文字稿
The Bank of England received more than 114,000 nominations which met their criteria of who should be the new face of the £50 note. It had to be a real individual – so not Wonder Woman or Winnie-the-Pooh. They had to be dead and they must have contributed to the field of science in the UK.
英央行收到了逾11.4萬份有資格成為50英鎊紙幣新頭像的提名。被提名者必須是真實的個體,所以不可以是神力女超人或小熊維尼等角色。他們還必須是已逝的、為英國科學界做出了貢獻的人物。
So far the list includes the discoverer of penicillin Alexander Fleming, the father of modern epidemiology John Snow, the telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell, the astronomer Patrick Moore and the computing pioneers Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing. Alan Turing, who broke the Nazi Enigma code during World War Two, has more recently gained popular recognition thanks to the 2014 film The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, as Turing.
到目前為止,被提名人選包括青黴素的發現者亞歷山大·弗萊明、“現代流行病學之父” 約翰·斯諾、電話的發明者亞歷山大·格拉漢姆·貝爾、天文學家派屈克·摩爾以及計算機學的先驅們愛達·洛芙萊斯和艾倫·圖靈。艾倫·圖靈在第二次世界大戰間破解了納粹的密碼系統 “恩尼格瑪”,最近憑借2014年由班尼迪克·康柏拜區主演的電影《模仿遊戲》,圖靈獲得了大眾的認可。
Bookmakers have Stephen Hawking as the current favourite, with odds of 7/4. The scientist broke new ground on the basic laws which govern the universe. He died earlier this year, having suffered from motor neurone disease for most of his adult life, which gradually paralysed the scientist and eventually left him only able to speak through a computer.
目前,博彩公司最看好史蒂芬·霍金,他獲勝的賠率為七比四。這位科學家曾經就統治宇宙的基本規律提出了突破性的見解。霍金於今年早些時候過世,他成年後的大部分時間裡都患有運動神經元病,該疾病逐漸使這位科學家癱瘓,並最終導致他只能通過電腦說話。
The Nobel Prize winner Dorothy Hodgkin is also one of the favourites to win. She is best known for her work in developing crystallography of biochemical compounds. Nominations close in two weeks. After that, a final shortlist will be made and the next year, the new face of £50 note will finally be announced.
諾貝爾獎得主桃樂絲·霍奇金也是奪冠的一大熱門。她以開發了生化化合物領域的晶體學研究而聞名。提名徵集活動將在兩週後結束。英格蘭銀行隨後會確認最終候選名單,並在明年宣布50英鎊紙幣上的新頭像人物。
1. 詞彙
nominations 提名
note 紙幣、鈔票
discoverer 發現人
penicillin 青黴素
father 某領域的先驅
modern epidemiology 現代流行病學
astronomer 天文學家
computing pioneers 計算機學先驅
broke the code 破解了密碼
odds 賠率
broke new ground 開創了新天地
laws 定律、規律
motor neurone disease 運動神經元病
crystallography 晶體學
biochemical compounds 生化化合物
shortlist 最終候選名單
2. 閱讀理解:請在讀完上文後,回答下列問題。
1. What did a nomination have to be to make it to the new £50 note?
2. According to the text, why has Alan Turing gained recognition recently?
3. When will the new face of the £50 note be announced?
4. Which word in the text means ‘standards by which something or someone is judged’?
3. 答案
1. What did a nomination have to be to make it to the new £50 note?
It had to be a real individual; it had to be dead and must have contributed to the field of science in the UK.
2. According to the text, why has Alan Turing gained recognition recently?
Alan Turing has more recently gained popular recognition thanks to the 2014 film The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing.
3. When will the new face of the £50 note be announced?
The new face of £50 note will finally be announced the next year.
4. Which word in the text means ‘standards by which something or someone is judged’?
Criteria.