· BBC - Story
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Qian Xuesen: The man the US deported - who then helped China into space
钱学森:被美国驱逐的科学家帮助中国探索太空
A Chinese scientist helped not one but two superpowers reach the moon, writes Kavita Puri, but his story is remembered in only one of them.
Kavita Puri写道,一名中国科学家在中美两个超级大国登月球计划中发挥了作用,但他的功绩只被一个国家铭记。
deport [d p :t] vt. 驱逐出境;举止;放逐
superpower [ su:p pa (r)] n. 超级大国;超级强权
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In Shanghai there is an entire museum containing 70,000 artefacts dedicated to one man, "the people's scientist" Qian Xuesen. Qian is the father of China's missile and space programme. His research helped develop the rockets that fired China's first satellite into space, and missiles that became part of its nuclear arsenal, and he is revered as a national hero.
在上海有一座博物馆,馆内陈列了七万件展品,全部都是围绕同一个人——“人民的科学家”钱学森(Qian Xuesen)。钱学森是中国“导弹之父”和“航天之父”。他的研究帮助发展出中国第一枚人造卫星发射时所用的火箭,以及作为中国核武器库组成部分的导弹,他被奉为国家英雄。
artefact [ ɑ:t f kt] n. 工艺品;人工制品,加工品
dedicated [ ded ke t d] v. 以…奉献;把…用于(dedicate的过去式和过去分词)
arsenal [ ɑ:s nl] n. 兵工厂;军械库
revere [r v (r)] vt. 敬畏;尊敬;崇敬
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But in another superpower, where he studied and worked for more than a decade, his significant contributions are rarely remembered at all.
但是在另一个超级大国那里(美国),那个他曾经学习和工作十多年的地方,对它的重大贡献几乎只字未提、无人知晓。
hardly/barely remember的意思中的hardly/barely=almost not at all 例如· I can hardly remember him.
所以文中的 rarely remembered at all意思本来就有重叠,但作者特意加上了,是为了突出强调,美国刻意抹掉钱老的贡献,其用心,再明白不过啦。
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Qian was born in 1911, as China's last imperial dynasty was about to be replaced by a republic. His parents were both well-educated and his father, after working in Japan, established China's national education system. It was evident from an early age that Qian was gifted, and he eventually graduated top of his class at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, winning a rare scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
钱学森生于1911年,当时中国最后一个封建王朝即将被新的共和国取而代之。他的父母均受过良好教育,父亲在日本工作过后,回国创建了中国第一个全国性的教育系统。钱学森早年就天资外露,在上海交通大学毕业考试中名列前茅,获得美国麻省理工(MIT)奖学金,实为罕见。
imperial [ m p ri l] adj. 帝国的;皇帝的;至高无上的;威严的
republic [r p bl k] n. 共和国;共和政体
well-educated ['wel'edju:ke t d] adj. 受过良好教育的
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In 1935 a trim, well-dressed young man arrived in Boston. Qian may have experienced some xenophobia and racism, says Chris Jespersen, professor of history at the University of North Georgia. But there was "also a sentiment of hope and belief that China [was] changing in fundamentally significant ways", and he would certainly have been among people who respected his knowledge.
1935年,一名衣冠整洁、穿着考究的年轻男子出现在麻省理工。据北乔治亚大学(University of North Georgia)历史系教授克里斯·杰斯帕森(Chris Jespersen)说,钱学森或许也曾遭遇过一些排外情绪和种族歧视,但是当时“有一种观念,希望并相信中国正在发生根本性的重大改变”,而他肯定也是属于凭学识获得尊重的一类人。
trim [tr m] adj. 整齐的
well-dressed ['wel'drest] adj. 穿着考究的;穿着入时的
xenophobia [ zen f bi ] n. 仇外;对外国人的畏惧和憎恨
sentiment [ sent m nt] n. 感情,情绪;情操;观点;多愁善感
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From MIT Qian moved to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), to study under one of the most influential aeronautical engineers of the day, the Hungarian émigré, Theodore von Karman. There Qian shared an office with another prominent scientist, Frank Malina, who was a key member of a small group of innovators known as the Suicide Squad.
后来钱学森从麻省理工转到了加州理工学院(California Institute of Technology),师从在当时最有影响力的航空太空工程师之一、匈牙利移民西奥多·冯·卡门(Theodore von Karman)。在那里,钱学森与另一名杰出科学家弗兰克·马利纳(Frank Malina)同室办公,后者是当时被称为“自杀小队”(Suicide Squad)的一个科技革新小组的核心成员。
aeronautical [ e r 'n :t kl] adj. 航空的;航空学的;
émigré ['em. .gre ] (通常指因政治原因而移居外国的)流亡者
Theodore von Karman 西奥多·冯·卡门。匈牙利裔美国工程师和物理学家,主要从事航空航天力学方面的工作,是工程力学和航空技术的权威,对于二十世纪流体力学、空气动力学理论与应用的发展,尤其是在超声速和高超声速气流表征方面,以及亚声速与超声速航空、航天器的设计,产生了重大影响。
prominent [ pr m n nt] adj. 突出的,显著的;杰出的;卓越的
Frank Malina 弗兰克·马林纳
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The group had earned this nickname because of their attempts to build a rocket on campus, and because some of their experiments with volatile chemicals went badly wrong, says Fraser Macdonald, author of Escape from Earth: A Secret History of the Space Rocket. Though he adds that no-one died.
小组之所以被冠以这样的称号,据《逃出地球:太空火箭秘史》(Escape from Earth: A Secret History of the Space Rocket)一书的作者弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德(Fraser Macdonald)说,是因为他们试图在校园里制造火箭,再者就是他们用挥发性化学物质做的一些实验出现了严重错误。
nickname [ n kne m] n. 绰号;昵称
volatile [ v l ta l] n. 挥发物;有翅的动物 adj. [化学] 挥发性的;不稳定的
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One day Qian got drawn into a discussion of a complicated mathematical problem with Malina and other members of the group and before long he was an integral part of it, producing seminal research into rocket propulsion.
某一天,钱学森被拉进了一场和马利纳及组内其他成员关于一个复杂数学问题的讨论当中。不久,他就成为该小组重要成员,进行一些有关火箭推进力的开创性研究。
draw sb into sth ■ 把(某人)卷入,使(某人)参与
They tried to draw me into their argument but I refused.他们试图让我参加他们的争论,但我拒绝了。
before long [bi f : l ] 不久;不(需很)久
seminal [ sem nl] adj. 种子的;精液的;生殖的 adj. 有创造力的,对未来有影响的;重大的
propulsion [pr p l n] n. 推进;推进力
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At the time, rocket science was the "stuff of cranks and fantasists," Macdonald says. "No-one is taking it seriously - no mathematically inclined engineer would risk their reputation by saying this is the future." But that quickly changed with the start of World War II.
当时,火箭技术是“怪胎们异想天开”,麦克唐纳德说,“没有人把它当回事——有点数学天分的工程师都不会拿自己的名声冒险,说它是未来发展趋势。”但是,随着第二次世界大战爆发,这一点迅速发生了改变。
crank [kr k] (想法)古怪的人
inclined [ n'kla nd] 在艺术/技术等方面有天赋的
She's very bright, but she's not academically inclined.她很聪明,但她在学术方面没有天赋。
reputation [.repj 'te ( )n] n. 名声;名誉
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The Suicide Squad caught the attention of the US military, which paid for research into jet-assisted take-off, where boosters were attached to the wings of aircraft to enable them to get airborne from short runways. Military funding also helped establish the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in 1943, under the directorship of Theodore von Karman. Qian, along with Frank Malina, was at the heart of the project.
“自杀小队”得到了美国军方的关注,后者为喷射器助推飞机起飞的研究出资,将推进器安装在飞机机翼上,使其能在短跑道上腾空。1943年,军方资助还帮助他们在西奥多·冯·卡门的指导下设立了喷射式推进实验室(JPL)。钱学森和弗兰克·马利纳也是项目当中的核心人物。
take-off ['te k :f] 起飞
booster [ bu:st (r)] n. 升压机;支持者;扩爆器;推进器
Jet Propulsion Lab 加州喷气推进实验室
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Qian was a Chinese citizen, but the Republic of China was an ally of the US, so there was "no massive suspicion about a Chinese scientist at the heart of American space endeavour", says Fraser Macdonald. Qian was given security clearance to work on classified weapons research, and even served on the US government's Science Advisory Board.
钱学森是中国公民,但中华民国是美国的盟友,所以当时“对于一名中国科学家接触美国太空探索项目的核心领域并不会引起重大的疑心,”弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德说。钱学森获通过机密武器研究的安全审查,甚至还为美国政府的科学顾问委员会服务。
ally [ la ] n. 同盟国;伙伴;同盟者
massive [ m s v] adj. 大量的;巨大的
suspicion [s sp n] n. 怀疑;嫌疑
clearance ['kl .r nts] 批准,许可,准许
To visit the prison, you'll need security clearance.参观监狱需要通过安全审查。
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By the end of the war he was one of the world's foremost experts on jet propulsion, and was sent with Theodore von Karman on an extraordinary mission to Germany, holding the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. Their goal was to interview Nazi engineers, including Wernher von Braun, Germany's leading rocket scientist; America wanted to find out exactly what the Germans knew.
二战结束时,他已经是在喷气式推进器领域全世界最顶尖的专家之一,还与西奥多·冯·卡门一起被派往德国进行一项超乎寻常的任务,临时赋予中校军衔。他们的任务是访问纳粹工程师,包括德国顶尖火箭科学家沃纳·冯·布劳恩(Wernher von Braun);美国想查明,德国人在这方面的斤两。
lieutenant colonel [lef ten nt k :nl] n. (美国)陆军中校;(英国)陆军中校
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But by the end of the decade Qian's glittering career in the US came to a sudden halt, and his life there began to unravel.
至1940年代末,钱学森在美国辉煌的科学生涯却突然中断,他的生活开始分崩离析。
glittering ['gl t. r. ] ■e 辉煌的,成功的,光彩的(通常与富人名流有关)
a glittering career辉煌的事业
halt [h :lt] n. 停止
comes/grinds to a halt ; brought to a halt 使生长、发展、活动等完全停止
Her political career came to a halt in December 1988...她的政治生涯于1988年12月画上了句号。
unravel [ n'r v. l] (-ll-/-l-)■破坏(成就等)
As talks between the leaders broke down, several months of careful diplomacy were unravelled.由于领导人之间的会谈破裂,几个月精心策划的外交努力付诸东流。
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In China, Chairman Mao declared the creation of the communist People's Republic in 1949, and quickly the Chinese came to be seen in the US as "the evil ones", says Chris Jespersen. "So we go through these periods in the US where we are infatuated with China, then something happens and we revile China," he says.
在中国,毛主席在1949年宣布成立共产党执政的人民共和国。克里斯·杰斯帕森说,很快中国人就在美国被视作“邪恶人群”。“于是我们在美国是经历这样一些时期,我们对中国深深着迷,然后发生了一些事情,我们对中国恶语相向,”他说。
infatuated [ n f t ue t d] adj.(通常短期)热恋的,着迷的
She was infatuated with her boss.她对她的老板很着迷。
revile [r va l] vt. 辱骂;斥责 vi. 辱骂;谩骂
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Meanwhile, a new director at the JPL came to believe there was a spy ring at the lab, and shared his suspicions about some members of staff with the FBI. "I note that they are all either Chinese or Jewish," says Fraser Macdonald.
与此同时,喷射式推进实验室(JPL)的新主管开始相信,实验室里有间谍,并向联邦调查局(FBI)吐露了自己对一些成员的猜疑。“我发现,他们全都是中国人或者犹太人,”弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德说。
come to do sth ■to start to do something 开始做,着手做
ring [r ] 团伙;帮派;集团 a spy ring间谍网
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The Cold War was under way, and the anti-communist witch-hunts of the McCarthy era were just around the corner. It was in this atmosphere that the FBI accused Qian, Frank Malina and others of being communists, and a threat to national security.
“冷战”已然开始,麦卡锡时代的反共产主义政治迫害即将来临。正是在这样的环境下,FBI指控钱学森、弗兰克·马利纳及其他人是共产主义者,对国家安全构成威胁。
under way [ nd we ] adj. 进行中的;起步的;航行中的
Plans are well under way for a new shopping centre.建造一座新购物中心的计划已经顺利地在实施了。
witch-hunt [wit h nt] 对巫师的搜捕;以莫须有罪名进行的政治迫害
(just) around the corner ■ 不远,就在附近;即将来临
Everything is a bit depressing at the moment, but I carry on in the belief that good times are just around the corner.目前事事令人沮丧,但我仍相信好日子就在前面。
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The charges against Qian were based on a 1938 document of the US Communist Party that showed he had attended a social gathering that the FBI suspected was a meeting of the Pasadena Communist Party. Although Qian denied being a party member, new research suggests he joined at the same time as Frank Malina in 1938.
对钱学森的指控基于一份1938年美国共产党的文档。文档显示钱学森出席了一个社交聚会,FBI怀疑那是加州帕萨迪纳共产党组织的聚会。尽管钱学森当时否认自己是党员,新的研究显示,他在1938年已经入党,同时加入还有弗兰克·马利纳。
suspect [s spekt] vi. 怀疑;猜想
Pasadena [,p s 'di:n ] n. 帕萨迪纳市(美国加州)
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But this doesn't necessarily make him a Marxist. To be a communist at this time was a statement of anti-racism, says Fraser Macdonald. The group wanted to highlight the threat of fascism, he says, as well as the horror of racism in the US. They were campaigning, for example, against the segregation of the local Pasadena swimming pool, and used their communist meetings to discuss it.
但是这并不意味着他是一名马克思主义者。弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德说,在那个时代做一名共产党员是反种族主义的一种声明。他说,这个团体当时是想要突出法西斯主义的威胁以及种族主义在美国的可怕程度。例如,他们当时正发起倡议反对在帕萨迪纳当地的游泳池实施种族隔离,并且在党员会议中讨论此事。
Marxist ['mɑ:ksist] n. 马克思主义者 adj. 马克思主义的
statement [ ste tm nt] n. 声明;陈述
fascism ['f z m] n. 法西斯主义;极端国家主义
segregation [ segr ge n] n. 隔离,分离;种族隔离
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Zuoyue Wang, professor of history at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, says there is no evidence that Qian ever spied for China or was an intelligence agent when he was in the US.
美国加州州立大学的历史系教授王作跃表示,没有证据显示钱学森在美国的时候曾经为中国间谍或者情报人员工作。
polytechnic [ p li tekn k] n. 工艺学校;理工专科学校 adj. 各种工艺的;综合技术的
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He was, however, stripped of his security clearance and put under house arrest. Caltech colleagues, including Theodore von Karman, wrote to the government pleading Qian's innocence, but in vain.
然而,他的安全通行证被撤销,被软禁在家。加州理工的同僚,包括西奥多·冯·卡门在内,致信政府声称钱学森是清白的,但终是徒劳。
strip [str p] vt. 剥夺;剥去
house arrest [haus rest] n. 软禁
plead [pli:d] vt. 借口;为...辩护;托称 vi. 恳求;辩护
in vain 徒劳地;枉然地;无用地
They tried in vain to persuade her to go. 他们极力劝说她去,但枉费了一番口舌。
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In 1955, when Qian had spent five years under house arrest, President Eisenhower took the decision to deport him to China. The scientist left by boat with his wife and two US-born children, telling waiting reporters he would never step foot in America again. He kept his promise.
1955年,在钱学森被软禁五年后,时任总统艾森豪威尔决定将他驱逐至中国。这名科学家和他的妻子以及两个在美国出生的孩子一起乘小船离开。当时他向在场等候的记者表示,他永远不会再踏足美国。钱践行了承诺。
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"He was one of the most prominent scientists in America. He had contributed so much and could have contributed much more. So it's not just humiliation but also a sense of betrayal," says the journalist and writer, Tianyu Fang.
“他当时是美国最杰出的科学家之一。他做出了很多贡献,也本可以贡献更多,所以这不仅是一种羞辱,也是一种背叛,”记者兼作家房天宇说。
humiliation [hju: m l 'e n] n. 丢脸,耻辱;蒙羞;谦卑
betrayal [b tre l] n. 背叛;辜负;暴露
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Qian arrived as a hero in China but was not immediately admitted into the Chinese Communist Party. His record was not impeccable. His wife was the aristocratic daughter of a Nationalist leader, and until Qian's fall from grace he'd been living happily in America - he'd even taken the first steps towards applying for citizenship.
钱学森归国受到英雄般礼遇,但并未立即获批成为中共一员。他的成分并非无可挑剔:他的妻子是国民党高层贵族的女儿,而钱学森在失宠之前也一直在美国生活得很快乐——他甚至已经踏出了申请入籍的第一步。
【蒋英父亲蒋百里一心为国,逝世之后被封为了陆军上将。蒋英母亲蒋佐梅虽是日本人,却从未教女儿说过一句日本话,爱穿国服,说国语。两人来自不同国度,蒋百里还是研究对日作战的将领,但她始终支持丈夫的理想抱负,毫无怨言。】
impeccable [ m pek bl] adj. 无瑕疵的;没有缺点的
aristocratic [ r st kr t k] adj. 贵族的;贵族政治的;有贵族气派的
fall from grace 失宠;失去人心
The Finance Minister's fall from grace gave the tabloid press great satisfaction.财政部长失势,小报记者幸灾乐祸。
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When he finally became a party member in 1958, he embraced it and always tried to remain on the right side of the regime. He survived purges and the Cultural Revolution, and thus was able to pursue an extraordinary career.
1958年他终于成为一名中共党员,全心拥护,并且一直试图站在拥戴政权的一方。他在大清洗和文化大革命中全身而退,因此能够成就一个非凡的科学生涯。
embrace [ m bre s] vt. 拥抱;信奉
regime [re i:m] n. 政权,政体;社会制度;管理体制
purge 清除(从一个组织中清除持不同意见者的行动)
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When he had arrived in China there was little understanding of rocket science, but 15 years later he oversaw the launch of the first Chinese satellite into space. Over the decades, he trained a new generation of scientists, and his work laid the foundations for China to send its own people to the moon.
钱老回国时期的中国对火箭技术了解很少,但15年之后,在他监督下,中国发射了第一枚人造卫星。几十年间,他培养了一代科学家,而他的工作也为中国登月项目奠定了基础。
oversaw [ v si:] vt. 监督;审查
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Ironically, the missile programme that Qian helped develop in China resulted in weapons which were then fired back on America. Qian's silkworm missiles were fired at Americans in the 1991 Gulf War, Fraser Macdonald says, and in 2016 against the USS Mason by Huti rebels in Yemen.
讽刺的是,钱学森协助研发的导弹项目,结果成为了日后打击美国的武器。弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德说,钱学森的蚕式导弹在1991年海湾战争当中被用来攻击美国人,在2016年也门的胡塞叛乱武装也用这种导弹攻击美军梅森号(USS Mason)驱逐舰。
ironically [a 'r n kl ]adv. 讽刺地;说反话地
result in 产生某效果;造成;导致:
The agreement will result in employers working more closely with students and teachers.协议将促使雇主更紧密地和师生合作。
silkworm missile “蚕式”反舰导弹
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"So there's this odd circularity. The US expelled this expertise, and it has come back to bite them." In taking a tough line against domestic communism, he suggests, the country deported "the means by which one of their main communist rivals could develop their own missiles and space programme - an extraordinary geopolitical blunder."
“所以这因果报应,始料未及。美国驱逐了这名专家,搬起石头砸自己的脚。”他表示,在对本土共产主义采取强硬手段的时候,美国驱逐的是“他们的主要共产主义对手能够利用的财富,结果研发出他们自己的导弹和太空项目——这是一次非同寻常的政治失误”。
circularity [ s :kj 'l r t ](因即是果、果又为因的)循环状态
rival [ ra vl] n. 对手;竞争者
blunder [ bl nd (r)] n. 大错
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A former US Secretary of the Navy, Dan Kimball - later head of the rocket propulsion company, Aerojet - once said it was "the stupidest thing this country ever did".
美国前海军部长、后来成为火箭推进技术公司洛克达因航太(Aerojet Rocketdyne)领头人的丹·金博尔(Dan Kimball)就曾说,这是“这个国家做过的最愚蠢的事情”。
【venture】['ven.t r] ■to risk going somewhere or doing something that might be dan
长失势,小报记者幸灾乐祸。
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Today, there is once again heightened tension between China and the US. This time it's not over ideology but trade, concerns over tech security, and China's failure - as President Donald Trump regards it - to do more to contain Covid-19.
今天,中美紧张局势再次加剧。这一次不是意识形态斗争,而贸易争端,科技安全的担忧,以及特朗普总统所谓的中国未能做更多事情控制新冠病毒等问题上。
ideology [ a di l d i] n. 意识形态;思想意识;观念学
30
While most Americans have no idea about Qian and his role in America's space programme, Tianyu Fang says many Chinese Americans and Chinese students in the US, do know about him, and why he had to leave, and they see the parallels with the present day. "US China relations have got so much worse they know they could be under the same suspicions as Qian's generation," he says.
尽管大多数美国人对钱学森以及他在美国太空项目当中所起的作用一无所知,但是房天语说,很多华裔美国人以及在美中国学生都知道他,以及当初为何离开美国,并在当前时代里看到了相似之处。“美中关系如此恶化,他们知道自己可能会和钱学森那一代一样,面对同样的怀疑。”
parallel [ p r lel] n. 可相比拟的事物;相似之处
31
In Fraser Macdonald's view, Qian's story is a warning about what happens when you expel knowledge. "The whole story of American science is that it is propelled by people coming from outside… but in these conservative times that's a story that becomes harder to celebrate."
在弗雷瑟·麦克唐纳德看来,钱学森的故事是一个警示,当你驱逐知识会有什么后果。“整个美国科学的发展是由外来的人推动的……但是当前因循守旧,钱的教训就更难被接受了。”
expel [ k spel] vt. 驱逐;开除
propel [pr pel] vt. 推进;驱使;激励;驱策
conservative [k n's v t v] adj. 保守的
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The JPL's contribution to the US space programme has, Macdonald believes, been much neglected compared to that of Wernher von Braun and other German scientists, who were taken in secret to the US soon after the visit paid to them by von Karman and Qian.
麦克唐纳德认为,相比起沃纳·冯·布劳恩以及其他德国科学家,喷射式推进实验室对美国太空项目的贡献在很大程度上被忽略了。这些德国科学家是在冯·卡门和钱学森拜访不久后,才被秘密带来美国的。
neglect [n glekt] vt. 疏忽,忽视;忽略
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Braun had been a Nazi, and yet his achievements are recognised in a way that those of Qian and others from the JPL are not, Macdonald says. "The idea that America's first viable space programme was started by homegrown socialists - whether Jewish or Chinese - is not really a story that the US is able to hear about itself," he says.
布劳恩曾是纳粹分子,他的成就得到了认可,但钱学森以及喷射式推进实验室其他成员却没有。“美国第一个切实可行的太空任务,是由本土成长起来的社会主义者——犹太人或者中国人——开创的,这样一个故事并不是美国人都喜闻乐见,”他说。
viable [ va bl] adj. 可行的;能养活的;能生育的
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Qian's life spanned almost a century. In that time China grew from an economic minnow to a superpower on Earth and in space. Qian was part of that transformation. But his story could have been a great American one too - where talent, wherever it is found, could thrive.
钱学森年近期颐。百年来,中国从一个经济弱国成长为一个经济强国,太空探索大国。钱学森是这段转变历程的参与者。但是,他本也可以是助唱伟大的美国故事——不论出身门第,有才便能辉煌。
span [sp n] vt. 跨越;持续;
minnow [ m n ] 微不足道的机构(或人)
thrive [θra v] vi. 繁荣,兴旺;茁壮成长
35
Last year, when China made history and landed on the far side of the moon, it did so in the Von Karman crater, named after the aeronautical engineer who was a mentor to Qian. A nod, perhaps, to the fact that American anti-communism helped propel China into space.
2019年,中国历史性的在月球远端着陆。着陆点正是冯·卡门环形山——那是以德国航天工程师、钱学森导师命名的。或许,这也是对美国反共产主义推动中国太空探索的间接回敬。
Von Karman crater 冯·卡曼陨石坑
aeronautical [ e r 'n :t kl] adj. 航空的;航空学的
mentor [ ment :(r)] n. 指导者,良师益友
nod [n d]点头;(尤指)点头赞同,点头致意,点头示意