Cholera used to be one of the most feared diseases in the world, until a British doctor. John Snow, showed how it could be overcome. This illness causes severe diarrhoea, dehydration, and even death. In the early 19th century, when an outbreak of cholera hit Europe, millions of people died from the disease. As a young doctor, John Snow became frustrated because no one knew how to prevent or treat cholera. In time, he rose to become a famous doctor, and even attended to Queen Victoria when she gave birth.
However, he never lost his desire to destroy cholera once and for all.
在英国医生约翰・斯诺向人们展示如何战胜霍乱之前，霍乱曾是世界上最令人恐惧的疾病之一。它可导致严重腹泻、脱水甚至死亡。十九世纪初，崔乱暴发，肆虐欧洲，数百万人丧命。由于当时无人知道如何预防或治疗霍乱，年轻的约翰・斯诺医生很沮丧。后来，他成了一位名医。甚至照料分娩的维多利亚女王。然而，他始终没有放弃彻底根除霍乱的愿望
In general, doctors in those days had two contradictory theories to explain how cholera spread. One theory was that bad air caused the disease. Another was that cholera was caused by an infection from germs in food or water. Snow subscribed to the second theory. It was correct, but he still needed proof. Consequently, when an outbreak of cholera hit London in 1854, Snow began to investigate. He discovered that in two particular streets the cholera outbreak was so severe that more than 500 people died in ten days. He was determined to find out why
关于霍乱的蔓延方式，当时医生大体上有两种截然不同的看法。一种看法是空气污染引发，另一种看法是食物或饮用水中的细菌感染导致霍乱。斯诺赞同第二种看法。这一看法是正确的，但他仍需要证据。因此，1854年伦敦暴发霍乱时，斯诺便开始调查。他发现霍乱疫情在两条街道上尤为严重，十天内就有500多人死亡。他决心查明原因。
Snow began by marking on a map the exact places where all those who died had lived. There were multiple deaths near the water pump in Broad Street (especially house numbers 16, 37, 38, and 40). However, some households (such as 20 and 21 Broad Street, and 8 and 9 Cambridge Street) had had no deaths. These people worked in the pub at 7 Cambridge Street. They had been given free beer, and so had not drunk the water from the pump. Snow suspected that the water pump was to blame. What is more, in another part of London, a woman and her daughter had died of cholera after moving away from Broad Street. It seemed that the woman liked the water from the pump so much that she had it delivered to her house every day. As a result of this evidence, John Snow was able to announce that the pump water carried cholera germs. Accordingly, he had the handle of the pump removed so that it could not be used. Through this intervention, the disease was stopped in its tracks
斯诺首先在地图上标出所有死者住所的确切位置。宽街水泵附近有多例死亡(尤其是16号、37号、38号及40号住宅)，但是有些住户(如宽街20号和21号以及剑桥街8号和9号)却无人死亡。这些幸存者在剑桥街7号的酒吧工作，酒吧为他们提供免费啤酒，因此没有喝水泵抽上来的水。斯诺怀疑水泵就是罪魁祸首。此外，在伦敦的另一个区域，一名妇女和她的女儿从宽街搬来后死于霍乱。该妇女似乎非常喜欢从水泵抽上来的水，每天都让人从那里打水运到家里来。有了这个证据，约翰·斯诺就能够宣布水泵抽上来的水携带霍乱病菌。于是，他让人拆掉了水泵的把手，这样水泵就用不成了。这一干预举措遏制了疾病的蔓延。
The truth was that the water from the Broad Street pump had been infected by waste. Moreover, Snow was later able to show a link between other cases of cholera and the different water companies in London. Some companies sold water from the River Thames that was polluted by raw waste. The people who drank this water were much more likely to get cholera than those who drank pure or boiled water
事情的真相是宽街水泵抽上来的水被废弃物污染了。此外，斯诺之后还证明了另外几起霍乱病例与伦敦多家饮用水公司有关。有些公司出售的水取自被未处理的废弃物污染的泰晤士河。与饮用纯浄水或开水的人相比，饮用被污染的水的人更容易染上霍乱。
Through Snow’s tireless efforts, water companies began to sell clean water and the threat of cholera around the world saw a substantial decrease。
However, cholera is still a problem. Each year, millions of people around the world get cholera and many die from it. Fortunately, we now know how to prevent cholera, thanks to the work of John Snow. Moreover, in his use of maps and statistics, Snow transformed the way scientists study diseases. For this reason, Snow is considered the father of modern epidemiology
经过斯诺的不懈努力，饮用水公司开始出售洁净水，世界各地霍乱的威胁大幅降低。然而，霍乱仍是问题。每年全球有数百万人感染霍乱，其中许多人因此丧生。幸运的是，由于约翰・斯诺的努力，我们现在知道了如何预防霍乱。此外，通过使用地图和数据，斯诺改变了科学家研究疾病的方式。因此，斯诺被誉为现代流行病学之父。
Using Language
THE FATHER OF CHINA’S AEROSPACE
中国航天之父
Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China’s aerospace science than Qian Xuesen. Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with 'great scientific thought and scientific spirit' who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely well-respected man.
也许再没有哪一位科学家比钱学森对中国航天科学的影响更大了。钱学森备受人们的尊敬，《钱学森的故事》一书的作者称他是一位具有“伟大科学思想和科学精神”的人，并且热爱祖国、勤勉努力、甘于奉献成就斐然。
Born in Hangzhou in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering. However， after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932，Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.
钱学森1911年生于杭州，在北京上学，后来考入上海交通大学，学习铁道机械工程。不过，1932年淞沪会战爆发后，钱学森意识到中国需要建设强大的空军来保卫国家，因此决定改学航空专业。
Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology. As a graduate assistant at the California institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA'S leading space-exploration centres.
1935年，钱学森前往美国读研究生。二十世纪三四十年代，钱学森成为美国喷气式飞机和火箭技术的先驱人物。二十世纪三十年代担任加州理工学院的研究生助理时，钱学森协助开展火箭推进方面的重要研究工作。二十世纪四十年代，钱学森与其他几人成立了喷气推进实验室，该实验室现已成为美国宇航局领先的太空探素中心之一
After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US Qian returned to China in 1955. He received a hero’s welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China’s rocket science but also its space and missile programme. At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China. Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge. When asked 'Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?” his reply was a determined 'Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make.”
留学美国的最后几年，钱学森克服困难，于1955年回到中国。他受到了祖国英雄般的欢迎，受命发展中国的火箭科学以及航天和导弹项目。那时候，中国还很贫穷，火箭科学尚不发达。中国没有一所学院或大学开设火箭科学专业，而且没有该领域的人才或专家。然而，钱学森并不气馁，而是接受挑战。有人问他:“我们中国人有可能制造出导弹吗?他的回答十分坚定:“有什么不能的，外国人能造出来的，我们中国人同样能造得出来。”
Under Qians leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets. In 1970, China successful launched its first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket. Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou rockets can also be traced back to Qian's research, Qian earned the name of 'the father of Chinas aerospace.”
在钱学森的领导下，中国研制出了“东风”导弹，紧接着又研制出第一代“长征”系列火箭。1970年，中国使用“长征”火箭成功发射本国第一颗人造卫星“东方红一号”。由于“神舟”系列火箭的大部分技术也可追根溯源到钱学森的研究，因此钱学森被誉为“中国航天之父
Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research. However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing. His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.
钱学森博览群书，尤其在前沿科学研究领域知识极其渊博。然而，他之所以能成为一名如此杰出、富有创造力的科学家，可能是因为他对音乐绘画等其他事物的浓厚兴趣。他深厚的艺术鉴赏力时常给科研工作带来灵感。
On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qians death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.
2009年10月31日，钱学森逝世，举国哀痛，人们以各种方式纪念他缅怀他。
A WORLD OF PURE THOUGHT
一个纯思维的世界
Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair unable to move and using a computer to talk. Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles his world became one of abstract thought.
史蒂芬・霍金是物理学界最负盛名、最具天赋的科学家之一。大多数人都很熟悉他坐在轮椅上无法动弹、只能通过电脑来说话的样子。他因患病致使其大部分肌肉萎缩无力，他的世界变成了一个抽象思维的世界
Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964. In general there were two main theories on the origin of the universe. The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end. The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space. The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge. During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle’s lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths. Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory—and not the steady state theory—was true. Hawking’s own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born。
霍金最早成名于1964年，当时他身体健康，行动自如，是剑桥大学物理学研究生。总的来说，宇宙起源有两大理论:第一个是稳恒态理论，认为宇宙无始无终;另一个是大爆炸理论，认为宇宙始于时空中的一个点。稳恒态概念的最大拥护者是剑桥大学的弗雷德・霍伊尔教授。在霍伊尔的一次讲座中，霍金在问答环节站了起来，指出霍伊尔教授计算有误。错误纠正之后显示大爆炸理论而非稳恒态理论是正确的。不久，天文学家用望远镜观察宇宙，验证了霍金对大爆炸理论的研究。一位明星就此诞生。
So, what made Stephen Hawking a genius? Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did. He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about. Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease. Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
那么，是什么使史蒂芬・霍金成为一名天オ呢?除了才华横溢之外，他还是一个勇敢的人，尽管有时候言行举止比较随意。他敢说别人不敢说的话，做别人不敢做的梦。此外，他意志坚定。无论是作为一位科学家，还是与病魔作斗争，这种品质对他都大有帮助，最重要的是，霍金敢于承认错误。这些性格特点的奇特组合使得他成为二十世纪与二十一世纪最伟大的思想家之一。
Reading and Writing (Workbook)
1 Read the passage and choose the correct answer to complete the statement.
Al AND HUMAN BEINGS
Is it possible to make machines think like humans? This is one question in research in the field of Artificial Intelligence, or 'AI”. To think like a human, it involves feelings, morality, hopes, and dreams, Humans are capable of making decisions by themselves without input from others, and they can learn from experience.
有没有可能让机器像人类一样思考？这是人工智能，即 'AI '领域研究中的一个问题。要像人类一样思考，就涉及到感情、道德、希望和梦想，人类能够在不需要他人输入的情况下自己做出决定，并且可以从经验中学习到知识.
In addition, humans are able to create things from their own inspiration for their own pleasure. The question is whether machines can ever really think in all these aspects.
此外，人类还能根据自己的灵感创造出自己喜欢的东西。问题是，机器是否真的能在所有这些方面进行思考。
The idea of a computer that is all-powerful and can think and make decisions for itself terrifies many people. In some films, Al even decides that all humans must be killed. Many people are also concerned that AI will be used to replace humans.
一台全能的电脑，可以自己思考和做决定，这个想法让很多人感到恐惧。在一些电影中，Al甚至决定必须杀死所有的人类。很多人还担心人工智能会被用来取代人类。
Yet others are comforted by the thought of Al, Maybe with Al, robots can be made to replace loved ones who have died. Today, the creation of an all-powerful computer capable of human thought is still in progress. We have companion robots, and it is likely that they will grow more important in our lives as time goes by. However, the need for such robots does not seem to be as critical as our head for intelligent machines that can solve problems by learning from their observations and experience.
然而也有人因为想到了Al而感到欣慰，也许有了Al，就可以让机器人来代替死去的亲人。如今，能够实现人类思维的全能计算机的创造还在进行中。我们已经有了陪伴机器人，而且随着时间的推移，它们在我们生活中的重要性可能会越来越大。然而，对于这种机器人的需求似乎并不像我们的脑袋那样关键，我们需要的是能够通过观察和经验的学习来解决问题的智能机器。
For example, Al is already being used with great success in Internet search engines and as a personal assistant in our smartphones. It learns from our habits to help us find what we want and like. Al is also used to diagnose problems and suggest solutions. Researchers are also experimenting with the use of Al in driverless cars which can sense their surroundings and decide on the best way to reach a destination. It is also being used in education, particularly in online courses. Furthermore, industries that use robots for repetitive or dangerous work often turn to Al to manage these electronic workers. In addition, virtual assistants are also being used in some homes today. In the near future, it is likely that Al will be used to manage smart homes and handle an even greater variety of tasks such as setting out favourite clothes and helping us with our personal grooming.
例如，Al已经在互联网搜索引擎和我们智能手机的个人助理中得到了非常成功的应用。它可以从我们的习惯中学习，帮助我们找到我们想要和喜欢的东西。Al还被用来诊断问题并提出解决方案。研究人员还在尝试将Al用于无人驾驶汽车，它可以感知周围环境并决定到达目的地的最佳方式。它还被用于教育，特别是在线课程。此外，那些使用机器人进行重复性或危险性工作的行业往往会求助于Al来管理这些电子工人。此外，如今一些家庭也在使用虚拟助理。在不久的将来，Al很有可能被用来管理智能家居，并处理更多种类的任务，比如摆放喜欢的衣服，帮助我们进行个人修饰。
The Al of today has already proven its superiority to humans in many areas. Do you think that we can create a robot that thinks like a human or one that is even more intelligent? If so, is there truly a difference between AI and a human?
如今的Al已经在很多方面证明了它对人类的优越性。你认为我们可以创造出一个像人类一样思考的机器人，或者是一个更加智能的机器人吗？如果可以，人工智能和人类真的有区别吗？
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