《艾伦图灵传》第1章1:他得学会合群

 Part One THE LOGICAL Esprit de Corps¹

第一章：他得学会合群

Beginning my studies the first step pleas'd me so much,

探索伊始，我心已醉。

The mere² fact consciousness, these forms, the power of motion,

只说那微妙的知觉，形态，力量，

The least insect or animal, the senses, eyesight, love,

只说那轻巧的昆虫，动物，还有感受，还有目光，

The first step I say awed³ me and pleas'd me so much,

还有爱，都让我由心敬畏，欣然忘食。

I have hardly gone and hardly wish'd to go any farther,

我止步不前，不再期待远方，

But stop and loiter all the time to sing it in ecstatic songs.

我要留在这里，用狂喜的曲子，不住地歌唱。

A son of the British Empire, Alan Turing's social origins lay just on the borderline between the landed gentry⁴ and the commercial classes. As merchants, soldiers and clergymen, his ancestors had been gentlemen, but not of the settled kind. Many of them had made their way through the expansion of British interests throughout the world.

大英帝国之子艾伦·图灵，出身于一个半贵族半资产阶级的家族。在他的祖先中，有上流社会的商人、军人和牧师。随着不列颠席卷全球的扩张，他们也开拓了自己的世界。

The Turings could be traced back to Turins of Foveran, Aberdeenshire, in the fourteenth century. There was a baronetcy in the family, created in about 1638 for a John Turing, who left Scotland for England. Audentes Fortuna Juvat (Fortune Helps the Daring) was the motto of the Turings, but however brave, they were never very lucky. Sir John Turing backed the losing side in the English civil war, while Foveran was sacked by the Covenanters. Denied compensation after the Restoration, the Turings languished in obscurity during the eighteenth century, as the family history, the Lay of the Turings1, was to describe:

上溯到公元14世纪，图灵家族发源于北苏格兰阿伯丁郡的佛汶然地区。1638年，这个家族里有一位准男爵，叫约翰·图灵，他离开了苏格兰，来到英格兰。图灵家族的信条是「勇者好运」，但不幸的是，约翰勇气有余，却没遇到好运。在英国内战中，准男爵吃了败仗，佛汶然遭到大肆洗掠，在王政复辟后，他也没有得到赔偿。于是，到了18世纪，图灵的家族没落了。在他的家史上，有这么一首歌谣：

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。