《艾伦图灵传》第1章2:歌谣

 Sir Robert Turing brought back a fortune from India in 1792 and revived the title. But he, and all the senior branches of the family, died off without male heirs, and by 1911 there were but three small clusters of Turings in the world. The baronetcy was held by the 84-year-old eighth baronet, who had been British Consul¹ in Rotterdam. Then there was his brother, and his descendants, who formed a Dutch branch of Turings. The junior branch consisted of the descendants of their cousin, John Robert Turing, who was Alan's grandfather.

歌谣里的故事是这样：1972年，罗伯特·图灵爵士从印度归来，终于带回好运，恢复了爵位和领地。但是，图灵家族并没有真正复兴，因为他和家族的各大支系，都偏偏没儿子。到1911年，图灵家族只剩三个很小的分支，一位84岁的英国驻鹿特丹领事继承了爵位，带领兄弟儿孙，在荷兰形成了一个分支。还有一位约翰·罗伯特·图灵，带着他的后代，形成了另一个小分支，这位就是艾伦·图灵的祖父。

John Robert Turing took a degree in mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1848, and was placed eleventh in rank, but abandoned mathematics for ordination² and a Cambridge curacy. In 1861 he married nineteen year old Fanny Boyd and left Cambridge for a living in Nottinghamshire, where he fathered ten children. Two died in infancy³ and the surviving four girls and four boys were brought up in a regime of respectable poverty on a clerical stipend⁴. Soon after the birth of his youngest son, John Robert suffered a stroke and resigned his living. He died in 1883.

1848年，约翰·罗伯特·图灵以第11名的成绩，获得剑桥大学三一学院的数学学位。但他随后放弃了数学，就任圣职，当了牧师。1861年，他娶了19岁的范妮·博伊德，并离开剑桥，定居在诺丁汉郡。在那里，他们一共生了十个孩子，有两个幼年夭折，剩下的四男四女，全靠他的牧师薪水维持生计。1883年，在他最小的儿子出生后不久，约翰罹患中风，见了上帝。

As his widow was an invalid⁵, the care of the family fell upon the eldest⁶ sister Jean, who ruled with a rod of iron. The family had moved to Bedford to take advantage of its grammar school, where the two elder boys were educated. Jean started her own school, and two of the other sisters went out as schoolteachers, and generally sacrificed themselves for the sake of advancing the boys. The eldest son, Arthur, was another Turing whom fortune did not help: he was commissioned in the Indian Army, but was ambushed⁷ and killed on the North-West Frontier in 1899. The third son Harvey2 emigrated to Canada, and took up engineering, though he was to return for the First World War and then turn to genteel journalism⁸, becoming editor of the Salmon⁹ and Trout¹⁰ Magazine and fishing editor of The Field. The fourth son Alick became a solicitor¹¹. Of the daughters only Jean was to marry: her husband was Sir Herbert Trustram Eve, a Bedford estate agent who became the foremost rating surveyor of his day. The formidable Lady Eve, Alan 's Aunt Jean, became a moving spirit of the London County Council Parks Committee. Of the three unmarried aunts, kindly¹² Sybil became a Deaconess and took the Gospel to the obstinate¹³ subjects of the Raj. And true to this Victorian story, Alan's grandmother Fanny Turing succumbed¹⁴ to consumption in 1902.

他的遗孀范妮身体羸弱，持家的重任落在年长而坚强的姐姐珍妮肩上。为了让家里的男孩接受良好的教育，他们举家搬到了贝德福德。珍妮办了一所学校，并让两个妹妹在里面教书，几位姑娘日夜操劳，一心为了让家里的男孩们成才。不幸的是，长子阿瑟又成了图灵家族的一位勇敢却不走运的人：他应征去印度当兵，结果在1899年西北边界战中遭到伏击，当场战死。三儿子哈维移民到加拿大，成为一名工程师，后来在第一次世界大战时回国，改行做《鲑鱼与鳟鱼》和《田地》杂志的编辑。小儿子艾里克当了律师。家中的女孩们，只有珍妮结婚了，嫁给贝德福德的一位地产商，赫伯特·特拉斯坦·伊夫爵士。另一个女孩希比尔，成为一名宗教执事，夹着一本福音书到处传教。1902年，在维多利亚时代的最后，艾伦的祖母范妮·图灵死于结核。

1 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

2 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

3 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

4 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

5 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

6 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

7 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

9 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

10 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

11 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

14 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。