《艾伦图灵传》第1章6:返乡之旅

 This passage from India was a journey into a world of crisis. Strikes, suffragettes, and near civil war in Ireland had changed political Britain. The National Insurance Act, the Official Secrets Act, and what Churchill called 'the gigantic fleets and armies which impress and oppress the civilisation¹ of our time,' all marked the death of Victorian certainties and the extended role of the state. The substance of Christian² doctrine³ had long evaporated, and the authority of science held greater sway. Yet even science was feeling a new uncertainty⁴. And new technology, enormously expanding the means of expression and communication, had opened up what Whitman had eulogised as the Years of the Modern, in which no one knew what might happen next – whether a 'divine general war' or a 'tremendous issuing forth⁵ against the idea of caste'.

这次返乡之旅，把这一家从印度带到了一个危险的世界。英国已经不是那个英国了：大罢工，妇女运动，爱尔兰内战，国民年金保险法，官方机密法，还有丘吉尔说「践踏现代文明的巨型四肢」，这一切都体现着维多利亚王权的丧失，和政府权力的扩张。宗教的地位也动摇了，取而代之的是同样让人迷茫的科学。新的技术改变了人们的沟通方式，就像惠特曼在《摩登时代》里面说的一样。没有人知道接下来会发生什么，是全面圣战，还是阶级清洗。

But this conception of the modern world was not shared by the Turings, who were no dreamers of the World-City. Well insulated from the twentieth century, and unfamiliar⁶ even with modern Britain, they were content to make the best of what the nineteenth had offered them. Their second son, launched into an age of conflicts with which he would become helplessly entangled⁷, was likewise to be sheltered for twenty years from the consequences of the world crisis.

但是，世界的变化仿佛不关图灵家什么事，他们对此一点兴趣都没有。他们与二十世纪是绝缘的，一心只想把十九世纪剩下的东西搞搞好。而他们第二个儿子，却不得不降生在这个纠结的时代，他会措手不及地被卷入这场冲突，但同样也会被这冲突的结果庇护20年。

He was born on 23 June 1912 in a nursing home in Paddington,* and was baptised Alan Mathison Turing on 7 July. His father extended his leave until March 1913, the family spending the winter in Italy. He then returned to take up a new posting, but Mrs Turing stayed on with the two boys, Alan a babe in arms and John now four, until September 1913. Then she too departed. Mr Turing had decided⁸ that his sons were to stay in England, so as not to risk their delicate health in the heat of Madras. So Alan never saw the kind Indian servants, nor the bright colours of the East. It was in the bracing⁹ sea winds of the English Channel that his childhood was to be spent, in an exile from exile.

1912年6月23日，他在帕丁顿的一间产房注里诞生了。7月7日，他得名艾伦·马西森·图灵。朱利叶斯把假期延长到次年三月，他们一家前往意大利过冬。随后，他回到印度的工作岗位，而艾赛儿则留下来陪着两个孩子：初生不久的图灵，和四岁的约翰。1913年9月，她也回到了印度。朱利叶斯已经充分领教了马德拉斯的酷暑，于是决定让两个儿子留在英国。所以，艾伦从来没有跟这位亲切的印度官员一起生活过，也没有见过东方的鲜艳色彩。朱利叶斯背井离乡去印度，而艾伦却在英吉利海峡的风中度过童年，尽管这里是他的故土，但其实却是双重的背井离乡。

1 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

7 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。