2018-03-17

Continued-----

For fellow scientists and loved ones, it was Hawking's intuition and wicked sense of humour that marked him out as much as the fierce intellect which, coupled with his illness, came to symbolise the unbounded possibilities of the human mind.

Hawking was driven to Wagner, but not the bottle, when he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1963 at the age of 21.

Doctors expected him to live for only two more years. But Hawking had a form of the disease that progressed more slowly than usual. He survived for more than half a century.

Hawking once estimated he worked only 1,000 hours during his three undergraduate years at Oxford. In his finals, he came borderline between a first and second class degree. Convinced that he was seen as a difficult student, he told his viva examiners that if they gave him a first he would move to Cambridge to pursue his PhD. Award a second and he threatened to stay. They opted for a first.

▍生词好句

fellow scientists: 科学家同事们

loved ones: 亲人们

intuition /ɪntjʊˈɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 直觉

wicked /ˈwɪkɪd/: adj. 顽皮的

intellect /ˈɪntəlɛkt/: n. 智力；理解力

(be) coupled with: 伴随着

be driven to: 被驱使

be diagnosed with: 被确诊

ome borderline /ˈbɔːdəlʌɪn/: 处于边缘

viva examiner /ˈvʌɪvə/: 面试评审员

opt for: 选择

Those who live in the shadow of death are often those who live most. For Hawking, the early diagnosis of his terminal disease, and witnessing the death from leukaemia of a boy he knew in hospital, ignited a fresh sense of purpose. "Although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research," he once said. Embarking on his career in earnest, he declared: "My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."

He began to use crutches in the 1960s, but long fought the use of a wheelchair. When he finally relented, he became notorious for his wild driving along the streets of Cambridge, not to mention the intentional running over of students' toes and the occasional spin on the dance floor at college parties.

▍生词好句

in the shadow of /ˈʃadəʊ/: 在……的阴影之下

diagnosis /ˌdʌɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/: n. 诊断

leukaemia /luːˈkiːmɪə/: n. 白血病

terminal: adj. 晚期的；终端的 n. 终点（站）

ignite /ɪɡˈnʌɪt/: vt. 点燃

embark on /ɪmˈbɑːk/: 从事；登机/船

in earnest: 认真地；怀有极大热情地

declare /dɪˈklɛː/: vt. 宣告；声明

crutch /krʌtʃ/: n. 拐杖

wheelchair /ˈwiːltʃɛː/: n. 轮椅

relent /rɪˈlɛnt/: vi. 变温和；变仁慈

notorious /nə(ʊ)ˈtɔːrɪəs/: adj. 臭名昭著的

intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃ(ə)n(ə)l/: adj. 故意的

occasional /əˈkeɪʒ(ə)n(ə)l/: adj. 偶尔的；时不时的