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Marie Curie: Queen of Chemistry 居礼夫人：奉献自我的女科学家

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繁體中文譯本

As the 19th century drew to a close, a remarkable woman was making some of the most important scientific discoveries in history. In a run-down old shed, where she and her husband, Pierre Curie, spent nearly all their time, Marie Curie proved the existence of two undiscovered elements: polonium and radium.

当19世纪接近尾声时，一位杰出的女性做出了一些历史上最重要的科学发现。居礼夫人（玛丽．居礼）与丈夫彼埃尔．居礼花了大半时间在一间老旧破烂的仓库中，证明了两个未被发现的物质的存在：钋与镭。

Marie was born in Warsaw on November 7th, 1867. Her parents were teachers, and some of Marie’s early schooling was conducted by her father, who focused on physics and mathematics. In 1891, she went to Paris, and within three years, she had been awarded master’s degrees in both subjects. She had aimed to return to Poland but gave up that plan when she met Pierre. The fellow scientist would not only become her husband, but also her collaborator.

玛丽于1867年11月7日出生于华沙。她的双亲都是老师，玛丽一部份的早期教育由重视物理与数学的父亲指导。1891年，玛丽前往巴黎，并在三年内获颁物理与数学的硕士学位。玛丽原计划回去波兰，但当她遇见彼埃尔时决定留在巴黎。彼埃尔这位同行的科学家不但成为玛丽的丈夫，也成为她研究时的伙伴。

Marie was interested in recent developments in the study of uranium. In 1896, Henri Becquerel had found the element uranium which emitted rays of invisible radiation, so she began to study the discovery of radiation. Investigating pitchblende, a complex ore containing uranium but also up to 30 other elements, and another uranium ore named chalcocite, Marie realized these substances were far more radioactive than uranium alone. She hypothesized that these ores contained more than one radioactive element – elements that had not yet been discovered.

居礼夫人对当时铀的研究发展很有兴趣。1896年，亨利．柏克勒尔发现铀元素能释放肉眼所看不见的放射线，也因此居礼夫人开始探索放射线。她研究含铀与其他多达30种元素的复合矿石沥青铀矿，并检视另一称为辉铜矿的铀矿，因而发现沥青铀矿与辉铜矿的放射性比铀还强。居礼夫人因此假设沥青铀矿与辉铜矿包含不只一种放射性元素，而且这些放射性元素还未曾被发现。

So interesting was Marie’s work that Pierre abandoned his own research to assist her. In 1898, they had all but proved the existence of the radioactive elements and published their findings on polonium – named after Marie’s motherland, Poland – and radium.

居礼夫人的研究如此的有趣，以致于彼埃尔放下自己的研究去协助她。1898年，他们几乎证实了放射性元素的存在，并发表了他们发现的物质：钋与镭，而钋是以居礼夫人的祖国波兰来命名。

Vocabulary

单词发音

remarkable [rɪˋmɑrkəb!] adj. 非凡的；卓越的

physics [ˋfɪzɪks] n. 物理学

aim to 意欲，旨在

collaborator [kəˋlæbə͵retɚ] n. 合作者；共同研究者

emit [ɪˋmɪt] v. 散发，放射

investigate [ɪnˋvɛstə͵get] v. 调查，研究

abandon [əˋbændən] v. 丢弃；抛弃

assist [əˋsɪst] v. 帮助，协助

name after  以...的名字来命名  to give (a child or a thing) the name of

More Information

单词发音

draw to a close 结束 to end; to come to an end

run-down〔建筑物或地区〕破旧的;  失修的

shed [ʃɛd] n. 棚，小屋

polonium [pəˋlonɪəm] n.【化】钋（一种放射性元素）

radium [ˋredɪəm] n.【化】镭

uranium [jʊˋrenɪəm] n.【化】铀

pitchblende [ˋpɪtʃ͵blɛnd] n.【矿】沥青铀矿

ore [or] n. 矿；矿石

chalcocite [ˋkælkə͵saɪt] n.【矿】辉铜矿

radioactive [͵redɪoˋæktɪv] adj. 放射性的

hypothesize [haɪˋpɑθə͵saɪz] v. 假设，假定

课文朗读

课文讲解

Curie’s discoveries were monumental. But more work was needed to isolate radium and polonium from their ores. Doing this was a long and incredibly difficult process but, after three years of toil in their poorly-equipped Paris shed, the couple finally isolated one tenth of a gram of radium.

居礼夫人的发现相当重要。但将镭与钋从其矿石提炼出来还需更多的努力。提炼镭与钋是个耗时且相当困难的过程。在巴黎设备简陋的仓库中，经历了三年的辛劳，这对夫妻终于提炼出零点一公克的镭。

In 1903, the Curies and Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering radioactive elements. In 1911, Marie was awarded a second Nobel Prize, for isolating pure radium. Between these honors, tragedy struck. In 1906, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon. He left behind Marie and their two children, Irene and Eve.

1903年，居礼夫妇与柏克勒尔因发现放射性元素而共享诺贝尔物理学奖。1911年，居礼夫人因为萃取出纯镭而获颁第二座诺贝尔奖。但悲剧也降临于这些荣耀之间。1906年，彼埃尔被一辆马车撞死，留下居礼夫人与他们的两个小孩，艾琳与伊芙。

Marie devoted herself to further understanding radium and using it to help people. During World War I, Marie set up radiology centers to help with the care of injured soldiers. To help on the frontlines, she fitted automobiles with X-ray units, knowing lives could be saved if doctors could see bullets and broken bones when treating soldiers. Marie and Irene operated these mobile X-ray units on the battleground, doubtless preventing injuries and wounds from leading to many more deaths.

居礼夫人投入所有心血以深入了解镭，并利用镭来帮助人。第一次世界大战期间，她成立了放射医疗中心来帮助照料受伤士兵。在前线时，居礼夫人于救护车上装置X光机，因为她知道医生在治疗士兵时如能看见子弹与断裂的骨头，许多生命将能因此挽回。居礼夫人与艾琳在战场上开着X光车，这无疑地避免了许多因受伤而导致的死亡。

Marie’s achievements were numerous, and her work always served to help humanity and further knowledge. Furthermore, she made all of her accomplishments against the backdrop of a society in which women were second-class citizens. She set up the Radium Institute where studies into radium’s many uses in science, industry, and medicine were carried out. Marie worked there until she died in 1934 from radiation exposure. Her years of work with radioactive materials, work that saved so many, eventually ended her own life.

居礼夫人的成就非凡，她的努力总是帮助人类并增进知识。此外，她在当时认为女性是二等公民的社会背景下完成她的所有成就。居礼夫人并设立了镭研究所，专门研究镭在科学、工业与医疗上的许多用途。她一直在镭研究所工作，直到1934年才因过度暴露于辐射下而去世。多年来居礼夫人对放射性物质的研究虽拯救了许多性命，但最后也结束了她的生命。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

monumental [͵mɑnjəˋmɛnt!] adj. 留存于历史上的；不朽的

isolate [ˋaɪs!͵et] v. 分离〔物质﹑疾病等以作研究〕

toil [tɔɪl] n. 辛苦，劳累

devote oneself to 献身于

radiology [redɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n. 放射学

automobile [ˋɔtəmə͵bɪl] n. 汽车

battleground [ˋbæt!͵graʊnd] n. 战场

doubtless [ˋdaʊtlɪs] adv. 无疑地，必定地

lead to  导致...后果

furthermore [ˋfɝðɚˋmor] adv. 而且，此外

backdrop [ˋbæk͵drɑp] n. 背景

institute [ˋɪnstətjut] n.（教育、专业等）机构

exposure [ɪkˋspoʒɚ] n. 暴露；暴晒

Reading Questions

1.   Which of the following is NOT true?

A.  Marie was Polish.

B.  Marie studied in the U.S. during the 1890s.    

C.  Marie won the Nobel Prize twice.

D.  Marie had two daughters.

2.   Which of the following is true about Marie and Pierre?

A.  The first time she met Pierre was in Poland.

B.  He helped her to prove her theories.

C.  They rarely shared their ideas.

D.  Marie abandoned her research to help Pierre.

3.   What drove Marie in her scientific work?

A.  She wanted to impress her husband.

B.  She wanted to help humankind.

C.  She wanted to become rich.

D.  She wanted to receive prestigious awards.

4.   Based on the information in the passage, what is true about radium?

A.  It’s not as radioactive as uranium.

B.  It’s easy to isolate from its ore.

C.  It can save lives, but over time it can also kill.

D.  It’s named after Pierre’s homeland.

Marie Curie

Answer