8-10 诺贝尔大师自传：罗阿尔德·霍夫曼（在线收听）

Autobiography of Nobel Prize Winner: Roald Hoffmann

I came to a happy Jewish family in dark days in Europe. On July 18, 1937 I was born in Zloczew, Poland. My family left Poland for Czechoslovakia in 1946. On Washington's Birthday 1949 we came to the United States.

In 1955 I began at Columbia College as a premedical¹ student. That summer and the next I worked at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington with E.S. Newman and R.E. Ferguson. The summer after I worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory, with J.P.Cumming. These summers were important because they introduced me to the joys of research, and kept me going through some routine courses at Columbia. I did have some good chemistry teachers, G.K. Fraenkel and R.S. Halford, and a superb teaching assistant, R. Schneider.

In 1958 I began graduate work at Harvard and received my doctorate² in 1962, as the first Harvard Ph.D. of both Lipscomb and Gouterman. That last year at Harvard was exciting. I was learning organic chemistry at a great pace, and I had gained access to a superior mind. R.B. Woodward possessed clarity of thought, encyclopedic³ knowledge of chemistry, and an aesthetic⁴ sense unparalleled⁵ in modern chemistry. He taught me, and I have taught others.

My first real introduction to poetry came at Columbia from Mark Van Doren, the great teacher and critic whose influence was at its height in the 1950's. Through the years I maintained an interest in literature, particularly German and Russian literature. I began to write poetry in the mid-seventies, but it was only in 1984 that a poem was first published.

The language of science is a language under stress. Words are being made to describe things that seem indescribable⁶ in words - equations⁷ chemical structures and so forth. Words do not, cannot mean all that they stand for, yet they are all we have to describe experience. By being a natural language under tension, the language of science is inherently⁸ poetic. There is metaphor⁹ aplenty¹⁰ in science. Emotions emerge shaped as states of matter and more interestingly, matter acts out what goes on in the soul.

One thing is certainly not true: that scientists have some greater insight into the workings of nature than poets. Interestingly, I find that many humanists deep down feel that scientists have such inner knowledge that is barred to them. Perhaps we scientists do, but in such carefully circumscribed pieces of the universe! Poetry soars¹¹, all around the tangible¹², in deep dark, through a world we reveal and make.

Writing has become increasingly important to me. I expect to publish four books in the next few years. Science will figure in these, but only as a part, a vital part, of the risky enterprise of being human.

注释：

1. premedical [5pri:5medikEl] adj.  医学预科的

2. doctorate [5dCktErit] n.  博士学位

3. encyclopedic [en7saiklEu5pi:dik] a. = encyclopaedic 知识广博的，百科全书式的

4. aesthetic [i:s5Wetik] a.  美学的，美感的

5. unparalleled [7Qn5pArEleld] a.  无比的，无双的，独一无二的，独特的

6. indescribable [7indi5skraibEbl] a.  难以形容的，描写不出的

7. equation [i5kweiFEn] n.  [数] 等式，方程(式)

8. inherently [In5hIErEntlI] ad.  内在地，固有地，生来就有地

9. metaphor [5metEfE] n.  隐喻

10. aplenty [E5plenti] a.  丰富的，充裕的，绰绰有余的

11. soar [sC:] vi.  高飞，翱翔，升高，升腾

12. tangible [5tAndVEbl] n.  可触知的东西，实际的东西

诺贝尔大师自传：罗阿尔德·霍夫曼

在欧洲黑暗的日子里，我降生到一个幸福的犹太人家庭。那是1937年7月18日，在波兰的兹沃切夫。1946年，我们全家离开波兰去了捷克斯洛伐克。1949年，华盛顿生日那天，我们一家人来到了美国。

1955年，我作为医学预科生进入了哥伦比亚大学。那年夏天和次年夏天，我在华盛顿的国家标准局与E.S.纽曼和R.E.弗格森一起工作。第三年夏天，我在布鲁克黑文国家实验室与J.P.卡明一起工作。这几个夏天非常重要，因为它们引领我尝到了研究的乐趣，并且使我完成了在哥伦比亚大学的一些常规课程。我确实遇到了一些优秀的化学老师，像G.K.弗伦克尔和R.S.哈尔福德，还有一位出色的教学助理R.施奈德。

1958年，我开始了在哈佛的研究生生活，并于1962年获得博士学位，是利普斯科姆和古特曼的第一个哈佛博士。在哈佛的最后一年是激动人心的，我很快掌握了有机化学，并接触到一位天才。R.B.伍德瓦德先生思路清晰，化学知识渊博，对现代化学有着无与伦比的审美意识。他传授给我，我又传授给其他人。

我第一次真正接触诗歌是在哥伦比亚大学，是马克·范多伦引我入门的。他是一位杰出的教师和评论家，20世纪50年代他的影响达到了顶峰。这些年来我一直对文学保持着兴趣，特别是对德国和俄国文学。70年代中期，我开始写诗，但是直到1984年，我的第一首诗才得以发表。

科学的语言是在重压之下形成的语言。词汇被创造出来，用以描述那些似乎用词汇难以描述的事物——方程式、化学结构等等。词汇不是，也不可能意味着它所代表的事物的全部内容，但我们只有用词汇来描述经历。科学语言是在压力下形成的一种自然语言，生来就富有诗意。科学中蕴含着丰富的隐喻。情感作为物质形态出现，而更有意思的是，物质又把人的灵魂表现出来。

有一点肯定是不正确的，即科学家对于自然活动的洞察力要强于诗人。有趣的是，我发现许多人文学者深深地感到，科学家们拥有那种对事物深层次的认识，而他们没有。也许我们科学家确实如此，但仅是在宇宙被精确限定的那些部分。在我们展现和创造的世界里，诗歌得以在任何方面、在深深的黑暗中尽情翱翔。

对我来说，写作变得越来越重要。我希望在今后几年里能够出版4本书。在这些书中，会谈到科学，但只是作为人类的冒险事业的一部分，极其重要的一部分。