第一段
The US$3-million Fundamental physics prize is indeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he accepted this year’s award in March. And it is far fromthe only one of its type. As a News Feature article in Nature discusses, a string of lucrativeawards for researchers have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. Many, like the Fundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephone-number-sized bank accounts of Internet entrepreneurs. These benefactors have succeeded in their chosen fields, they say, and they want to use their wealth to draw attention to those who have succeeded in science.
单词&词组搭配
string [strɪŋ]（出现2次）n.一串，一系列
lucrative [ˈluːkrətɪv] adj.利润丰厚的
entrepreneur [ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr] n.企业家，创业者
benefactor [ˈbenɪfæktər] n.捐助者
Fundamental physics（基础物理学）
be far from（远非）
be funded from（由...资助）
draw attention to（吸引..的吸引力）
本段翻译
诚如亚历山大三月领取年度奖时所言，300万美金的基础物理学奖的确是个有吸引力的尝试。该奖也远非同类奖项中的唯一。正如《自然》一篇新闻专题文章所述，近年来一系列面向研究者的丰厚奖项已经加入诺贝尔奖的行列。和基础物理学一样，许多奖项的经费来自因特网企业家的巨额银行存款。据说，这些捐资者在自己选定的领域中获得成功，因而希望用自身财富去吸引人们关注那些在科研领取取得成功的认识。
第二段
What’s not to like? Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the NewsFeature. You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstart entrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels. The new awards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists. They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research. They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. They do not fund peer-reviewed research. They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius.
单词&搭配
quote [kwoʊt]（出现6次）v.引用，据说说明
feature [ˈfiːtʃər] [僻义]专题报道
class n.班级；[僻义]阶级，社会等级
upstart adj.暴富的
prestige [preˈstiːʒ]（出现2次）n.声望
self-promotion（合成词）自我推销
distort [dɪˈstɔːrt]（出现2次）v.使变形，曲解
cement [sɪˈment]（出现1次）n.水泥；[僻义]v.加固，加强
perpetuate [pərˈpetʃueɪt] v.使...持续
peer review（同行评审）
a handful of（几个，少数）
as the old saying goes（俗话说）
profit-oriented（合成词）adi.利润导向的
本段翻译
有什么理由不喜欢呢？据该新闻专题文章引用的少数科学家所说，不喜欢的理由很多。俗话说，金钱买不到地位，这些暴富的企业家不能为自己设立的奖项买来诺贝尔奖声望。有科学家说，这些新奖项专为其背后的人实现自我炒作而设。它们可能会扭曲以同行评审为指导，基于研究成果的研究体系。它们可能会使同行评审的研究的状况止步不前。它们不对同行评审的研究提供资助。它们让个人天才的神话长存。
第三段
The goals of the prize-givers seem as scattered as the criticism. Some want to shock, others to draw people into science, or to better reward those who have made their careersin research.
单词&词组
scattered [ˈskætərd] adj.分散的
draw...into....（把...吸引入）
make one's career（在事业上有所成就）
本段翻译
授奖者的目的似乎和批评一样分散。有的想要引起轰动，其他人想吸引公众走进科学，或者想要更好地奖励那些在研究中有所成就的人们。
第四段
As Nature has pointed out before, there are some legitimate concerns about how science prizes—both new and old—are distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the life sciences include. But the Nobel Foundation’s limit of three recipients per prize, each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborative nature of modern research—as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row over who is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson. The Nobels were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who had decided what he wanted to do with his own money. Time, rather than intention, has given them legitimacy.
单词&词组
legitimate [lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət]（出现1次）adj.合理的，合法的
distribute [dɪˈstrɪbjuːt]（出现4次）v.分配，分散
recipient [rɪˈsɪpiənt] n.接受者
outgrown [ˌaʊtˈɡroʊn] v.大而不适用
collaborative [kəˈlæbəreɪtɪv] adj.合力的，协作
row （出现3次）n.排，行；[僻义] n.争吵
boson n.玻色子（不知道是个啥）
legitimacy [lə'dʒɪtəməsi] n.合法性
when it comes to（当提及啥的时候）
set up（设立）
take a...view of（以...眼观看...）
joint [dʒɔɪnt] adj.共同的
dispute [dɪˈspjuːt] n.争议
本段翻译
正如《自然》曾指出的，人们在科学奖项——无论新旧——如何分配的问题上有些顾虑是合理的。今年推出的“生命科学突破奖”对生命科学这一学科的内涵认定就不具代表性。但是诺贝尔基金会的限定——每个奖项获奖人数不超三人，且必须都在世——早就因为现代研究的协作性质而不再适用了，这一点会在确认希格斯玻色粒子的发现时得到证明，因为届时必然会出现关于“哪位遭到忽视”的争论。当然，诺贝尔奖本身也是由非常富有的个人设立，由他决定想用自己的钱做什么。（不过）赋予诺贝尔奖正统地位的是时间，而非动机。
第五段
As much as some scientists may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. First, most researchers would accept such a prize if they were offered one. Second, it is surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather than go elsewhere, It is fair to criticize and question the mechanism—that is the culture of research, after all—but it is the prize-givers’ money to do with as they please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace.
单词&词组
mechanism [ˈmekənɪzəm]（出现7次）n.机制
gratitude [ˈɡrætɪtuːd]（出现2次）n.感激，感谢
grace [ɡreɪs]（出现2次）n.优美
after all（毕竟）
do with as one‘s’ please（随某人的意愿做）
本段翻译
虽然一些科学家可能对新奖项有诸多不满，但有两件事似乎很明了。第一，如果被授予这样一个奖项，大多数研究者都会接受。第二，金钱和关注流向科学而不是别的地方，这当然是好事。对机制的批判和质疑都有合理性——毕竟科学研究的文化就是如此——但授奖者随意支配的是自己的钱。感激大方地接受此类赠与才是明智之举。
五道题
31. The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as _____.
[A] a symbol of the entrepreneurs’ wealth
[B] a possible replacement of the Nobel Prizes
[C] a handsome reward for researchers
[D] an example of bankers’ investments
32. The critics think that the new awards will most benefit _____.
[A] the profit-oriented scientists
[B] the founders of the awards
[C] the achievement-based system
[D] peer-review-led research
33. The discovery of the Higgs boson is a typical case which involves _____.
[A] the joint effort of modern researchers
[B] controversies over the recipients’ status
[C] the demonstration of research findings
[D] legitimate concerns over the new prizes
34. According to Paragraph 4, which of the following is true of the Nobels?
[A] History has never cast doubt on them.
[B] They are the most representative honor.
[C] Their legitimacy has long been in dispute.
[D] Their endurance has done justice to them.
35. The author believes that the new awards are _____.
[A] harmful to the culture of research
[B] acceptable despite the criticism
[C] subject to undesirable changes
[D] unworthy of public attention
参考答案
CBADB
