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Against All Odds-2

He had had some recurring dreams. He dreamt that he was going to be put to death, which made him realise that there were a lot of worthwhile things he could do if he were to be set free. In another frequently occuring dream, he thought he could give up his life to save others: 'After all, if I were going to die anyway, it might as well do some good.'

There is little doubt that the appearance on the scene of a young woman was a major turning point in Hawking's life. This was Jane Wilde, whom he had first met at the party. After he came out of the hospital, the two of them began to see a lot more of one another, and a strong relationship developed. It was finding Jane that enabled him to break out of his depression.

As predicted, during his first two years at Cambridge, the effects of the disease rapidly worsened. He was beginning to experience great difficulty in walking and was forced to use a stick in order to cover just a few feet. With the support of walls and objects, as well as sticks, he would manage, painfully slowly, to move across rooms and open areas.

There were many times when these supports were not adequate, and he would turn up in the office with a bandage around his head, having fallen heavily and received a nasty bump. Meanwhile, his speech rapidly became first slurred, and then very hard to follow, and even those close to him were having difficulty understanding what he was saying.

Nothing slowed him down, however; in fact, he was just hitting his stride. Work was progressing faster and better than it ever had before. Crazy as it may seem, ALS is simply not that important to him. Of course he has had to suffer the humiliations and obstructions facing all those in society who are not able-bodied, and naturally he has had to adapt to his condition and to live under exceptional circumstances. But the disease has not touched his mind, and so it has not affected his work. More than anyone else, Hawking himself would wish to downplay his disability and to give his full attention to science, for that is what is really important to him.

Having come to terms with ALS and found someone in Jane with whom he could share his life on a purely personal level, he began to blossom. The couple became engaged, and the frequency of weekend visits increased. It was obvious to everyone that the two of them were truly happy and highly important to each other. Jane recalls, 'I wanted to find some purpose to my existence, and I suppose I found it in the idea of looking after him. But we were in love. 'For Hawking, his engagement to Jane was probably the most important thing that had ever happened to him: it changed his life and gave him something to live for. Without the help of Jane he almost certainly would not have been able to carry on or had the will to do so.

From this point on, his work went from strength to strength, and Sciama, his supervisor, began to believe that Hawking might, after all, manage to pull together the different threads of his PhD research. It was still touch and go, but a wonderful chance was just around the corner.

参考译文

他做了很多相同的梦，梦见自己被杀，这让他意识到，如果活着，他还有很多值得做的事情。在另一个经常做的梦中，他想以自己的生命去挽救别人：“不管怎样，总之我是要死的，不妨去做些好事。”

无可怀疑的是，一位年轻女子的出现是霍金生命的重要转折点，她就是简·王尔德，首次见到她是在一个聚会上。出院后，两人开始越来越频繁地见面并发展了深厚的关系。遇到简以后，他走出了抑郁。

正如预料中的那样，他在剑桥大学的前两年，病情急剧恶化。他走路开始困难起来，要想走几步，必须得用拐杖。只有撑着墙、物体和拐杖，他才能痛苦缓慢地在房间和空地上走动。很多时候，这些支撑物根本不够用，出现在办公室的时候，他满头绷带--因重重地摔在地上，头上摔出了丑陋的肿块。同时很快，他开始言语不清，很难听懂，甚至周围的人也很难听懂他在说什么。

然而，什么都没有让他停下来。事实上，他正渐入佳境。工作比以前任何时候都进展得又快又好。看起来有点儿疯狂，ALS对他来说不是很重要了。当然，和社会上所有那些身体不健全的人一样，他必须忍受羞耻和障碍，自然地，他必须调整状态，以适应特别环境下的生活。但是，疾病没有影响他的大脑，因此也没有影响他的工作。比其他人要好的是，霍金本人希望淡化看待自己的残疾，将全部精力投入到科学中去，因为这对他来说才是真正重要的。

霍金接受了患上 ALS这一事实，并在六月份遇到了一个可以与之纯粹私人地分享生活的人，他开始高兴起来。两人订了婚，周末相见的次数频繁起来。显然，所有的人都觉得两人真正很幸福，在对方心目中都很重要。简回忆说，“我本想追求生活的目标，我想，我发现照顾他就是我的目标。但是我们已经相爱的了。”对霍金来说，和简订婚可能是有生以来最重要的事：这改变了他的生活，赋予他生活的意义。没有简的帮助，他几乎难以坚持下去，达到自己的愿望。

从此以后，他的工作日益壮大，他的督学Sciama开始相信，霍金可能会完成博士论文。危险在即，但是奇迹即将出现。

词汇词组释义

1.recurring 反复出现的，反复发生的

例句：
recurring decimal 循环小数

2.worthwhile adj. 值得(做)的

例句：
Thank you for making my visit so worthwhile. I shall treasure your friendship and kind hospitality you have given me.
感谢你们使我的访问如此有价值。我将珍惜我们之间的友谊及你们给予我的盛情款待。

3.break out of 冲出,逃出;摆脱(束缚等)

例句：
I should like to break out of this meaningless way of life.
我想摆脱这种无聊的生活。

4.bump n. 撞击,隆起物

例句：
She got a bump on her head.
她头上撞起了一个包。

5.slur v. 草率地看过,忽略,含糊地念

例句：
When a man is drunk his speech is slurred.
当一个人喝醉时, 他说话就口齿不清。

6.stride n. 大步,一跨步

例句：
She found the job difficult at first, but now she's really getting into her stride.
起初她觉得这工作很难，但现在已驾轻就熟了。

7.downplay v. 不予重视,轻描淡写,低调处理

例句：
The chairman downplayed the question of your appointment.
主席轻描淡写地谈及你任命一事。

8.come to terms 妥协,和解

例句：
He seems to have come to terms with losing his sight.
他好象已经接受了自己将失明这个事实。

9.go from strength to strength 不断壮大

例句：
Since her appointment the department have go from strength to strength.
自从她任职以来,这个部门越办越好了。

10.engagement n. 诺言,约会,婚约

例句：
Their engagement was announced in the papers.
他们订婚的消息登报了。

语法讲解

1.There is little doubt that the appearance on the scene of a young woman was a major turning point in Hawking's life.

【参考译文】无可怀疑的是，一位年轻女子的出现是霍金生命的重要转折点。
【结构解析】句中that引导的从句是一个同位语从句，对"doubt"做进一步的解释。

2.There were many times when these supports were not adequate, and he would turn up in the office with a bandage around his head, having fallen heavily and received a nasty bump.

【参考译文】很多时候，这些支撑物根本不够用，出现在办公室的时候，他满头绷带--因重重地摔在地上，头上摔出了丑陋的肿块。
【结构解析】"with a bandage around his head"是介词短语做状语，修饰“turn up”，"having fallen heavily and received a nasty bump"做原因状语，修饰“turn up in the office with a bandage around his head”。

3.Of course he has had to suffer the humiliations and obstructions facing all those in society who are not able-bodied。

【参考译文】当然，和社会上所有那些身体不健全的人一样，他必须忍受羞耻和障碍。
【结构解析】句中“ facing all those in society who are not able-bodied”是定语，修饰前面的“the humiliations and obstructions”。