第7章 元素那些事 Elemental Matters · 第2讲

1. 讲稿里说拉瓦西做了很多事，但唯一没做的是 'discover an element'。既然当时有三分之二的元素还没被发现，他拥有那么豪华的实验室（13,000个烧杯），为什么他反而一个元素都没发现呢？这听起来有点反直觉。
2. 文中提到 'dismissive remarks' 和动词 'dismiss'，老师解释说是因为觉得对方的观点错误或不重要而直接打发。能举个生活中的例子吗？比如什么时候我们会对别人的建议 'dismiss' 掉？
3. 讲稿里把 'combustion'（燃烧）解释为 'the process of burning'，又提到拉瓦西抛弃了 'phlogiston'（燃素）学说。这两个概念之间有啥区别？为什么拉瓦西认为燃素说是错的，而新的燃烧理论是对的？
4. 这里有个虚拟语气 'If you burned this book now... its matter would be changed'。为什么这里要用过去式 'burned' 和 'would be'？作者为什么要用这个假设的例子来解释质量守恒，而不是直接说事实？
5. 拉瓦西提出了 'conservation of mass'（质量守恒）这个革命性的概念，但讲稿最后说他 'coincided with another type of revolution'（法国大革命）且 'on the wrong side'。他的科学成就和他个人的悲惨命运之间，你觉得有什么内在联系或讽刺意味吗？

1. The transcript says Lavoisier did many things, but the one thing he never did was 'discover an element'. Since two-thirds of the elements were still undiscovered at that time, and he had such a luxurious lab with 13,000 beakers, why did he fail to discover a single element? This seems counterintuitive.
2. The text mentions 'dismissive remarks' and the verb 'dismiss', explaining it as dismissing someone's ideas because you think they are wrong or unimportant. Can you give a real-life example? When would we 'dismiss' someone's advice?
3. The transcript explains 'combustion' as 'the process of burning' and mentions that Lavoisier discarded the 'phlogiston' theory. What is the difference between these two concepts? Why did Lavoisier think the phlogiston theory was wrong and the new theory of combustion was correct?
4. There is a subjunctive mood sentence here: 'If you burned this book now... its matter would be changed'. Why use the past tense 'burned' and 'would be'? Why did the author use this hypothetical example to explain the conservation of mass instead of stating a fact?
5. Lavoisier proposed the revolutionary concept of 'conservation of mass', but the transcript ends by saying he 'coincided with another type of revolution' (the French Revolution) and was 'on the wrong side'. What do you think is the connection or irony between his scientific achievements and his tragic fate?

1 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:26,440 就是在这样的一个岗位上也就是作为皇家科学院的首 2 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,800 席科学家这样的一个岗位上他 3 00:00:30,020 --> 00:00:33,560 呢 made some dismissive remarks about a new theory of 4 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:34,000 combustion 5 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,700 那这个 dismissive 我们要看到他的动词 dismiss to 6 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:43,560 dismiss means to refuse to consider somethingreject 7 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,240 something because you think it's wrong or un important 8 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:53,280 也就是对别人提出的一些观点一些建议什么的直接就 9 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:58,400 给打发了一句话就打发了就是很轻易的就打发了觉得 10 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:04,580 不值得去多加思考也不值得多说几句话被他否定的拒 11 00:01:04,580 --> 00:01:08,500 绝接受的这个 New Theory of Combustion Combustion 12 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:11,860 means the process of burning 就是燃烧 13 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,180 是由谁提出来的呢 That had been submitted to the 14 00:01:17,180 --> 00:01:21,900 academy by a hopeful young scientist 是一个满怀希望 15 00:01:21,900 --> 00:01:27,480 的年轻科学家提交给法国科学院的 The 16 00:01:28,180 --> 00:01:29,680 theory was indeed wrong 17 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:36,500 这个理论确实是错的其实他讲的就是那个阳术我们上 18 00:01:36,500 --> 00:01:41,660 一节课有提到阳术的学说那确实是错的纳瓦西就认为 19 00:01:41,660 --> 00:01:42,240 他是错的 20 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,660 但是 The scientist never forgave him 这里说的这个 21 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:48,880 scientist 这个就是那个 young scientist 22 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:55,140 可是呢这位年轻的科学家从此怀恨在心他的 23 00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:58,700 名字就叫做 Jean Paul Mahart 24 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:04,080 学过世界历史的朋友应该对这个名字尤其是这个马拉 25 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,620 就是他的姓对这个应该是有印象的好了这是一个什么 26 00:02:08,620 --> 00:02:13,180 样的人我们现在站起来按下步表到后面再说 The 27 00:02:14,270 --> 00:02:17,410 one thing Lavoisier never did was discover an element 28 00:02:18,150 --> 00:02:23,510 他做了好多的事可是唯一没做的一件事呢就是 To 29 00:02:23,510 --> 00:02:28,510 discover an element 他没有发现任何的元素 At a time 30 00:02:28,510 --> 00:02:31,590 when it seemed as if almost anybody with a beaker, 31 00:02:31,750 --> 00:02:34,930 a flame and some interesting powders could discover 32 00:02:34,930 --> 00:02:36,870 something new,and when, 33 00:02:37,070 --> 00:02:38,490 not incidentally, 34 00:02:38,510 --> 00:02:41,950 some two thirds of the elements were yet to be found, 35 00:02:42,550 --> 00:02:45,630 Lavoisier failed to uncover a single one. 36 00:02:46,450 --> 00:02:48,490 尤其是在那样的一个时代 37 00:02:49,390 --> 00:02:52,510 似乎任何人只要手里有一个烧杯 38 00:02:53,470 --> 00:02:58,670 有一盏火焰灯然后再加上一些有趣的粉末他们都可以 39 00:02:58,670 --> 00:03:00,390 发现一些新的元素 40 00:03:00,870 --> 00:03:04,670 And when not incidentally some two thirds of the 41 00:03:04,670 --> 00:03:09,590 elements were yet to be found 而且在当时有三分之二的 42 00:03:09,590 --> 00:03:11,870 元素都还没有被人发现呢 43 00:03:12,620 --> 00:03:17,700 Not incidentallyinc identally means by the way 比如说 44 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:21,380 inc identally where were you born by the way where were 45 00:03:21,380 --> 00:03:26,120 you born 那么 not incidentally 也就是这句话我不是随 46 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,640 便一提的这可不是 by the way 这样随便这么提出来的 47 00:03:31,220 --> 00:03:36,420 所以这个 not incidentally 意思是尤其值得特别关注 48 00:03:36,420 --> 00:03:41,500 的是当时有三分之二的元素都还没有被人发现在这样 49 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:42,260 的情况下 50 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,060 他一个元素都没发现 51 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,040 to uncover means to discoverun 跟 dis 都是表示否定的 52 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,560 一个前缀 it certainly wasn't for want of beakers 这个 53 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:01,740 want 是名词也就是 it certainly wasn't for lack of 54 00:04:01,740 --> 00:04:05,600 beakers 是缺少的意思并不是想要需要 55 00:04:06,290 --> 00:04:10,490 当然这不是因为他没有烧杯 Lavoisier had 13, 56 00:04:10,930 --> 00:04:15,830 000 of them in what was to an almost preposterous degree 57 00:04:15,830 --> 00:04:20,670 the finest private laboratory in existence13, 58 00:04:21,650 --> 00:04:27,290 000 of them 指的就是前面的 beakers 他拥有 13, 59 00:04:27,650 --> 00:04:33,870 000 of them 一万三千个烧杯 in what was the finest 60 00:04:33,870 --> 00:04:35,630 private laboratory in existence 61 00:04:36,370 --> 00:04:40,870 他拥有一个最好的私人实验室这个私人实验室好到了 62 00:04:40,870 --> 00:04:44,810 什么程度呢 To an almost preposterous degree To an 63 00:04:44,810 --> 00:04:49,710 absurd and ridiculous degree 好到了不像样的程度就 64 00:04:49,710 --> 00:04:53,530 好到了荒唐的程度根本就没有必要那么的好 65 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,460 比如烧杯嘛有必要有一万多个吗所以这里这个 66 00:04:58,460 --> 00:05:01,460 preposterous 就是强调他的这个实验室 67 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:07,220 豪华的程度那这当然是因为他的这个作为包税官的职 68 00:05:07,220 --> 00:05:08,420 业给他赚了很多钱 69 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,200 Instead he took the discoveries of others and made 70 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:17,400 sense of them 他虽然自己没有发现一些元素可是他对 71 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,140 别人发现的那些元素有了更多的认识 He threw out 72 00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:24,840 phlogiston and mephitic errors Throw out means he gave 73 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:28,700 up 就是他放弃了抛弃了这样的学说这个 phlogiston 就 74 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:33,720 是前面说过的燃素他抛弃了这个燃素学说还有前面说 75 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,280 过的什么恶臭气 76 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,520 什么腐败的空气之类的 77 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:48,640 他确认了氧气和氢气 78 00:05:49,460 --> 00:05:57,140 觉得是发现了他们的真实的性质这两个名字呢就是他 79 00:05:57,140 --> 00:05:57,720 起的 80 00:05:58,710 --> 00:06:03,690 我们可以看一下 hydrogen 这个词的构成 hydro 就是水 81 00:06:03,690 --> 00:06:08,630 这个 gen 的意思是产生比如说 to generate 现在我们英 82 00:06:08,630 --> 00:06:12,390 文当中这个 generate 这个词就是产生的意思那整个 83 00:06:12,390 --> 00:06:19,010 hydrogen 字面意思就是从水中产生的那当时他就是把 84 00:06:19,010 --> 00:06:25,190 水拿去电解得到了氢气和氧气 in short he helped to 85 00:06:25,190 --> 00:06:25,970 bring rigor, 86 00:06:26,130 --> 00:06:30,750 clarity and method to chemistry 这个 Clarity 是 Clear, 87 00:06:30,910 --> 00:06:34,490 清晰的那个 Clear 的名词简单的说, 88 00:06:34,630 --> 00:06:41,750 这位拉瓦西在化学走上规范严格条理分明跟讲究方法 89 00:06:41,750 --> 00:06:44,750 的道路上他是做出了很多贡献的 90 00:07:00,450 --> 00:07:05,270 and his fancy equipment did in fact come in very handy to 91 00:07:05,270 --> 00:07:09,370 come in very handy means to be especially useful 他的那 92 00:07:09,370 --> 00:07:15,270 套豪华的实验设备后来的确是发挥了作用 for years he 93 00:07:15,270 - ……（后略，完整文稿见视频页字幕）