far-fetched牵强的，令人难以信服的。statements about the existence of extraterrestrials28extraterrestrial外星人。,time travel, and the creation of humans through genetic engineering.

He has also predicted the end of humanity, due to global warming, a new killer virus, or the impact of a large comet.

[19] In 2015 he teamed up with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner who has launched a series of projects aimed at finding evidence of alien life. The decade-long Breakthrough Listen Initiative29突破聆听计划，于2016年1月启动，是一项为期10年、斥资1亿美元的研究项目，由俄罗斯大亨尤里·米尔纳资助，旨在搜寻宇宙智慧生命。aims to step up the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence30搜寻地外文明计划，是对所有相关计划的统称，致力于通过射电望远镜等先进设备探测来自宇宙的电磁波，希望借此发现外星文明。(SETI) by listening out for alien signals.

The even bolder Starshot Initiative31突破射星计划，霍金于2016年4月联合尤里·米尔纳启动，目标是研发重为几克的纳米飞船，以探测地外生命。,announced in 2016, envisages32envisage展望，设想，打算。sending tiny light-propelled robot spacecraft on a 20-year voyage to the Alpha Centauri33半人马座α星，一个三星系统，距离太阳系4.24光年，是离我们最近的恒星系统。star system.

[20] Meanwhile Prof Hawking’s “serious” work continued, focusing on the thorny question of what happens to all the information that disappears into a black hole. One of the fundamental tenets34tenet信条，原则。of physics is that information data can never be completely erased from the universe.

[18]不过，就外星人的存在、时间旅行和基因工程造人等话题，他发表过令人难以信服的言论，因此也惹恼了科学界一些权威人士。

他还曾预言，因全球变暖、出现新型致命病毒或大型彗星撞击地球，人类将会灭绝。

[19] 2015年，他与俄罗斯亿万富翁尤里·米尔纳合作，后者启动了一系列旨在发现外星生命证据的项目。为期十年的“突破聆听计划”旨在通过接收外星信号加快“搜寻地外文明”的进程。

更为大胆的“突破射星计划”于2016年宣布，设想发射由光驱动的微型机器人飞船，飞行20年到达半人马座α星系。

[20]与此同时，霍金教授的“严肃”工作仍在继续，专注于所有消失在黑洞内的信息下落如何这一棘手问题。物理学的一个基本原则认为，信息数据绝不会从宇宙中被完全消除。

A paper co-authored by Prof Hawking and published online in Physical Review Letters35物理学顶级学术周刊，由美国物理学会主办。in June 2016 suggests that even after a black hole has evaporated, the information it consumed during its life remains in a fuzzy “halo”—but not necessarily in the proper order.

[21] He has long been a vocal36vocal畅言无忌的，大声表达意见的。champion of the NHS and right up until his final months sparred37spar（不激烈地）争论，争辩。with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He recently said he would not have had such a long life without the NHS.

[22] It’s his scientific achievements,though, for which Prof Hawking will forever be remembered. Dr Harry Cliff,a particle physicist and Fellow of Modern Science at the Science Museum,was an undergraduate at Gonville and Caius college at Cambridge University where he worked and remembers the ripples of excitement whenever he entered a room.

[23] He had a mischievous side, too.“Occasionally you would meet him in the courtyard or on the streets of Cambridge and he had this habit of trying to run over students’ toes. If he saw a group of you come up the footpath he’d accelerate towards you.”

2016年6月，霍金教授与人合撰的一篇论文在线发表于《物理评论快报》。论文指出，即使黑洞蒸发，其一生所吞噬的信息仍将以模糊“光晕”的形式——但未必以正常次序——继续存在。

[21]长期以来，他一直是英国国民医疗服务体系（NHS）的坚定捍卫者，直到离世前的数月，还在与卫生大臣杰里米·亨特争论。他最近曾声称，若无NHS，他早已不在人世。

[22]但是，霍金教授将永远受人缅怀的还是他的科学成就。粒子物理学家、英国科学博物馆现代科学研究员哈里·克利夫博士本科就读于霍金任职的剑桥大学冈维尔与凯斯学院，他记得每次霍金进入一间教室，总会引起大家的阵阵兴奋。

[23]霍金也有搞怪的一面。“偶尔你会在院子里或剑桥的街道上见到他，他总是试图去轧学生的脚尖。他如果见到你们一群人沿人行道走来，就会朝你们加速驶去。”

[24] Dr Cliff says Prof Hawking enjoyed making bets with famous fellow physicists about the big questions in science. “I think he lost three different bets throughout his life on various things and whether they would come true. Most recently I think he bet that the Higgs boson38希格斯玻色子，1964年由英国物理学家彼得·希格斯提出，俗称“上帝粒子”（God Particle）。, which was discovered at CERN39欧洲核子研究组织，世界最大的粒子物理学实验室，1954年成立，位于瑞士日内瓦。a few years ago, wasn’t going to be found, so he lost that one.”

[24]克利夫博士称，霍金教授喜欢和知名的物理学同行就宏大的科学问题打赌。“他一生就各种事情打过赌，赌它们是否会实现，印象中他输过三次。我记得最近的一次是他赌希格斯玻色子不会被找到，几年前却被欧洲核子研究组织发现，因此那次他输了。”

[25] Dr Cliff says he didn’t allow his condition to prevent him working. “If you think you haven’t got very long to live it focuses the mind and makes you use what time you have. He also didn’t have to do the things academics usually do like appear on committees and he could just get on with his physics.”

It helped make him the world’s most famous scientist. “The only other comparable figure is Einstein and I suspect people will still be talking about Stephen Hawking for many centuries.”

[26] Perhaps, though, the last words should go to the man himself:

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up...”

[25]据克利夫博士讲，霍金从未因患病而停止工作。“如果感到自己命不长久，你就会集中心思，充分利用所剩时间。同时，他不必去做学者通常所做之事，比如挂职于各种委员会，他可以专心研究物理。”

这帮助他成为了世界最知名的科学家。“唯一可与他媲美的人是爱因斯坦。我想，未来千百年人们都会谈论斯蒂芬·霍金。”

[26]也许应该用主人公自己的话做本篇的结束语：

“记得仰望星空，而不是俯看脚下。努力理解所看到的事物，思考宇宙存在的原因。保持好奇心。无论人生看上去何等艰难，总能有所作为和成就。重要的是永不放弃……”□