第3章 埃文斯牧师的宇宙 The Reverend Evans's Universe · 第1讲S4

1. 老师，讲稿里用‘在铺黑布的桌子上撒盐’来比喻寻找超新星，这个类比到底想说明啥？为啥非得是黑布和盐粒呀？
2. 文中提到‘grains’不光指庄稼，还指盐粒、沙粒，那‘a grain of salt’除了字面意思，在英语里还有啥特别的习语用法不？
3. 这里把‘散落的盐粒’比作‘星系里的群星’，那‘supernova’（超新星）在比喻里对应的是哪一粒盐？为啥选这一粒而不是别的？
4. Oliver Sacks 写 Evans 时特意强调‘no suggestion that he is autistic’，但又说 Evans 像‘autistic servant’，这种矛盾的说法到底想暗示啥？
5. 讲稿最后提到电影《雨人》里的自闭症天才，这和 Evans 的天才有啥共同点？这种‘特殊才能’是不是都跟无法解释来源有关？

1. Teacher, the lecture uses the analogy of 'throwing salt on a black tablecloth' to describe finding a supernova. What exactly does this analogy explain? Why specifically black cloth and salt grains?
2. The text mentions that 'grains' doesn't just mean crops, but also salt or sand. Besides the literal meaning, does 'a grain of salt' have any special idiomatic usage in English?
3. Here, 'scattered grains' are compared to 'stars in a galaxy'. Which specific grain of salt corresponds to the 'supernova' in the analogy? Why that one and not others?
4. Oliver Sacks writes about Evans and specifically states 'no suggestion that he is autistic', yet also describes Evans as an 'autistic servant'. What is the implication behind this contradictory phrasing?
5. The lecture ends by mentioning the movie *Rain Man* and autistic savants. How does Evans' talent compare to that? Is it true that such 'special talents' are always unexplainable in origin?

1 00:00:05,650 --> 00:00:08,210 To understand what a feat this is, 2 00:00:08,430 --> 00:00:12,650 imagine a standard dining room table covered in a black 3 00:00:12,650 --> 00:00:15,690 tablecloth and someone throwing a handful of salt 4 00:00:15,690 --> 00:00:20,490 across it.A feat means an impressive achievement, 5 00:00:21,110 --> 00:00:25,150 impressive because it needs a lot of skill or strength 6 00:00:25,150 --> 00:00:28,670 to do it,指的是非凡的成就, 7 00:00:28,810 --> 00:00:32,270 往往是非常难以完成的一项事业。 8 00:00:32,270 --> 00:00:39,157 一件事情比如说登上珠峰这是一个 fe at 为了了解这件 9 00:00:39,157 --> 00:00:44,170 事情的难度让我们来想象一下 a standard dining room 10 00:00:44,170 --> 00:00:50,550 table 一个标准的仓桌上面盖着黑布然后有人往上面 11 00:00:50,550 --> 00:00:52,910 洒了一把盐 the 12 00:00:52,940 --> 00:00:58,480 scattered grains can be thought of as a galaxygrains 指 13 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:04,980 的是洒在上面的盐粒 grains 并不都是指庄稼的意思它 14 00:01:04,980 --> 00:01:10,280 常常是指这种细小的微粒比如说沙粒就叫 grains a 15 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:16,960 grain of salt 一粒沙还有米粒也是 grains 现在这里指 16 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,720 的是盐粒 scattered 就是散落散落的那些盐粒可以被 17 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,660 看成是星系里的群星 18 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:30,620 Now imagine 1500 more tables like the first one 好, 19 00:01:30,700 --> 00:01:37,610 现在我们来想象,还有五千张像刚才那样的桌子, 20 00:01:37,650 --> 00:01:39,690 一模一样的桌子有五千张。 21 00:01:40,150 --> 00:01:42,910 Enough to fill a Walmart parking lot. 22 00:01:43,130 --> 00:01:48,950 这五千张桌子足以摆满一个沃尔玛超市的停车场。 23 00:01:49,290 --> 00:01:52,630 Walmart 就是沃尔玛超市。 24 00:01:54,550 --> 00:01:57,050 Say,举个例子,就是随便举一下, 25 00:01:57,110 --> 00:01:58,710 是某个超市的停车场。 26 00:01:58,710 --> 00:02:05,190 or to make a single line two miles long 如果把这些餐桌 27 00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:12,830 一个一个排队一次排开的话那要排两英里长也就是三 28 00:02:12,830 --> 00:02:19,590 公里 each with a random array of salt across it 每张桌子 29 00:02:19,590 --> 00:02:26,830 上都有一把盐 random 就是随意的没有规律的 array 是 30 00:02:26,830 --> 00:02:30,970 arrangement 就是排列的意思这个词之前也学过 31 00:02:31,970 --> 00:02:34,690 每张桌子桌子都跟刚才的那个 32 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:40,730 第一张桌子是一样的随便撒了一把盐好了现在让这个 33 00:02:40,730 --> 00:02:48,850 Evans 牧师去看一眼这些桌子记住盐的排列的状态然 34 00:02:48,850 --> 00:02:52,490 后呢 Add one grain of salt to any table 35 00:02:53,340 --> 00:02:59,680 然后随便往某一张桌子上扔那么一粒的盐 And 36 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,540 let Bob Evans walk among them 再让 Bob Evans 到 37 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:11,240 里边去转一转看一看 At a glance he will spot it 他一眼 38 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,240 就能够发现这一粒加进去的盐 That 39 00:03:15,330 --> 00:03:17,890 grain of salt is the supernova 40 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:22,500 那加进去的那一粒盐呢就是超新星 41 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,520 这是一个类比让我们理解在 42 00:03:26,740 --> 00:03:34,230 天空中寻找超新星是怎样的一种体验 Evans is a talent 43 00:03:34,230 --> 00:03:39,270 so exceptional that Oliver Sacks in an anthropologist 44 00:03:39,270 --> 00:03:44,150 on Marsdevotes a passage to him in a chapter on autistic 45 00:03:44,150 --> 00:03:48,290 servantsquickly adding that there is no suggestion 46 00:03:48,290 --> 00:03:49,710 that he is autistic 47 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:51,880 Evans is 48 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,280 这里指的是 Evans 49 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,120 talent 是省略了 Evan's talent is a talent so 50 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:04,620 exceptional 就是他的才能是如此不同反响的才能他 51 00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:09,620 是个非常特殊的天才 exceptional 这个词之前应该是 52 00:04:09,620 --> 00:04:14,740 见过的 except 是指除了 exceptional 就是例外的一种 53 00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:16,400 情况与众不同的 54 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:22,580 他是如此特殊的天才因此 Oliver Sacks 在他写的一本 55 00:04:22,580 --> 00:04:28,980 书叫做 Anthropologist on Mars 我心上的人类学家在 56 00:04:29,270 --> 00:04:34,930 这本书里面呢他花了一整段 Devotes a passage to him 他 57 00:04:34,930 --> 00:04:38,910 专门花了一段来写这个 Evans 这个人 In 58 00:04:39,070 --> 00:04:45,690 a chapter on autistic servants Autistic 是指患自闭症 59 00:04:45,690 --> 00:04:52,090 的自闭症的人呢就是他不能够跟周围的人交流沟通不 60 00:04:52,090 --> 00:05:00,060 愿意跟别人讲话 Seventh 是天才这种天才往往是指在 61 00:05:00,060 --> 00:05:06,060 某一个方面非常突出但是呢平时又跟人无法交流平常 62 00:05:06,060 --> 00:05:08,480 又看得显得很傻的这种样子 63 00:05:15,150 --> 00:05:20,110 在他写了一整段就划了一整段来写这个 events 写了之 64 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:24,410 后呢然后赶紧又加了一句说 There is no suggestion 65 00:05:24,410 --> 00:05:30,010 that he is autistic 好像他也并没有自闭症的迹象就是 66 00:05:30,010 --> 00:05:33,430 我并没有说他是自闭症患者 Even 67 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,700 who has not met sex Love set the suggestion that he might 68 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:42,620 be either autistic or a servant 69 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,840 虽然前面他说 There is no suggestion that he is 70 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:51,640 autistic 其实呢说起来有点此地无垠三百两的样子其 71 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,720 实还是有一种这个 suggestion 有种暗示, 72 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:59,940 就是这个人就是一个自闭症患者要不然就是一个天才 73 00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:02,620 对此呢,他一笑置之, 74 00:06:02,700 --> 00:06:07,080 他觉得挺好笑的 But he is powerless to explain quite 75 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,200 where his talent comes from It 76 00:06:10,490 --> 00:06:15,330 means he is unable to explain exactly where his talent 77 00:06:15,330 --> 00:06:19,760 comes from 但是他自己也无法解释自己的这种才能到 78 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:20,950 底是哪来的 79 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,720 关于自闭症天才 80 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:30,120 有一部电影叫 Rain Man 就是女人这里边有讲到这就是 81 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,380 一个患有自闭症的人平常看过去傻傻的但是他有非凡 82 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:36,580 的技术能力 83 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,860 一把牙签掉到地上他看一眼就知道有多少根