上帝造物

What a stunning realization it must have been.

这项认定一定很让人震惊

The Universe is a machine governed by principles, or laws,

宇宙有如机器 依循原理或法则而行

laws that can be understood by the human mind.

而且是人类心智能了解的法则

I believe the discovery of these laws has been humankind's greatest achievement,

我认为发现这些法则 是人类最伟大的成就

for it's these laws of nature, as we now call them,

因为就是这些我们现在所称的自然法则

that will tell us whether we need a God to explain the Universe at all.

能告诉我们是否需要上帝 才能解释宇宙

For centuries,it was believed that disabled people like me

数百年来 人们相信像我这样的残疾人士

were living under a curse inflicted by God.

是活在上帝所降的诅咒中的

While I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there,

我想我是有可能 惹恼了上面某人

I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way by the laws of nature.

但我更倾向认为 一切都可以用另一种方式解释 也就是自然法则

So,what exactly is a law of nature,

到底什么是自然法则

and why is it so powerful?

它的威力又为何如此强大

I'll show you with a game of tennis.

我用网球赛来说明

Tennis is governed by two sets of laws.

网球受到两套法则所规范

One set is man-made the rules of the game.

一套是人所制定的 比赛规则

They govern things such as the size of the court,the height of the net,

所规范的事包括球场尺寸 网子的高度

and what determines if a shot is in...or if a shot is out.

以及如何判定球是落在界内 还是界外

重点讲解

1、principle

道德原则；行为准则；操守

Buck never allowed himself to be bullied into doing anything that went against his principles.

巴克从来不会因为受到威胁而做违背自己原则的事情。

moral principles.

道德准则

法则；原则；原理

a violation of the basic principles of Marxism.

违背马克思主义的基本原则

The doctrine was based on three fundamental principles.

这个学说建立在三条基本原理之上。

从理论上说；按道理

Even assuming this to be in principle possible, it will not be achieved soon.

即使假定这在理论上行得通，它也不可能于短期内实现。

2、determine

是…的决定因素

The size of the chicken pieces will determine the cooking time.

鸡块的大小将决定烹饪时间的长短。

Social status is largely determined by the occupation of the main breadwinner.

社会地位很大程度上是由家里经济支柱的职业决定的。

确定;查明

The investigation will determine what really happened.

调查会查明到底发生了什么事情。

Testing needs to be done to determine the long-term effects on humans.

需要进行检测以确定其对人的长期影响。

决定;敲定

The Baltic people have a right to determine their own future.

波罗的海各国人民有权决定自己的未来。

The final wording had not yet been determined.

最终措辞仍未敲定