Albert Einstein’s 1915 masterpiece “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” is the first and still the best introduction to the subject, and I recommend it as such to students. But it probably wouldn’t be publishable in a scientific journal today.
Why not? After all, it would pass with flying colours the tests of correctness and significance. And while popular belief holds that the paper was incomprehensible to its first readers, in fact many papers in theoretical physics are much more difficult.
As the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “There was a time when the newspapers said that only 12 men understood the theory of relativity. I do believe there might have been a time when only one man did, because he was the only guy who caught on, before he wrote his paper. But after people read the paper a lot understood the theory of relativity in some way or other, certainly more than 12.”
No, the problem is its style. It starts with a leisurely philosophical discussion of space and time and then continues with an exposition of known mathematics. Those two sections, which would be considered extraneous today, take up half the paper. Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features might make a paper not even get past the first editors.
A similar process of professionalization has transformed other parts of the scientific landscape. Requests for research time at major observatories or national laboratories are more rigidly structured. And anything involving work with human subjects, or putting instruments in space, involves piles of paperwork.
We see it also in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Nobel Prize of high school science competitions. In the early decades of its 78-year history, the winning projects were usually the sort of clever but naive, amateurish efforts one might expect of talented beginners working on their own. Today, polished work coming out of internships( 实习 ) at established laboratories is the norm.
These professionalizing tendencies are a natural consequence of the explosive growth of modern science. Standardization and system make it easier to manage the rapid flow of papers, applications and people. But there are serious downsides. A lot of unproductive effort goes into jumping through bureaucratic hoops( 繁文缛节 ), and outsiders face entry barriers at every turn.
Of course, Einstein would have found his way to meeting modern standards and publishing his results. Its scientific core wouldn’t have changed, but the paper might not be the same taste to read.
1 . According to Richard Feynman, Einstein’s 1915 paper ________.
A . was a classic in theoretical physics
B . turned out to be comprehensible
C . needed further improvement
D . attracted few professionals
2 . What does the underlined word “extraneous” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A . Unrealistic. B . Irrelevant.
C . Unattractive. D . Imprecise.
3 . According to the author, what is affected as modern science develops?
A . The application of research findings.
B . The principle of scientific research.
C . The selection of young talents.
D . The evaluation of laboratories.
4 . Which would be the best title for this passage?
A . What makes Einstein great?
B . Will science be professionalized?
C . Could Einstein get published today?
D . How will modern science make advances?
1 . B
2 . B
3 . C
4 . C
【分析】
本文是一篇议论文。文章通过引用物理学家的话以及现代科学爆炸式发展带来的专业化趋势来介绍爱因斯坦 1915 年的名著《广义相对论的基础》,这篇论文读起来不一样的地方以及它可能不会在今天的科学期刊上发表的原因。
1 .细节理解题。根据第三段 “As the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “There was a time when the newspapers said that only 12 men understood the theory of relativity. I do believe there might have been a time when only one man did, because he was the only guy who caught on, before he wrote his paper. But after people read the paper a lot understood the theory of relativity in some way or other, certainly more than 12. (正如物理学家理查德 · 费曼所写: “ 曾经有一段时间,报纸上说只有 12 个人理解相对论。我相信或许确实有过只有一个人懂相对论的时候 —— 因为在这篇论文之前,只有爱因斯坦理解这个问题。但当人们读了这篇论文,有很多人,绝对超过 12 个,或多或少都对相对论有了一定理解) ” 可知,爱因斯坦 1915 年的论文证明是可以理解的。故选 B 。
2 .词义猜测题。根据第四段划线词后句 “Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features might make a paper not even get past the first editors.” 可知,更糟的是,文章没有对前人科学研究进行任何引用,也没有任何图。这些缺失对如今的科学论文来说是致命的。这样的文章甚至都不会被编辑送审,这说明爱因斯坦的论文在如今看来是很糟糕的,因此此处是说他在论文中花大量篇幅进行的哲学讨论和张量微积分的阐述在今天被认为是无关紧要的,所以画线词词义为 “ 无关紧要的 ” 。故选 B 。
3 .推理判断题。根据第七段 “A lot of unproductive effort goes into jumping through bureaucratic hoops( 繁文缛节 ), and outsiders face entry barriers at every turn. (它从一个关于空间和时间的轻松的大量无用功都耗费在了突破官僚形式的层层桎梏上,也抬高了新人的准入门槛。) ” 可推断,在作者看来,现代科学的发展影响了年轻人才的选拔。故选 C 。
4 .主旨大意题。根据第一段 “But it probably wouldn’t be publishable in a scientific journal today. (但它可能不会在今天的科学期刊上发表。) ” 可知,第一段是总起句,文章围绕着这个问题展开论述,所以这篇文章最好的题目是 ——“Could Einstein get published today?( 爱因斯坦的《相对论》今天能出版吗? )” 故选 C 。