第5章 敲石头的人 The Stone-Breakers · 第2讲S4

1. 老师，讲稿里说Charles Lyell的讲座描述让人心里很平静（tranquilizing），但这明明是个枯燥的话题，为什么用这个词？是不是在委婉地批评他不精彩？
2. 这里的'not least'字面意思是'不是最不重要的'，那它实际想表达的是'最不重要的'还是'特别重要的'？能不能举个更生活化的例子？
3. 'Aeronautically challenged birds'这种说法好奇怪，为什么不用直接说'birds that can't fly well'？这种委婉语在英语里常见吗？
4. 为什么19世纪的英国学者搞地质研究还要穿'top hats and dark suits'甚至学术长袍？这跟他们的研究内容有什么联系吗？
5. Murchison之前一直在骑马追狐狸玩，怎么突然就变成地质学巨人了？这种转变是偶然发现兴趣，还是有什么深层原因？

1. Teacher, the transcript says Charles Lyell's lecture descriptions were 'tranquilizing,' but since it's such a boring topic, why use that word? Is it a polite way of saying he wasn't interesting at all?
2. The phrase 'not least' literally means 'not the least important,' so does it actually mean 'the least important' or 'especially important'? Could you give a more colloquial example?
3. The phrase 'aeronautically challenged birds' sounds so weird. Why not just say 'birds that can't fly well'? Is this kind of euphemism common in English?
4. Why did 19th-century British scholars wear 'top hats and dark suits' or academic gowns while doing geological research? Is there a connection between their attire and their work?
5. Murchison used to spend his time riding horses and chasing foxes. How did he suddenly become a geological giant? Was this shift just a random discovery of interest, or was there a deeper reason?

1 00:00:07,300 --> 00:00:10,520 The Great Charles Lyell traveled to America to give a 2 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,500 series of lectures in Boston Sell out audiences of 3, 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,660 000 at a timepacked into the Law Institute to hear his 4 00:00:18,660 --> 00:00:21,820 tranquilizing descriptions of marine zeolites and 5 00:00:21,820 --> 00:00:25,560 seismic perturbations in Campania A 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,500 sell out means an event for which all the tickets are 7 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:34,040 sold Every concert of hers has been a sell out 他的每一 8 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:39,300 场演唱会都是满座票都是全部卖光的这里的 sell out 9 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:45,240 类似形容词修饰这个 audience1841 年伟大的 Charles 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,060 Lyell 飘洋过海来到美国的波士顿在 Lowell Institute 11 00:00:50,060 --> 00:00:53,560 在 Lowell 学会发表了一系列的演讲 12 00:00:54,060 --> 00:01:01,000 每个场次的入场券有 3000 张常常都卖得精光人们争先 13 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:07,020 恐后地前往聆听他 His tranquilizing description of 14 00:01:07,020 --> 00:01:13,360 marine zeolites 这就是 zeolite 废石可以用来做过滤 15 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,780 进行污水处理用的还有 seismic perturbations in 16 00:01:17,780 --> 00:01:22,800 Campaniaseismic 是地震方面的 perturbation 我们先 17 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,400 要知道它这个动词 perturbperturb means worried or 18 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:32,180 disturbed 表示心情的时候可以看这个例句 William 19 00:01:32,180 --> 00:01:35,340 looked a little perturbed 看起来有点不安 20 00:01:36,350 --> 00:01:40,470 He didn't seem perturbed by the noises outside 他好像 21 00:01:40,470 --> 00:01:45,550 没有受到外面噪音的影响那这里说到的 Syzmic 22 00:01:45,550 --> 00:01:50,590 perturbation 指的是地震的老洞地底下比较不安的这 23 00:01:50,590 --> 00:01:54,530 种状况 In companion 这个是意大利南部的一个地方 24 00:01:55,250 --> 00:01:58,470 好现在看一下这个 Tranquilizing descriptions 25 00:02:00,660 --> 00:02:05,440 说这个 Lyle 对废石和地震波的这个描述是 26 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,440 Tranquilizing Tranquil 我们先看他的形容词 27 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,320 Tranquil Tranquil means pleasantly calmquiet and 28 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:14,740 peaceful 29 00:02:15,580 --> 00:02:20,980 宁静的我记得前几课也跟大家说过这个词 A small 30 00:02:20,980 --> 00:02:22,220 tranquil village 31 00:02:23,050 --> 00:02:29,770 一个宁静的村庄 Tranquilize 就是让人感到宁静说 32 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:35,140 他对这个 zeolite 和 seismic perturbation 的描述让人 33 00:02:35,140 --> 00:02:40,080 听了心里面很平静这是什么意思呢不是让人感到非常 34 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:45,540 excited 吗不是是 tranquilizing 实际上这也是比较客 35 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:52,500 气的说法不便名说意思就是让人听了昏昏欲睡也就是 36 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:54,600 讲的一点都不精彩可是 37 00:02:55,050 --> 00:03:00,350 当时的人们还是三千人又涌到这个 Law Institute 去听 38 00:03:00,350 --> 00:03:01,110 他的讲座 39 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:19,940 Modern 这个词有现代的意思也有近代的意思我们从上 40 00:03:19,940 --> 00:03:24,420 下文可以看出来这里讲的主要是 18 世纪的情况所以翻 41 00:03:24,420 --> 00:03:30,660 译成近代要比较准确在整个的近代思想界尤其在英国 42 00:03:30,660 --> 00:03:36,940 有学问的人都喜欢到农村去做一点所谓的迫使研究 It 43 00:03:36,940 --> 00:03:41,080 was a pursuit taken seriously 这个事情当时是看得很 44 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,660 认真的也是一件很时尚的事情 And I tended to dress 45 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,340 with appropriate gravity 46 00:03:47,900 --> 00:03:51,060 他们的穿着呢往往都是 with appropriate 47 00:03:51,060 --> 00:03:56,480 gravitygravity 这个词我们见过非常多次了就是重力 48 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:01,620 吸引力但是在这里却不是重力和吸引力的意思放在这 49 00:04:01,620 --> 00:04:05,760 如果解释为重力就讲不通了所以我们可以查一下词典 50 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:07,260 你就会知道 grave 51 00:04:08,020 --> 00:04:13,540 还有别的意思形容词 grave means serious and solemn 52 00:04:13,540 --> 00:04:19,060 The teacher gave me a grave look 老师很严肃地看了我一 53 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:19,260 眼 54 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,920 所以这 gravity 意思是庄重严肃他们都穿得非常的庄 55 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:29,080 重严肃怎么穿呢 in top hats and dark suits 56 00:04:30,830 --> 00:04:34,990 戴着 top hats 穿着深色的西装之前 57 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,480 我给大家看过的那个油画上的这个 geologist 在做这 58 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,460 个 stone breaking 的时候就是这样穿着的这个 top hat, 59 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:50,080 dark suitexcept for the reverend William Buckland of 60 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:55,340 Oxford 除了牛津的 William Buckland 他不是穿着 top 61 00:04:55,340 --> 00:04:57,820 hats and dark suits 他穿的是什么呢 62 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:05,000 这 63 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,680 就是现在的学术服当时的学术服应该不是这个样子但 64 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:15,900 大体是那么个意思有那么点感觉吧早期大学中的学者 65 00:05:15,900 --> 00:05:16,960 都是牧师 66 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:23,080 所以僧侣的黑色长袍和头巾慢慢就演变成了大学里的 67 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:23,720 礼服 68 00:05:24,260 --> 00:05:29,420 当时的大学生还有教师日常就是穿这样的 academic 69 00:05:29,420 --> 00:05:34,780 gown 并不是像现在这样现在只有毕业的时候才穿一下 70 00:05:34,780 --> 00:05:39,780 这种 academic gown 但是平常就穿着但是平常这个帽子 71 00:05:39,780 --> 00:05:45,900 呢它的流苏是放在右边的毕业的时候由校长把这个流 72 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:52,340 苏拨到左边那这样就说明他毕业获得这个学位了 The 73 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,960 field attracted many extraordinary figures 74 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:27,480 We had many things to consider, 75 00:06:27,660 --> 00:06:30,220 not least the safety of our children. 76 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,460 我们有很多事情要考虑, 77 00:06:32,540 --> 00:06:34,440 尤其是孩子的安全。 78 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,600 Not least 可以这样理解, 79 00:06:36,780 --> 00:06:39,020 least 表示最不重要的, 80 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:43,060 那么 not least 就把最不重要的再否定了。 81 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,740 所以实际上就是指最重要的, 82 00:06:45,780 --> 00:06:47,820 尤其是实 83 00:06:48,780 --> 00:06:53,080 地考察工作吸引了很多不同寻常的人物, 84 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,040 尤其是我们先前提到的那位 Murchison Afore 85 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,860 mentioned 相当于是 Before mentioned 有前面提到的 86 00:07:00,860 --> 00:07:05,520 Murchison Who spent the first 30 years or so of his life 87 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:11,960 这位 Murchison 的最初的 30 年是怎么度过的呢他都是 88 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,160 在 G alloping after foxes G alloping means running fast 89 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:24,060 on horses 有骑马奔驰有骑着马追 foxes 追狐狸喜欢打 90 00:07:24,060 --> 00:07:29,000 猎打猎在当时就是贵族的一种非常时尚的运动 91 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,240 converting aer onautically challenged birds into 92 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,180 pups of drifting feathers with buckshot 93 00:07:36,180 --> 00:07:40,410 aeronautically challenged birds 我们看一下 94 ……（后略，完整文稿见视频页字幕）