(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Sarah Long. And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we report about two scientists, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, who helped lead the world into the nuclear age. It is July sixteenth, nineteen forty-five. All is quiet in an American desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Suddenly there is a terrible explosion. A huge cloud rises from the Earth. The sky turns purple and yellow. The first atomic bomb has been exploded. It is a test of the mostly deadly weapon ever known. American officials are considering using this weapon to try to end World War Two.
J. Robert Oppenheimer is the head of the Los Alamos laboratory. It is the creative center of the secret Manhattan Project, which made the explosion possible. As the cloud rises, Mister Oppenheimer remembers words from the Hindu holy book, the Baghavad Gita. He says: "For I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Less than one month after the test at Alamogordo, the United States dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. President Harry Truman announced to the world about the first bomb: "The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. We won the race of discovery against the Germans. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it, until we completely destroy Japan's power to make war. The Japanese soon surrendered. World War Two ended.
Enrico Fermi had been the first to use a neutron to produce the radioactive change of one element to another. He was a refugee from Fascist Italy. He and other refugee scientists were worried that Germany was working to develop an atomic bomb. They urged the United States government to pay for a secret scientific effort, called the Manhattan Project, to create the bomb. Mister Fermi helped Mister Oppenheimer prepare the Alamogordo bomb test. Yet later both Mister Oppenheimer and Mister Fermi spoke against further development of nuclear weapons. Both men opposed the hydrogen bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer was born in New York City on April twenty-second, nineteen-oh-four. Even as a boy, he showed he had unusual intelligence. As a young man he attended Harvard University, in the eastern United States, and Cambridge University in England.
He earned his doctorate in physics at Gottingen University, Germany, in nineteen twenty-seven. There he worked with the famous scientist, Max Born. By nineteen thirty, Mister Oppenheimer was teaching at two top universities on the American West Coast. His fame as a teacher spread. Soon he was teaching the best students of physics in the United States.In nineteen forty-two, Mister Oppenheimer joined the American government's project to develop the atomic bomb. He was appointed head of the Los Alamos Laboratory. Many of his former students worked for him on the project. One year after the bombs were dropped on Japan, he received the Presidential Medal of Merit for his work. In nineteen forty-seven, he began to direct the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University on the East Coast. At the same time, Mister Oppenheimer became chairman of the advisory committee to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. He used the position to try to make the public recognize the dangers of nuclear power as well as its possibilities for good. He regretted that work was being done to develop the hydrogen bomb. He felt it was bad for both scientific and humanitarian reasons. However, extreme tension existed between the United States and the Soviet Union at the time. So in nineteen forty-nine President Truman decided that work on nuclear weapons should continue.
J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and work were affected deeply by Americans intense fear of Communism in the nineteen fifties. Mister Oppenheimer made an easy target for suspicious critics. His wife had once been a Communist. Some of his friends were former Communists. Years earlier he had suggested sharing nuclear secrets with the Soviets. He opposed developing the hydrogen bomb. In nineteen fifty-four, the Atomic Energy Commission and a special security committee moved against Mister Oppenheimer. They did not question his loyalty to the United States. However, they said his personal life made him a threat to national security. Mister Oppenheimer had directed one of America's most important secret scientific projects. Now this famous physicist was barred from secret work for the government. He published several books during this difficult period of his life. One of the best known was "The Open Mind. "The books contained his thoughts about science. He continued teaching at Princeton University. Again he taught many of the most important scientists of our century. In time Mister Oppenheimer's work in science and teaching made people forget the accusations against him. The government decided to give him the highest award of the Atomic Energy Commission for his work on atomic energy. President Lyndon Johnson presented the honor in late nineteen sixty-three. It was called the Enrico Fermi Award. J. Robert Oppenheimer died of throat cancer on February eighteenth, nineteen sixty-seven. He was sixty-two years old.
Enrico Fermi had worked with Robert Oppenheimer and other top scientists to develop the atom bomb. He won an award for his work in atomic energy from the Atomic Energy Commission in nineteen fifty-four. It was the first time the award was presented. Later, the honor was named for him. It recognized Mister Fermi as one of the greatest physicists of the Twentieth Century. Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy, on September twenty-ninth, nineteen-oh-one. After his education in Italy, he studied with Max Born in Germany, just as Robert Oppenheimer had. Enrico Fermi returned to Italy in nineteen twenty-four. He became that nation's first professor of theory of physics. At the time there was almost no physics education offered in Italy He married Laura Capon, who also was a scientist, in nineteen twenty-eight. Laura was Jewish. Later the Fermis decided to leave Italy, because the Fascist government had begun oppressing Jews.
Enrico Fermi went to Stockholm, Sweden, to accept a Nobel Prize in nineteen thirty-eight. He won for producing new radioactive elements beyond uranium. Without knowing it, he had split the atom. However, that fact was not recognized until later. He and his family sailed directly from Stockholm to the United States. If he stayed in Europe, he might have been forced to work for Nazi Germany. Mister Fermi taught at Columbia University in New York City. He also was part of the American research team for the top secret Manhattan Project Mister Fermi led the team that created the world's first controlled, continued nuclear-fission reaction. It happened on December second, nineteen-forty-two, at the University of Chicago. Mister Fermi directed the building of the first atomic reactor that made the reaction possible. He had invented the method with another scientist, Leo Szilard. The reactor was put together in a squash court under the seats of the university sports center. It contained natural uranium placed in graphite and controlled by pieces of cadmium and boron rods.
By nineteen forty-four, Enrico Fermi had become a citizen of the United States. He was asked to help Robert Oppenheimer with the atomic bomb test at Alamogordo. Mister Fermi returned to the University of Chicago after the war. There he headed the Institute for Nuclear Studies, now known as the Enrico Fermi Institute. Like Mister Oppenheimer, Mister Fermi recognized the dangers of atomic energy. They both worried about the possible use of a hydrogen bomb. With another scientist, Mister Fermi wrote a nineteen forty-seven report to the Atomic Energy Commission. The report opposed creation of the bomb for humane reasons. Enrico Fermi died of cancer in Chicago in nineteen fifty-four. He was fifty-three years old. J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi were two of the greatest scientists of the century. They were both concerned about the results of their discoveries that led the world into the Nuclear Age.
重点解析
1.deadly a. 致命的, 致死的
Report cites deadly medical errors.
报告引述致命的医疗差错。
2.surrender v. 交出, 放弃, 使投降, 让与
The enemy surrounded the town trying to force them to surrender.
敌人围困了这个城，想逼他们投降。
3.oppose v. 反对, 以...对抗, 抗争
Those who oppose the people will come to no good end.
与人民为敌的人绝不会有好下场。
4.appoint vt. 任命, 指定, 下令
Do they appoint him secretary?
他们任命他为秘书了吗？
5.suspicious a. 可疑的, 多疑的, 怀疑的
Tim looks suspicious. I doubt he is purposing a robbery.
蒂姆看起来很可疑，我怀疑他在策划抢劫。
6.oppress vt. 压迫, 压抑, 使烦恼
You mustn't use force to bully and oppress the weak.
你不要用强力欺压弱者。
参考译文
我是萨拉·隆恩。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将报道两位科学家—罗伯特·奥本海默和恩里科·费米的故事，他们帮助带领世界走向核时代。那是1945年7月19日。美国新墨西哥州阿拉莫戈多某个沙漠中一切静谧。突然一阵巨响，一朵巨大的云层从地面升起。天空变成紫色和黄色。第一个原子弹被引爆了。这是一次武器测试，这种武器的致命性是前所未有的。美国官员正考虑利用这个武器结束二战。罗伯特·奥本海默是洛斯阿拉莫斯实验室的领头人。正是这个神秘曼哈顿计划的创造中心测试了此次爆炸。随着云层升起，奥本海默回忆起了印度教圣书《薄伽梵谭》中的话。他说：“现在我变成了死神，成为大千世界的毁灭者。”阿拉莫戈多测试后不到一个月，美国便向日本的两座城市投放了原子弹。哈里·杜鲁门总统对世界宣布本国的第一枚原子弹：“世界将注意到第一枚原子弹降落广岛市的军事基地。我们赢得了和德国的原子弹发明比赛。为了缩短战争，为了拯救数千万名美国青年，我们使用了原子弹。我们会继续使用原子弹，直到完全摧毁日本发动战争的能力。”日本很快变投降。二战结束。
恩里科·费米是首位使用中子制造元素放射性变化的人。他是来自意大利的难民。他和其他难民科学家担心德国研究制造原子弹。他们力劝美国政府支持秘密科研工作—曼哈顿计划，以创造原子弹。费米帮助奥本海默准备阿拉莫戈多氧弹试验。而之后，奥本海默和费米都公开反对核武器的进一步开发。两人都反对制造氢弹。1904年4月22日，罗伯特·奥本海默出生于纽约。孩童时期，他就展现出了不同寻常的智慧。他去美国哈佛大学、去英国剑桥大学读书。1927年，他获得德国哥廷根大学物理学博士学位。在那里他和著名科学家马克斯·玻恩一同工作。到1930年，奥本海默在美国西海岸的两所顶尖大学教书。他的名声传扬。很快他开始教授美国物理学中最优秀的学生。1942年，奥本海默加入了美国政府开发原子弹的计划。他被任命为洛斯阿拉莫斯实验室的领头人。很多他以前的学生都在该项目上为他工作。
向日本投放原子弹一年后，他因该项目收到了总统功勋奖章。1947年，他开始指导东海岸普林斯顿大学的高等研究所。同时，奥本海默还成为了美国原子能协会咨询委员会的主席。他利用该职位让公众认识到核能量的危险和潜在可能。他后悔自己发开了氢弹。他感到不论是出于科学还是人道主义原因，这样都是不好的。然而，那时美国和苏联之间形势紧张。因此1949年，杜鲁门总统决定继续致力于核武器项目。
1950年代，罗伯特·奥本海默的生活和工作都受到了共产主义恐惧的影响。奥本海默成了反对派的主要抨击对象。他的妻子曾是一名共产主义者。他的一些朋友之前也是共产主义者。多年前，他建议和苏联共享原子核机密。他反对开发氢弹。1954年，原子能委员会和一个特别安全委员会开展反对奥本海默的行动。他们没有质疑他对美国的忠诚。但是他们说他的个人生活威胁到了国家安全。奥本海默曾执导美国组重要的秘密科学项目之一。现在这位著名的物理学家被禁止从事政府秘密工作。在他遭遇困难的时期，他写了几本书。最为知名的书籍之一是《开放的心灵》。书中描述了他关于科学的想法。他继续在普林斯顿大学教书。他教授了多位那个世纪最为重要的科学家。奥本海默关于科学的贡献以及他的课堂让人忘记了那些对他的指控。因为他对原子能的贡献，政府决定授予他原子能委员会最高荣誉。1963年，林登·约翰逊总统为他颁发了该奖项。这个奖项被称为恩里科·费米奖。1967年2月18日，罗伯特·奥本海默死于喉癌，享年62岁。
恩里科·费米和罗伯特·奥本海默以及其他顶级科学家共同开发原子弹。1954年，因他在原子能项目上的工作，他被原子能委员会授予奖项。这是首次颁发该奖。之后，该奖以他的名字命名。费米是公认的20世纪最伟大的物理学家之一。1901年9月29日，恩里科·费米出生于意大利罗马。在意大利完成学业后，他去到德国和马克思·波恩一同工作，就像罗伯特·奥本海默一样。
1924年，恩里科·费米返回意大利。他成为了意大利首位物理学原理教授。那时意大利几乎没有物理学教育。1928年，他和一位科学家劳拉·卡蓬结婚。劳拉是犹太人。之后，费米夫妇决定离开意大利，因为法西斯政府开始镇压犹太人。1938年，恩里科·费米来到瑞典斯德哥尔摩接受诺贝尔奖。他因制造了铀之外的放射性元素而获奖。他在毫不知情的情况下将原子分离。但事实上直到之后他才意识到这个事实。
他和家人从斯德哥尔摩坐船直接来到美国。如果他待在欧洲，他或许会被迫为纳粹德国工作。费米在纽约哥伦比亚大学教书。他还是美国研究团队一员，为绝密曼哈顿计划工作。费米领导团队创造出了世界首枚可控持续性核聚变反应。其发生于1942年12月2日的芝加哥大学。费米指导建立了首个原子反应堆，使核聚变反应成为可能。他和另一位科学家利奥·西拉德共同发明了该方法。反应堆聚集在大学体育中心底下的壁球室中。其中含有天然铀，天然铀被放置在石墨之中，由几块镉棒和硼棒控制。
到1944年，恩里科·费米成为了美国公民。他被要求帮助罗伯特·奥本海默进行阿拉莫戈多原子弹测试。费米先生战后回到芝加哥大学。在那里他领导原子能研究所，即现在的恩里科·费米研究所。和罗伯特·奥本海默一样，费米意识到了原子能的危险。两人都为氢弹的使用可能感到担心。1947年，费米和另一位科学家一起向原子能委员会提交了一份报告。报告出于人道原因反对创造炸弹。1954年，53岁的恩里科·费米因癌症在芝加哥去世。罗伯特·奥本海默和恩里科·费米是该世纪最伟大的两位科学家。他们都为自己的发现而担心，而他们的这个发现带领世界走向了核时代。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
