【正文】 . These guys will say ‘So what?’” But Nabeel did ask, “Are we going to see the king?” 　　“納比爾的反應讓我有些失望，”他補充道?！拔腋嬖V他我獲得了諾貝爾獎。他卻只說了一聲‘不錯’?！碑斣枂査欠駮堰@個消息告訴他學校里的小伙伴們時，這個六歲的小家伙答道：“不會。那些家伙只會說‘那又怎樣？’”不過納比爾倒還確實問過“我們要去見國王嗎？”The Royal Swedish Academy honored Zewail for his groundbreaking work in viewing and studying chemical reactions at the atomic level as they occur. He has shown “that it is possible with rapid laser technique to see how atoms in a molecule move during a chemical reaction.” 　　瑞典皇家科學院因扎威爾在觀察和研究原子層面所發(fā)生的化學反應方面所作的開創(chuàng)性工作而授予他諾貝爾化學獎。他向世人證明，“利用快速的激光技術有可能觀察到在發(fā)生化學反應時，分子中的原子是怎樣運動的?！盳ewail had brought the most powerful tools from the field of physics into the chemistry lab to create a revolution, and the field of femtochemistry1 was born. It was “a revolution in chemistry and related sciences,” the Swedes announced, “since this type of investigation allows us to understand and predict important reactions,” to probe nature at its most fundamental level. 　　扎威爾將物理領域內最有威力的儀器引進化學實驗室，從而引發(fā)了一場革命，超微（千萬億分之一）化學從此誕生。瑞典發(fā)布人說，這是“化學及相關學科領域的一場革命，因為這種研究方法使我們能夠了解并預測重要的化學反應，能從自然界最基礎的層面探測自然?！盳ewail is the 27th Caltech faculty member or alumnus to receive the Nobel Prize, and the third faculty member to be so honored in this decade. 　　扎威爾是加州理工學院教師及校友中第27位獲得諾貝爾獎的人，同時也是最近十年里第三位獲此殊榮的學院教師?！癐n my experience,” said Zewail after a tumultuous week, “whenever you cross fields or bring in new ideas and tools, you find what you don’t expect. You open new windows.” 　　在經過了一周的激動和忙亂之后，扎威爾說：“根據(jù)我的經驗，無論你在什么時候跨越學科或引進新的觀點和儀器，你都會得到意想不到的發(fā)現(xiàn)，因為你開啟了新的窗口。”Zewail’s path to the forefront of the international science arena has been elegant and swift, like the atoms he observes performing molecular dances. With a wealth of experience in home chemistry projects as a boy in Egypt, he sailed to the top of his class at Alexandria University. The classical science education he received there prepared him for a promised tenuretrack2 position in the field of his choice: math, physics, chemistry, or geology, but he decided to get his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania — to “see the molecular world of chemistry.” He had heard of Caltech, but to this young Egyptian, “institute” sounded less prestigious than “university.” As it turned out, Penn provided the “ideal” transition from classical science studies to the postdoctoral work he did at UC Berkeley. 　　扎威爾走向國際科學領域前沿的道路快捷而別具特色，正如他所觀察的原子跳出的分子舞步一樣優(yōu)美。年輕時，扎威爾在埃及國內進行了很多化學實驗，并由此獲得了豐富的經驗，這些經驗使他在就讀亞歷山大大學時成績在班上名列前茅。他在亞歷山大大學接受的正統(tǒng)理科教育本可使他在數(shù)、理、化、地質等任一領域中獲得一個極有發(fā)展前途的終身教授職位。不過他最終還是決定去賓夕法尼亞大學攻讀博士學位，“去見識一下化學的分子世界?！痹栆郧耙苍犝f過加利福尼亞理工學院，但當時這位年輕的埃及人認為，“學院”的名字聽上去沒有“大學”響亮。事實證明，在扎威爾從正統(tǒng)理科研究轉向他后來在加州大學伯克利分校的博士后科研過程中，賓夕法尼大學起到了“理想的”的過渡作用。He stayed at Berkeley for postdoctoral work for two reasons: to think more about research rather than about getting a PhD and “the secret reason — I wanted to buy a big American car to take back to Egypt with me.” At Berkeley, he published three papers “immediately” and was advised to apply to the top handful of American universities. 　　扎威爾留在伯克利分校做博士后研究有兩個原因：一是想搞科研而非僅僅得到博士學位；另一個“私下的原因是我想買一輛美國大轎車帶回埃及去”。他一到伯克利分校就“立即”發(fā)表了三篇論文，當時有人就建議他與美國不多的幾所頂尖大學聯(lián)系深造。 “The most important reason why I decided on Caltech was, once the offer was made, I was well received by the staff, administration, and faculty.” He also felt he could make his own way specializing in dynamics in a department strong on structure. And the Mediterranean climate3 didn’t hurt. That was 1976. 　　“我決定去加州理工學院的最重要的原因是，我的申請一提出，就受到了全院教職員工、領導和系里的熱烈歡迎?！蓖瑫r他認為，在一個以結構研究見長的系里，自己能在專攻動力學方面取得成功。并且，加利福尼亞的地中海氣候也令人愜意。那是發(fā)生在1976年的事情。Zewail was off and running, earning tenure in a year and a half, making full professorship by 1982, seated in the Pauling Chair4 by 1990. Now with a Nobel Prize under his belt, what’s next? “First of all, I’m not retiring,” he said. “And I’m not going to Hollywood.” 　　扎威爾的事業(yè)可謂一帆風順。他在加利福尼亞理工學院工作一年半后就獲得了終身教席，1982年被聘為正教授，1990年獲泡令首席教授榮譽。如今他又將諾貝爾獎攬入囊中，下一步他該干些什么呢？“首先，我還不會退休，”扎威爾說?！岸椅乙膊粫ズ萌R塢?！盜n the ing years, Zewail looks forward to more breakthroughs. He will remain active in research and in publishing papers, which he considers to be his babies (363 to date). Tracking the progress of two papers within a week of receiving the prize, he reached a surprised editor who said, “You on the phone? Impossible! I thought you’d be out wining and dining.” He will continue to push the envelope of what is possible. 　　扎威爾期望今后幾年里能再有突破性的成果。他將繼續(xù)活躍在科研領域、積極發(fā)表論文，他視其論文如自己的兒女（迄今為止他已經發(fā)表了363篇論文）。在獲得諾貝爾獎后不到一個星期內，扎威爾就打電話給編輯追問兩篇論文的進展情況，這讓編輯大為驚訝，問道：“是你在給我打電話嗎？不可能吧！我想你一定出去喝酒赴宴了?！彼麑⒗^續(xù)盡力去揭示尚待研發(fā)的領域的奧秘。(711 words) 專業(yè)整理分享