2015考研英语阅读宇宙大爆炸_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读宇宙大爆炸

　　The difficulties in explaining physics without using maths are longstanding. Einstein mused, The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility, and the fact that it iscomprehensible is a miracle. Yet the language in which the world is described is that ofmaths, a relatively sound grasp of which is needed to comprehend the difficulties thatphysicists are trying to resolve as well as the possible solutions. Mr Cox has secured a largefan base with his boyish good looks, his happy turns of phrase and his knack for presentingcomplex ideas using simple analogies. He also admirably shies away from dumbing down. The Quantum Universe is not a dry undergraduate text book, but nor is it a particularly easyread.

　　不用数学解释物理知识所造成的困难由来已久。爱因斯坦语重心长地说过：世间永恒的神秘在于它的可了解性。可以了解这一事实本身就是一个奇迹。然而，用于描述世界的语言就是数学。在理解物理学家试图解决的困难及可能的解决方案时，数学是一个相对合理的必要的抓手。凭借其大男孩般的优质外表、习语的运用、简单类比解释复杂概念的窍门，考克斯拥有了一大帮粉丝。他同时成功避免过度简化。《量子宇宙》非一本干巴巴的大学教材，但也不是特别容易读懂。

　　The subject matter is hard. Quantum mechanics, which describes in subatomic detail ashadowy world in which cats can be simultaneously alive and dead, is notoriously difficultto grasp. Its experiments yield bizarre results that can be explained only by embracing themaths that describe them, and its theories make outrageous predictions that have nevertheless later been verified. Messrs Cox andForshaw say they have included the maths mainly because it allows us to really explain whythings are the way they are. Without it, we should have to resort to the physicist-gurumentality whereby we pluck profundities out of thin air, and neither author would becomfortable with guru status.