Victor would say to Alan, 'Look, no one has ever been able to teach you any mathematics – perhaps you have remembered it from a previous life.' But, as Victor saw it, Alan could not believe in such a thing 'without a mathematical formula'.

维克托跟艾伦说：你看，其实没有人能教你数学――他们只是帮你从前世的记忆中想起数学。但是维克托看到，艾伦不相信这种不能在数学上证明的事。

Victor's father, meanwhile, had thrown himself into research and work to overcome his bereavement.

这时期，维克托的父亲，正全身心地投入研究，来克服中年丧子之悲痛。

Alan's work in his office was concerned with calculations required for his commission as lighting consultant to the Freemasons' new headquarters in Great Queen Street.

艾伦在他的办公室工作，做一些复杂的计算。

Alfred Beuttell was a pioneer in the scientific measurement of illumination, and the development of a lighting code16 based on 'first principles' as part of the 'reduction of the physiology of vision to a scientific and mathematical basis'.

阿尔弗雷德.别特尔是照明测量学的开拓者。

His work for the Masons involved elaborate calculations to estimate the illumination at the floor level, in terms of the candle power of lights installed and the reflecting properties of the walls.

他为麦森工作，计算地板和墙壁反光的分布和强度。

Alan, who was not allowed into the Masonic building, had to work from imagination to check Mr Beuttell's figures.

艾伦没有进入麦森公司大楼的许可，他只能根据想象，来为别特尔先生验算。

Alan became friendly with Mr Beuttell, who told him about his success in Monte Carlo as a young man, when he had managed to live for a month on his winnings.

艾伦和别特尔先生渐渐亲密起来，他给艾伦讲他年轻时在蒙特卡罗的经历。

He showed Alan his gambling system, which Alan took back to Cambridge and studied.

他给艾伦演示他的赌博系统，艾伦回到剑桥后一直在思考它。

On 2 February 1933 he wrote back with the result of his analysis, which was that the system yielded an expected gain of exactly zero, and that accordingly Mr Beuttell's winnings had been entirely due to luck and not to skill.

1933年2月2日，艾伦写信寄回他的分析结果，这个系统对赌博毫无帮助，别特尔先生赢钱是全凭运气，并无技术含量。

He also sent a formula he had worked out for the illumination of the floor of a hemispheric room lit from its centre – not, admittedly, an immediately useful result, but a very neat one.

他还发了一个公式，用来计算半球形空间的地板照明情况，非常实用而且简洁。